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Thursday, June 28, 2007
Take 10: Coolest new coaches
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are 69 new football head coaches in Georgia. Here are the 10 that jump out to me - five in metro Atlanta and five outside metro Atlanta. I don’t know every new coach in Georgia yet, so if I’ve missed a good one, tell me about it.
Best hires in metro Atlanta
Jeff Measor, Centennial: All I know about Measor is that he’s young (29) that he was Coffee’s offensive coordinator and that he beat out more than 250 applicants for a job that is prized for its booster club and fan support. No reason Centennial can’t become a contender in that area.
Bill Ballard, Peachtree Ridge: Ballard was 53-8 in his five seasons at Tucker, but expectations will be high after the state championship, so Peachtree Ridge isn’t the easiest job in town.
Bill Hobbs, Union Grove: Hobbs comes from Cypress Grove in Florida, where he took his team to the playoffs in the school’s fifth season. Hobbs’ defensive coordinator at Cypress, Frank Hepler, is the new coach at newly opened West Forsyth.
Dennis Roland, Central Gwinnett: While at North Gwinnett in 2004, the Bulldogs improved to 9-3 from 2-8 in Roland’s only season. He is taking the head coaching job at Southeast Louisiana State.
Franklin Stephens, Tucker: One of the state’s more highly regarded assistants, the former defensive coordinator at Camden and star player at Georgia Southern gets his first head job. Tucker is loaded this season, so there’s pressure to win big right away.
Best hires outside metro Atlanta
Blair Armstrong, Banks County: The former Peachtree Ridge coach has suffered only two losing seasons in his 26 years as head coach, and he’s never taken a job at an established program. Banks County last had a winning record in 1997.
Charles Flowers, Dougherty: Flowers, who averaged 12 victories in his last seven seasons at Shaw, returns to coaching at sleeping giant Dougherty.
Brent Miller, Elbert County: Miller, formerly of Chamblee, is 106-76-1 in 17 seasons at schools that don’t otherwise win. No reason Elbert shouldn’t be a perennial region contender.
Eric Parker, Burke County: Parker came to Laney in 1997 when the school hadn’t won a playoff game since 1966. Laney won 11 playoff games in his last seven seasons in Augusta. Now he’s at Burke, which has all the pieces to become a state power.
Bradley Warren, Gilmer: From Central Gwinnett, where he was 24-11 the past three seasons in one of the state’s premier regions, Warren returned to the country to find Gilmer. He’s from Dade County and feels closer to home in more ways than one.
Go on. Take Ten. Who do you think will have the biggest impact? Send us your list of the state’s top 10 coaches taking the reins at new schools this season.
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