For the second time in recent days, a member of Walton’s football coaching staff is taking a head-coaching job at another Cobb County school.
R.C. Helton, Walton’s running backs and strength coach, has taken the job at Osborne.
That’s a different challenge than the one taken last month by his former Walton colleague Brett Sloan, who was named Kell’s head coach.
Kell has averaged 10.7 wins and reached two semifinals since 2010. Osborne has won 13 games total since 2010 and not won more than three games in any season since 1994.
It’s the toughest job in Cobb, but not necessarily the toughest that Helton has faced.
A native of Tennessee, Helton played college football in Arizona, then worked 18 years in the Maricopa County Sheriff's office. He headed up the Hostage Crisis Negotiations Unit.
Looking for something less stressful, Helton got into coaching and spent seven seasons on football sidelines in Arizona, the last three as head coach of Trevor Browne in Phoenix.
Helton came back home to Tennessee in 2014 and was head coach of Whitwell High, a program that averaged fewer than three wins per year the previous two decades. Under Helton, Whitwell went 12-11 in two seasons and made its first playoff appearance since 2005.
"I looked at the Osborne job as a great opportunity to change lives and to build young men to be honest, ethical, hard-working individuals who want to impact the community and help themselves become better people," Helton told Carlton D. White of the Marietta Daily Journal.
The number of coaching hires or openings this off-season is now at 99. Here are some other recent changes.
Holy Innocents’ hires Winter
Todd Winter, who led Pinecrest Academy in Cumming to the Class A playoffs the past three seasons, was hired this week as head coach at Holy Innocents' in Atlanta. Winter's record in five seasons at Pinecrest was 35-19. The Forsyth County News notes that Winter had only 13 players come out for his first spring practice in 2012. Holy Innocents' was 5-6 last season under Ryan Livezey, who started the program in 2006.
Sonoraville taps Pate to replace Kremer
Sonoaville has promoted offensive coordinator Denver Pate to replace Jim Kremer, who resigned two weeks ago. Pate also has been an assistant at Chattooga, Cedartown and East Paulding. Sonoraville was 22-13 in three seasons under Kremer, its best run since the program started in 2006.
Columbia hires Towers coach
Columbia hired Towers coach Brian Montgomery to replace David Edwards, whose teams were 25-27 in five seasons. Montgomery has a 26-44 record in seven seasons at Towers, Shiloh and North Atlanta, places that historically struggle.
Turner County picks Tift assistant
Turner County this week hired Tift County defensive backs coach Leroy Hood to replace Ben Simmons, who took the Worth County job. Hood had been an assistant coach in Arkansas for seven years. Turner County was 8-4 last season.
Still open -
Forest Park: Dale Myers
Jenkins: Tim Adams
Lithonia: Marcus Jelks
Pinecrest Academy: Todd Winter
Randolph-Clay: Daniel McFather
Riverside Military: Kelly Davis
Strong Rock Christian: Tommy Webb
Taylor County: Mark Wilson
Towers: Brian Montgomery
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