Osborne football coach Xarvia Smith stepped down this week at a program that hasn’t won more than three games since 1994.
Osborne was 2-8 in each of three seasons under Smith, who also has been head coach at Centennial and Cedar Shoals.
“I haven’t moved the program the way I wanted to, and it just wasn’t working out,’’ Smith told the Marietta Daily Journal.
Osborne was moved from Class AAAAA to AAAAAA in the latest reclassification effective in 2014 and has decided to play a non-region schedule because of concerns about competing in the highest classification.
Several other coaching changes have been reported this week:
Fannin County has hired Gainesville’s defensive coordinator, Jim Pavao, as its new head coach. Pavao has been Gainesville’s defensive coordinator since 2007. He also has coached at Burke County and made college stops at Davidson, Princeton and Norwich Univesity. Pavao replaces Greg Chambers, who was 3-17 in two seasons.
Stone Mountain’s Dante Ferguson is out after five seasons. The Pirates were 22-28 under Ferguson, an improvement over the 16-35 the previous five years, but never made the playoffs.
Redan has let go Willie Griffieth, who was 3-17 in two seasons. Redan’s last winning season was 2007 (6-5).
Clarkston coach Gary Wansley won’t be back. He was 11-18-1 in three seasons, and the 9-10-1 record for the past two is the best two-year for the Angoras since 1998.
David Radford has resigned at Cross Keys, one of the state’s more challenging jobs. Radford’s teams were 5-52-2 in six seasons, the past four against a non-region schedule.
Ron Sebree has left Social Circle after two 0-10 finishes. Sebree is the former athletics director for DeKalb County schools.
Larry Milligan is leaving Oglethorpe County after five seasons. He was 14-36. Oglethorpe has had one winning season (6-4 in 2005) since 1999. Milligan had led Greene County to the state semifinals at Greene County in 2005 with quarterback Josh Nesbitt.
Bradwell Instittude coach Adam Carter has offered his resignation after one season to take a job at Reinhardt University in Waleska. Bradwell was 4-6 under Carter, its best finish since 2010. Carter was one of six Georgia head coaches who were graduates of Paulding County. Two since have resigned. The other was Cook’s Ken Cofer.
Heritage in Ringgold has Hired E.K. Slaughter, formerly coach of Red Bank High in Tennessee, to replace Tim James, who started the program in 2008. Heritage had a 7-3 season under James in 2011 but dropped to 0-10 and 1-9 the past two seasons.
Reported job openings listed with former coach:
Armuchee - Preston Cash
Bacon County - Hildrick Garrison
Baldwin - Dexter Copeland
Bradwell Institute - Adam Carter
Cass - Rick Casko
Cedar Shoals - Chris Davis
Chattooga - Clay Livingstone. Hired: Charles Hammon
Clarkston - Gary Wansley
Coahulla Creek - Jared Hamlin
Cook - Ken Cofer
Cross Keys - East Coweta - Clint Wade
Fannin County - Greg Chambers. Hired: Jim Pavao
Forest Park - John Diehl
Hampton - New School
Heritage, Conyers- Mike Parris
Heritage, Ringgold -Tim James. Hired: E.K. Slaughter
Jenkins County - Ashley Harden
LaGrange - Donnie Branch. Hired: Dialleo Burks
Lovejoy - Al Hughes. Hired: Edgar Carson
McIntosh County Academy - Keith Gosse
Monroe Area - Matt Fligg
Mount de Sales - Robert Slocum Hired: Keith Hatcher
Mount Zion, Jonesboro- Ervin Starr
Oconee County - Mitch Olson
Oglethorpe County - Larry Milligan
Ola - John Kovzel
Osborne - Xarvia Smith
Parkview - Cecil Flowe
Rockmart - Dan Duff Hired: Bin Turner
Social Circle - Ron Sebree
Stone Mountain - Dante Ferguson
Toombs County - Steve Versprille
Twiggs County - Jeb Stewart
Upson-Lee - Tommy Watson
Winder-Barrow - David Wagner
Woodland, Stockbridge - Scott Schmitt
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