Villa Rica coach Tim Barron, best known for his seven region championships and 2018 Class 2A title at Heard County, is retiring, joining a list of about a dozen coaches to hang up their whistles this offseason.
On Monday, South Atlanta posted an opening, meaning that Michael Woolridge is leaving after two seasons with two region titles and a 23-2 record.
Those announcements brought to 85 the number of GHSA coaching openings overall since the 2022 season closed.
Barron will be replaced by his son, Austin Barron, one of 64 new hires.
That leaves 21 openings. Among them are Allatoona, Parkview, Sandy Creek and Pebblebrook. None has made an announcement, but each is expected to get board approval this month to hire 2022 GHSA head coaches who have resigned in anticipation of their next moves.
Meanwhile, Barron joins an impressive list of notable retirees that include Sandy Creek’s Brett Garvin, Allatoona’s Gary Varner, Burke County’s Eric Parker, Jefferson County’s J.B Arnold, Statesboro’s Jeff Kaiser and Darlington’s Tommy Atha.
Barron, Garvin, Varner and Parker all won state titles. Another with a state title who retired from public schools was Peach County’s Chad Campbell, though he’s still working after taking over at Westfield, a GIAA school in Perry.
Barron’s 24-year coaching record was 176-100. His Villa Rica teams were 9-3 and 4-6 in two seasons.
Here are the 84 openings 64 hires as of Monday, March 13. Teams with openings are listed in bold.
Alexander - Cody Neal. Former coach: Olten Downs
Allatoona - Open. Former coach: Gary Varner
Apalachee - Mike Hancock. Former coach: Tony Lotti
Armuchee - Eric Belew. Former coach: Jeremy Green
Berkmar - Open. Former coach: Cole Meyer
Blessed Trinity - Ed Dudley. Former coach: Tom Hall
Burke County - Franklin Stephens. Former coach: Eric Parker
Campbell - Jeff Phillips. Former coach: Howie Decristofaro
Centennial - Adam Miller. Former coach: Sean O’Sullivan
Central-Carrollton - Umbrah Brown. Former coach: Darius Smiley
Central-Macon - Jarrett Laws. Former coach: Joaquin Sample
Central-Talbotton - Andrew Hall. Former coach: Chris Cowart
Chattahoochee - Danny Carlisle. Former coach: Mike Malone
Chattahoochee County - Josh Jacobson. Former coach: Ryan McKenzie
Chattooga - Roone Gable. Former coach: Shawn Peek
Chestatee - Stuart Cunningham. Former coach: Shaun Conley
Clarkston - Open. Former coach: Terrance Hughey
Coahulla Creek - Drew Carter. Former coach: Danny Wilson
Collins Hill - Drew Swick. Former coach: Lenny Gregory
Dacula - Reggie Stancil. Former coach: Casey Vogt
Darlington - Wayne Groves. Former coach: Tommy Atha
Discovery - Open. Former coach: Efrem Hill
Dodge County - Thomas Smith. Former coach: Ray Hardin
Eagle’s Landing - Johnny Teemer. Former coach: Markus Brown
Early County - Open. Former coach: Joel Harvin
Fellowship Christian - John Thompson. Former coach: Tim McFarlin
Forsyth Central - Chad Pickett. Former coach: David Rooney
Franklin County - Chuck Holland. Former coach: Parker Martin
GMC Prep - Bobby Rhoades. Former coach: Lee Coleman
Gordon Central - Lenny Gregory. Former coach: TJ Hamilton
Grayson - Santavious Bryant. Former coach: Adam Carter
Griffin - Clifford Fedd. Former coach: Rusty Easom
Hardaway - Ryan McKenzie. Former coach: Corey Thompson
Hawkinsville - Tim Suttles. Former coach: Shane Williamson
Jackson - Open. Former coach: Dary Myricks
Jackson County - Korey Mobbs. Former coach: Rich McWhorter
Jefferson County - Marlo East. Former coach: JB Arnold
Johns Creek - Jim Rowell. Former coach: Drew Connell
Johnson (Savannah) - Steven Smith. Former coach: Kenderrick Bonner
Loganville - Open. Former coach: Brad Smith
Lowndes - Adam Carter. Former coach: Zach Grage
ML King - Joel Kight. Former coach: Deante Lamar
McEachern - Kareem Reid. Former coach: Franklin Stephens
Metter - Lee Shaw. Former coach: Rodney Garvin
Miller County - Open. Former coach: Nate George
New Manchester - Olten Downs. Former coach: Cedric Jackson
Newton - Josh Skelton. Former coach: Camiel Grant
North Gwinnett - Eric Godfree. Former coach: Bill Stewart
North Springs - Robert Brauch. Former coach: Jeff Phillips
Northside (Warner Robins) - Ben Bailey. Former coach: Chad Alligood
Parkview - Open. Former coach: Eric Godfree
Paulding County - Sumo Robinson. Former coach: Umbrah Brown
Peach County - Marquis Westbrook. Former coach: Chad Campbell
Pebblebrook - Open. Former coach: Leroy Hood
Pope - Sean O’Sullivan. Former coach: Tab Griffin
Providence Christian - Open. Former coach: Joe Sturdivant
Putnam County - Joel Harvin. Former coach: Shaun Pope
Redan - Damien Wimes. Former coach: Derek Vaughn
Ringgold - Austin Crisp. Former coach: Robert Akins
Rockdale County - Open. Former coach: Lee Hannah
Rutland - Open. Former coach: Jamarcus Johnson
Salem - Leroy Hood. Former coach: Jarrett Laws
Sandy Creek - Open. Former coach: Brett Garvin
Savannah - Open. Former coach: Michael Moore
Seckinger - Tony Lotti. Former coach: Aaron Hill
Shaw - Johnny Garner. Former coach: Blair Harrison
South Atlanta - Open. Former coach: Michael Woolridge
South Paulding - Open. Former coach: Eric “Sumo” Robinson
Southwest DeKalb - Marion Bell. Former coach: Damien Wimes
Statesboro - Matt Dobson. Former coach: Jeff Kaiser
Sumter County - Will Rogers. Former coach: Clifford Fedd
Toombs County - Buddy Martin. Former coach: Richie Marsh
Treutlen - Pat Collins. Former coach: Steve Versprille
Tri-Cities - Open. Former coach: Cuevas Dargan
Twiggs County - Open. Former coach: Irade Perry
Vidalia - Rodney Garvin. Former coach: Jason Cameron
Villa Rica - Austin Barron. Former coach: Tim Barron
Walker - T.J. Anderson. Former coach: Tom Evangelista
Warner Robins - Shane Sams. Former coach: Marquis Westbrook
Westover - Octavia Jones. Former coach: Adam Miller
Wheeler County - Open. Former coach: Thomas Smith
Whitefield Academy - Robert Walsh. Former coach: Coleman Joiner
Winder-Barrow - Robert Paxia. Former coach: Ed Dudley
Woodland-Stockbridge - Open. Former coach: Julian Hicks
Woodstock - Dan Devine. Former coach: Troy Hoff
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