GHSF Daily is chronicling the many coaching changes in the offseason. We continue today with Class AAAA.
Number of hires: 12
Best hire: Steve DeVoursney, Cairo
Hardest to replace: Joe Teknipp, Eagle's Landing
Best job: Cairo
Toughest job: Cross Keys
Most interesting: Americus-Sumter was formed in 2004 with the merger of Americus and Sumter County high schools. As often is the case, such consolidations result in inflated expectations. Americus High had long been a state power and won state titles in 2000 and 2001 under Erik Soliday, who left for Turner County in 2004. Americus-Sumter has been a failure in football, going 43-73 with just one state-playoff victory. In April, Americus-Sumter hired Soliday to return. He will be the school's fifth coach in four seasons.
Region 1
*Americus-Sumter hired Perry coach Erik Soliday to replace Dexter Dawson, who was 3-7 in one season. Soliday was head coach of Americus's Class AA championship teams in 2000 and 2001 and was 57-10 in five seasons at the school that was consolidated with Sumter County in 2004 and became Americus-Sumter. Soliday's record is 170-125-2 in 27 seasons that include stops at Perry (2013-14), Turner County (2004-2012 and 1989-1996) and Henry County (1997-98). Dawson is now an assistant at Henry County.
*Cairo promoted defensive coordinator Steve DeVoursney to replace Tom Fallaw, who remained as the school's athletics director. DeVoursney led Griffin to the Class AAAA championship in 2014 but resigned months later after an investigation into alleged recruiting and inappropriate academic help to student-athletes. DeVoursney denied any wrongdoing. DeVoursney's record at Griffin was 128-35 in 13 seasons. Fallaw led Cairo to a Class AAA championship in 2008. His teams were 116-34 in 12 seasons, including a 9-3 finish in 2014.
*Crisp County hired Colquitt County defensive line coach Shelton Felton, a Crisp County alumnus and all-state linebacker in 1997, to replace Lee Campbell, who became the defensive coordinator at Peach County under brother Chad Campbell. Felton was the defensive coordinator for Dooly County's Class A runner-up team in 2012 and for Crisp County before that. Crisp has not won a playoff game since 2004 and was 3-7 in 2014.
Region 2
*Perry promoted defensive assistant Carl Dixon to replace Erik Soliday, who took the Americus-Sumter job. Dixon has worked at Perry the past 15 years. He has also been an assistant at Kendrick, Bainbridge, Worth County, Macon County and Jones County and worked under state-championship coaches Ralph Jones, Erik Soliday, Milt Miller and Buzz Busby. Perry was 4-16 the past two seasons under Soliday.
Region 3
*Windsor Forest hired Dublin offensive coordinator Greg Busby to replace Scott Schwarzer, who became the offensive coordinator at Duluth. Busby was head coach at Montgomery County (2008-11), where his record was 13-27. He has been an assistant at six other Georgia schools. Busby is the son of retired coach Buzz Busby and played on his father's 1995 Alabama state champion Central of Tuscaloosa. Windsor Forest has finished 0-10 each of the past two seasons.
Region 4
*Eagle's Landing promoted defensive coordinator Shawn Jones as interim coach to succeed Joe Teknipp, who passed away July 4 from complications of stomach cancer. Jones has been with Eagle's Landing the past six years. A Pennsylvania native, Jones was defensive coordinator the past two seasons. The 8-3 finishes of 2013 and 2014 mark the best two-year run in school history.
*Eastside promoted assistant head coach Troy Hoff to succeed Rick Hurst, who took the Pepperell job. Hoff, a native of South Dakota, has been at Eastside for each of Hurst's 10 seasons, during which the program was 66-46 despite 0-10 seasons the year before and after they arrived.
Region 5
*Troup hired Manchester coach Tanner Glisson to replace Lynn Kendall, who was 12-19 in three seasons. Glisson's Manchester teams were 7-4 and 3-7. This will be Glisson's 15th season in coaching, and he's had stops at Greenville and Shaw. Kendall, a Troup alumnus, remained as an assistant coach.
Region 6
*Cross Keys hired Hephzibah head coach John Bowen to replace Kevin Saunders, who took the Pebblebrook job. Hephzibah was 6-5 last season, marking the school's first winning season and playoff appearance since 2009. Cross Keys is 8-84-2 over the past 10 seasons. Bowen has seen worse, though. He was head coach for seven seasons at Glascock County, inheriting a 27-game losing streak, and won six games there.
*Stone Mountain promoted offensive coordinator Utavius Ingram to replace Chaka mason, who took a job in Mississippi after an 0-10 finish in his only season. Ingram, a former wide receiver at West Alabama, also has been an assistant coach at his alma mater Opelika in Alabama (2007-11), Peach County (2012) and Savannah State (2013.)
Region 7
*Gilmer hired Colquitt County running backs Zach Grage to replace Wesley Tankersley, who became head coach at region rival Ridgeland. Grage, 31, was at Colquitt County for six seasons and Richmond Hill for three. Grage also was Colquitt County's strength-and-conditioning coach and co-offensive coordinator.
*Ridgeland hired Gilmer coach Wesley Tankersley to replace Mark Mariakis, who took joined the coaching staff and faculty at Chattanooga Christian. Tankersley was 42-33 in eight seasons at Gilmer, which had gone six years without a winning season before Tankersley got the head job. Gilmer went 32-12 since 2011, its best four-year run in school history.
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author
