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List: 16 new head coaches making a big difference

Former Buford and Roswell head coach John Ford is in his first season at Effingham County, and the Rebels are 4-2 overall and in second place in Region 2-6A.

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Former Buford and Roswell head coach John Ford is in his first season at Effingham County, and the Rebels are 4-2 overall and in second place in Region 2-6A.
By
Oct 19, 2021

There were 102 offseason head-coaching hires. Here are 16 teams under new coaches that are at least one touchdown better than in 2020, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. Long County, under Mike Pfiester, is 22 points better than in 2020, per Maxwell.

+22.0 - Long Co. (Mike Pfiester)

+19.8 - Effingham Co. (John Ford)

+17.0 - McDonough (Rodney Cofield)

+14.4 - Eagle’s Landing (Markus Brown)

+13.3 - Villa Rica (Tim Barron)

+12.6 - Cross Creek (Brian Lewis)

+11.4 - Banneker (Braxton Kelly)

+11.3 - Manchester (Stephen Holmes)

+11.1 - Spencer (Joseph Kegler)

+11.1 - East Forsyth (Brian Allison)

+10.6 - Crawford Co. (Craig Puckett)

+10.0 - Osborne (Luqman Salam)

+9.9 - Laney (Ronnie Baker)

+9.7 - Landmark Christian (Tommy Lewis)

+8.6 - South Cobb (Thomas Hanson)

+7.9 - Grovetown (Cory Evans)

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About the Author

Todd Holcomb covers high school sports across the state. He rejoined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2025 and has worked with the AJC in varying capacities since 1985. He is a co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.

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