Cambridge and Mays hired football coaches this week, bringing to 22 the number of offseason hires with 27 jobs still open.
Cambridge announced Wednesday that Walton offensive coordinator Tyler Jones will succeed Craig Bennett, the program founder who became head coach at Pickens.
Jones was at 2023 Class 7A runner-up Walton for two seasons and has coached at River Ridge and Wheeler.
Cambridge, a north Fulton County school, was 6-5 last season and won its first region title in 2022 in Class 5A.
Mays, an Atlanta city school, hired Reggie “Boom” Austin, a former Mays defensive coordinator, to succeed Tony Slaton, who was 8-5 and 7-5 in his two seasons.
Austin is an Atlanta native and Harper High alumnus who played cornerback for the Chicago Bears in 2000-02.
He was on Mays’ football staff from 2015 to 2020 and also coached at Lithia Springs. His son, Reggie Jr., is a star baseball player at Vanderbilt.
“Being able to lead these young men, many of whom share a similar background to mine, fills me with an immense sense of pride and responsibility,’’ Austin said.
In other local moves, Riverwood has made Shawn Hill its permanent coach after he spent the 2023 season as the interim.
Holy Innocents’ coach Todd Winter has taken the Banks County job. Winter led the Golden Bears to region titles in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Banks County hasn’t had a winning season since 2016.
Northgate’s Mike McDonald has retired. He won 102 games over 17 seasons as head coach at Northgate, Newnan and Union Grove.
Ola’s Tom Causey has gone to Miller County, a south Georgia Class A school. Causey’s Ola teams were 6-5 and 7-4 in Region 1-5A, perhaps Class 5A’s toughest.
Jobs filled:
Baldwin: Kevin Patterson
Banks County: Todd Winter
Cambridge: Tyler Jones
Charlton County: DeMario Jones
Cherokee: Adam Holley
Coosa: Geoff Cannon
Dodge County: Phillip Brown
East Forsyth: Dustin Canon
East Laurens: Jesse Hicks
Greenbrier: Sean Tiernan
Kendrick: Emmanuel Brown
King’s Ridge Christian: Zach Slaney
Mays: Reggie Austin
Midtown: Leroy Hood
Miller County: Tom Causey
Mount Pisgah Christian: Elijer Martinez
Paulding County: Justin Pressley
Pepperell: Brandon Haywood
Pickens: Craig Bennett
Salem: Michael Johnson
Turner County: Demario Barber
Union Grove: Greg Harris
Jobs open (listed with former coach):
Arabia Mountain: Julian Washington
Brantley County: Geoff Cannon
Columbus: Phil Marino
Fayette County: Nick Davis
GMC Prep: Bobby Rhoades
Haralson County: Scott Peavey
Harrison: Josh Cassidy
Holy Innocents’: Todd Winter
Howard: Paul Carroll
Josey: Lawrence Pinkney
LaFayette: Andy Scott
Lithonia: Kevin Hill
McDonough: Rodney Cofield
Miller County: Daniel McFather
Montgomery County: Don Vandygriff
Mount Vernon: Wayne Dabbs
Northgate: Mike McDonald
Ola: Tom Causey
Pike County: Bryan Holley
South Cobb: Thomas Hanson
Stone Mountain: Greg Carter
Tattnall County: Isaac Ferrell
Tift County: Noel Dean
Treutlen: Pat Collins
Twiggs County: Patrick Wray
Wheeler County: Britt Ingle
Woodland-Cartersville Brandon Haywood
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