Class A Public
Number of hires: 11
Best hire: Dondrial Pinkins, Mitchell County
Hardest to replace: Dondrial Pinkins, Pelham
Best job: Commerce
Toughest job: Central (Talbotton)
Most interesting: Pelham and Mitchell County are county rivals that have alternated winning region titles the past five seasons, three going to Pelham, two to Mitchell. This offseason, Mitchell County hired away Pelham’s coach – Dondrial Pinkins. He’s a Mitchell County alumnus, so the move wasn’t implausible, but it certainly adds spice to the archrivals’ Aug. 20 game, the opener for both teams. A similar move took place in Jackson County, where Commerce coach Michel Brown became associate head coach at Jefferson. Brown’s son, Sammy, is also at Jefferson now. The star running back is a major college prospect who made first-team all-state as a freshman. Commerce and Jefferson once were fierce rivals, but Jefferson has grown into a Class 4A school, and the two programs haven’t met in football since 2015.
Region 1
*Mitchell County hired Pelham coach Dondrial Pinkins to replace Deshon Brock, who is now Bradwell Institute’s coach. Pinkins, a Mitchell County alumnus and former star quarterback, was 53-15 with three region titles in six seasons with Pelham. He was Mitchell County’s coach from 2009 to 2011 and was 19-13 with one region title. Mitchell County was 5-4 last season.
*Pelham hired Thomas County Central defensive coordinator Lamar Landing to replace Dondrial Pinkins, who became head coach at Mitchell County. Landing was at Thomas Central for five seasons, also working as head of the middle school program, which he left on a 20-game winning streak. Landing was on Thomasville’s staff the 11 seasons prior. This will be his 29th season on high school sidelines for the Florida native who came to Georgia in 2003. Pelham originally hired Valdosta assistant Shawn Sutton, but Sutton backed out days later because of family issues and moved to his native Alabama. Pelham was 6-2 in 2020 and won its third region title in five seasons.
*Randolph-Clay promoted defensive coordinator Scott Swantic to replace Wes Murphy. Swantic, a former Southeast Whitfield and N.C. State player, has previously assisted at Gordon Lee, Calhoun and North Murray and was defensive coordinator at Franklin County and Gordon Central. Randolph-Clay has gone 4-35 since its last playoff appearance and winning season in 2016.
*Seminole County hired Central (Talbotton) coach Cedric Stegall to replace Trey Woolf, who retired. Stegall’s teams were 6-41 in five seasons at Central, a program that last had a winning season in the 1990s. He’s previously assisted at Upson-Lee, Americus-Sumter and Worth County. Seminole was 3-7 in 2020 and last had a winning season in 2013.
Region 2
None
Region 3
*Claxton hired Statesboro offensive coordinator Greg Hill to replace Tony Welch, who became head coach at Jenkins. Hill is a former quarterback who led Georgia Southern to a national title in 1999 and served on the Eagles’ staff in 2002 and 2003. Hill was Bradwell Institute’s head coach from 2014 to 2016. Claxton was 3-6 in 2020 and 18-23 in Welch’s four seasons.
*Portal hired Coffee offensive assistant Jason McEachin to replace Matt Smith. McEachin also coached at Toombs County, Emanuel County Institute and Swainsboro. Portal was 0-7 in 2020 and last won more than three games in a season in 2011 (6-4). Smith remains at Portal as a teacher.
Region 4
None
Region 5
*Central of Talbotton hired Central of Macon line coach and run-game coordinator Chris Cowart to replace Cedric Stegall, who became head coach at Seminole County. A former Georgia Southern and Carver (Columbus) player, Cowart began coaching in 2015, his first season at Chattahoochee County, the rest at Central of Macon.
*Manchester hired Sandy Creek offensive line coach Stephen Holmes to replace James Moore. Holmes, a former lineman at Temple and Jacksonville State, was on Manchester’s staff in 2013 and 2014. In his 19th season as a coach, Holmes also has assisted at Griffin, Spalding, Pike County, Upson Lee, Villa Rica and Alexander. Former coach Moore is now the offensive coordinator at Wayne County in Mississippi.
Region 6
None
Region 7
*Crawford County hired its baseball coach, Craig Puckett, to replace Jhon Smith. Puckett, a Crawford County alumnus, had been on the football staff for four seasons but stepped away after the 2011 season to focus on baseball, though he has run the middle school program that past few years. Crawford County was 0-10 in 2020.
Region 8
*Commerce hired North Cobb Christian coach Mark Hollars to replace Michael Brown. Hollars’ North Cobb Christian teams were 26-9 over the past three seasons, advancing to the playoffs each year. Brown became associate head coach at Jefferson. His teams were 73-25 over eight seasons and won their first region title in 17 years last season.
*Lake Oconee Academy hired Camden County special teams coordinator Drew Anthony to start the football program. Lake Oconee will play a JV schedule this season and varsity schedule in 2022. Anthony also has coached at Buford, where he was part of eight state titles in 14 seasons.
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