About 80 Georgia schools hired new head coaches this season. Here are the 20 that have exceeded expectations the most, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. The numbers on the left are the points that each team has exceeded what Maxwell predicted for the team based on historical scores. In other words, Turner County is 26.84 points better this season than what could have been expected based on the program's recent history.

26.84 - Ben Simmons, Turner County

20.27 - Jason Carrera, Meadowcreek

17.93 - Ashley Harden, Twiggs County

16.89 - Pierre Coffey, Spencer

13.79 - Josh Alexander, Athens Academy

12.97 - Matt Kemper, Johns Creek

12.92 - Rick Hurst, Pepperell

12.55 - Mike Humphreys, Loganville

9.75 - Brent Miller, Miller County

8.54 - Evan Hochstetler, Manchester

8.25 - Robert Zoller, Islands

7.97 - Troy Hoff, Eastside

7.66 - Randy Grace, Wheeler County

7.41 - Todd Booker, Harlem

6.34 - Shawn Jones, Eagle's Landing

6.34 - Buddy Sorrow, East Laurens

5.13 - Greg Busby, Windsor Forest

4.34 - Chris Johnson, Metter

4.30 - Jon Lindsey, East Paulding

4.10 - Robby Robinson, McIntosh County Academy

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Former Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Norman Arey died Oct. 11, 2025 at the age of 84. In addition to sports writing, Arey also co-wrote the popular "Peach Buzz" society column. (Courtesy of the Arey family)

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com