From best hire to toughest job, a look at Class 5A football coaching changes

Ahead of the 2025 season, Georgia High School Football Daily looks at the biggest news among Class 5A coaching changes.

Here’s a look at the moves, the hires and what to know.

Number of hires: 14

Best hire: Daniel Williams, Northside (Warner Robins)

Hardest to replace: Daniel Williams, Hughes

Best job: Roswell

Toughest job: Banneker

Most interesting: Dutchtown fired Niketa Battle — despite a 25-13 record over three seasons — and hired Georgia Southern player personnel analyst Kevon Glenn, a 24-year-old former Dutchtown star linebacker in the era of Will Anderson, Glenn’s close friend from childhood. Six Dutchtown players, four of them starters, had transferred before the coaching change, and Battle said that factored into the administration’s decision to make a change. The transfers included all-state quarterback Mike Johnson to Douglas County and Duke-committed defensive lineman Ayden Cain to Gainesville. Battle landed at Banneker. Glenn has hired only former NFL and college players to his coaching staff. “I think that was the underrated statement about being so young is that I still know a lot of people in the football world,” Glenn told GHSF Daily intern Reggie Graham this summer. “Just because it’s not somebody who’s coached in Georgia high school for 10-20 years doesn’t mean I don’t know high-quality people.”

Region 1 coaching changes

*Evans hired Westside of Augusta coach Lee Hutto to replace Barrett Davis, who resigned in January amid a school investigation over his alleged misconduct. Hutto’s Westside teams were 23-20 in four seasons and 8-3 in 2024. Hutto also has been a head coach at Warren County (2006-08) and Washington-Wilkes (2009-10) and assisted at Richmond Academy, Veterans and alma mater Thomson. Evans was 22-22 in four seasons under Davis and 5-5 in 2024.

*Lakeside of Evans promoted defensive coordinator Brett Johnson to replace Steve Hibbitts, who became head coach at Aiken (South Carolina). Johnson, a North Augusta, South Carolina, native and former Coastal Carolina linebacker, has coached at Fox Creek (South Carolina), Westside of Augusta and Lakeside in his 11 high school seasons. Lakeside was 50-66 under Hibbitts and 10-2 last season, the program’s best finish since 2009.

Region 2 coaching changes

*Northside of Warner Robins hired Hughes coach Daniel Williams to replace Ben Bailey, who is now assistant principal of discipline at Warner Robins. Williams’ Hughes teams were 61-9 with three region titles and a state championship over the past five seasons after a 2-8 rebuilding year in 2019, his first season. Williams began coaching at another south Fulton County school, Creekside, his alma mater, in 2005. Williams joined Hughes’ staff in 2012. Northside opened the century with 15 consecutive 10-win seasons, but the past six years have been a struggle by Northside standards, with four losing seasons. The 2024 team was 2-8, the school’s worst record since 1965.

*Veterans hired Orange Beach (Alabama) assistant and former Cairo head coach Steve DeVoursney to replace Josh Ingram, who became Warner Robins’ offensive coordinator. DeVoursney has a 182-68 record as a head coach at Griffin (2000-13) and Cairo (2015-21). His 2013 Griffin team won a state title. DeVoursney, an Upson-Lee graduate, applied for the Veterans job when the school opened in 2010. Veterans was 9-21 in three seasons under Ingram and 1-9 in 2024.

Region 3 coaching changes

*Banneker hired Dutchtown coach Niketa Battle to replace Braxton Kelley, who is now Wheeler’s linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. Battle was let go at Dutchtown despite a 25-13 record over three seasons. Battle coached the previous six seasons at Mays, where his record was 44-25 with three region titles. Banneker was 15-26 in four seasons under Kelley and 2-8 in 2024.

*Dutchtown hired Georgia Southern player personnel analyst Kevon Glenn to replace Niketa Battle, who became Banneker’s coach. Glenn was a first-team AJC all-state linebacker and a GACA Class 5A defensive player of the year at Dutchtown in 2018, when the team finished 12-1 and reached that state quarterfinals. Glenn played two seasons at Florida State and two at Georgia Southern before finishing up in 2023 at UConn. He joined Georgia Southern’s staff last season, and at age 24, he’s among the youngest GHSA head coaches. Dutchtown was 27-13 in three seasons under Battle and 7-5 in 2024.

*Hughes hired Berkmar coach Andrico Hines to replace Daniel Williams, who became head coach at Northside of Warner Robins. Hines was the offensive coordinator for Hughes’ 2022 Class 6A championship team, which set a state record for points scored with 792. He was co-offensive coordinator on Creekside’s 2013 state championship team. Hines also has coached at Greene County, Riverwood, Alexander and Ware County. Hines was at Hughes one season. He is a former Riverdale, Middle Tennessee and Arena League quarterback. Hines’ record was 5-14-1 at Berkmar, a program that has suffered several winless seasons over the past 10 seasons.

Region 4 coaching changes

*Dunwoody promoted offensive coordinator Matt Schmitz to replace Michael Nash, who became Chattahoochee County’s coach. Schmitz was a head coach for two seasons (2013-14) at Newport, Kentucky, and assisted at Clinton and Sickles in Florida. He has worked in college at Tennessee Tech, UAB and U.S. Merchant Marine. Dunwoody was 34-66 in 10 seasons under Nash and 4-7 in 2024.

*Tri-Cities hired Pebblebrook coach Michael Woolridge to replace Rodney Hackney, who took Woolridge’s old job at Pebblebrook. Woolridge’s 2024 team finished 6-5, the Falcons’ best record since 2021. Woolridge was South Atlanta’s coach in 2021 and 2022. He had a 22-3 record there and led the Hornets to two state quarterfinals. Woolridge previously worked at his alma mater, Hardaway in Columbus, where he took the program to three consecutive playoff appearances after a 10-year drought. Tri-Cities was 6-4 last season under Hackney.