13 Class AAAA schools to open season with new head coaches

Best job: Thomson

Toughest job: LaFayette

Most interesting: Barney Hester hung up his football whistle after 43 seasons as a head coach to take the position of athletics director of Bibb County Schools. Hester leaves the sidelines ranking sixth in state history with 349 wins against just 167 losses. His 11 state titles, all coming at Tattnall Square Academy in the Georgia Independent School Association, are tied with Larry Campbell's for second behind Wright Bazemore's 14. Tattnall had endured three consecutive losing seasons and didn't have its own stadium when Hester became head coach at that Macon private school in 1974. He ultimately became its headmaster his final 11 years there. Hester also was part of the first team at Georgia Southern, his alma mater. He was Erk Russell's wide receivers coach in 1981 before returning to the high school game. Hester finished up at Howard and guided the Huskies to their first playoff appearance last season.

Region 1 

*Americus-Sumter hired Central (Macon) head coach Larry Harold to replace Erik Soliday, who retired from public schools and became head coach at GISA's Tiftarea Academy. Harold is 29-34 as a head coach with stops at Macon County (2012-14), where he coached Roquan Smith; Brunswick (2015-16); and Central (2017). Americus-Sumter was 9-3 last season and won a playoff game for the first time since 2010.

*Carver (Columbus) hired Dougherty head coach Corey Joyner to replace Calvin Arnold, who was 3-7 in one season. Joyner is Carver's fourth coach since current Georgia assistant Dell McGee left after the 2012 season. Joyner's record was 10-48 in six seasons at Dougherty, his alma mater. Arnold is now an assistant at Grady.

*Northside (Columbus) hired St. Xavier (Ky.) offensive coordinator Dave Nurnberg to replace Morgan Ingram, who will remain as athletics director after leading the Patriots to playoff appearances each of the past four seasons. St. Xavier reached Kentucky's Class 6A finals and semifinals the past two seasons, each time losing to eventual champion Trinity. Nurnberg had been head coach for three seasons at another Columbus school, Jordan, and his 2009 team's four victories remain that program's best mark in 20 years.

*Westover hired Georgia Southern assistant and former Creekside head coach Olten Downs to replace Octavia Jones, who remained at the school as assistant principal. Downs has won state titles as a player (2000 Shaw), defensive coordinator (2007 Carver) and head coach (2013 Creekside). He was on the University of Georgia's support staff in 2015 and 2016.

Region 2 

*Howard promoted assistant Paul Carroll to replace Barney Hester, who became athletics director of Bibb County Schools. Carroll came to Howard in 2017 after serving as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Warner Robins. Carroll had assisted at several other schools, including Tift County, Griffin and Thomas County Central. Howard, which had lost 23 consecutive games when Hester was hired in 2013, was 6-5 last season.

Region 3 

*Thomson hired Ware County defensive coordinator Michael Youngblood to replace Rob Ridings, who retired from public schools and took the job as Prince Avenue Christian's defensive coordinator. Ridings' Thomson teams were 39-12 in four seasons and 10-2 last year. Youngblood has been a head coach at Dunwoody (2009) and South Cobb (2013). He won state titles as an assistant coach at Tucker (2008) and alma mater Burke County (2011).

Region 4 

*Druid Hills hired Rosaria Rice to replace Myron Burton, whose record was 4-16 in two seasons, 1-9 last year. Rice has been Druid Hills' girls basketball coach since 2014. He has worked as a football assistant at Druid Hills and Chamblee. Burton is no longer coaching.

Region 5 

*LaGrange hired Scottsdale Christian (Ariz.) head coach Chuck Gibbs to replace Dialleo Burks. Gibbs' teams at Scottsdale were 31-14 over the past four seasons, 10-3 last year. Gibbs is the son of retired former college and NFL coach Alex Gibbs, who was Georgia's offensive line coach in 1982, when Herschel Walker won the Heisman Trophy, and an Atlanta Falcons assistant or consultant from 2004 to 2006. LaGrange, which won three state titles from 2001 to 2004, was 12-29 in four seasons under Burks, an alumnus. Burks is now an NFL intern with the Tennessee Titans.

Region 6 

*LaFayette hired Fort Payne (Ala.) head coach Paul Ellis to replace Chad Fisher, whose teams were 11-39 in five seasons. Ellis was 109-48 and won six region titles at Fort Payne. Fisher is now the offensive coordinator at Northwest Whitfield.

*Ridgeland hired Bradley Central (Tenn.) head coach Cortney Braswell to replace Wesley Tankersley, who took the Stephens County job after leading the Panthers to two region titles in three seasons. Braswell was 10-13 in two seasons at Central. He grew up near Ridgeland High but attended the private Baylor School in Tennessee, where he was a star running back. He has been an assistant at North Murray and Ringgold in Georgia.

Region 7 

*Denmark, a newly opened school in Forsyth County, hired Creekview head coach Terry Crowder to start its program. Crowder has been a head coach for 14 years in Georgia, the past five at Creekview in Cherokee County. He led Chattahoochee to the Class AAAA championship in 2010. His career record is 91-62. Denmark, nicknamed the Danes, is playing a full region schedule.

*West Hall promoted offensive coordinator Krofton Montgomery to replace Tony Lotti, who took the Apalachee job. Montgomery had been on Lotti's staff for five seasons. He coached at Winder-Barrow before that. West Hall was 35-31 under Lotti, including a 5-6 mark last season, and won the school's only region title in 2014.

Region 8 

*Stephens County hired Ridgeland head coach Wesley Tankersley to replace Frank Barden, who took the St. Francis job. Tankersley's record was 24-10 at Ridgeland, which won region titles in 2016 and 2017. Tankersley, also a former head coach at Gilmer, is 65-44 in 10 years as a head coach.

Coming Tuesday: Class AAA

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