Northview football, coach Drayton ‘split amicably’ after 2 seasons
Mario Drayton is out as football coach at Northview despite improving the Titans’ victory total in each of his two seasons.
Northview, a Class 5A school in north Fulton County, was 4-6 this season playing a nonregion schedule. The Titans were 2-8 in 2025 and 1-9 the season before hiring Drayton.
“I didn’t necessarily want to (resign); it was more of a mutual thing,” Drayton told AJC Varsity. “They didn’t believe in the direction I was going, even though in two years here we won more games than the previous regime won in four years. There were a lot of personal feelings that played into it, so we decided to split amicably. I’ll probably go find another team that needs improvement and do what I do. I’ve never been at a school that I didn’t leave better than I found it.”
Northview had won only three games in three seasons when it hired Drayton, formerly McNair’s coach in DeKalb County, in 2025.
After the 2-8 finish in his first season, Drayton chose to play a nonregion schedule in 2026. The four victories are the most for Northview since 2019. Drayton pointed to close losses against Johns Creek (24-17) and Chattahoochee (26-20) as signs of improvement. Chattahoochee beat Northview 53-0 in 2023.
“We were two plays away from beating our two biggest rivals,” Drayton said. “The last time played Chattahoochee and Johns Creek, it was a blood bath. We probably could’ve played a region schedule and done well. I just felt the foundation was so fractured when I got here that we needed to stop back and start from the bottom.”
Drayton, a Florida native, has been a high school coach for 21 seasons and been on staffs at Lowndes, Thomas County Central, Cook and others. At McNair, his 2022 team ended a 24-game losing streak and his 2024 team broke a 17-year playoff drought.
