The 16 head coaches in the state finals have won 993 games in Georgia, lost only 347, and have a winning percentage of .741. But most are new to the finals, at least as head coaches. Only Prince Avenue’s Greg Vandagriff, Cedar Grove’s John Adams and Pierce County’s Ryan Herring have won state titles. Others have won as assistants, and Coffee’s Mike Coe has won five in another state.
Here’s a closer look at them.
Class 7A
*Daniel Brunner, Walton: Brunner played at Roswell and became a four-year starter and two-time all-conference defensive lineman at Rhodes College in Memphis. He worked on staffs at Centennial, Roswell and LaGrange College before Walton hired him in 2013. Walton promoted him to head coach from defensive line coach and special teams coordinator in 2017. Brunner’s teams are 66-22 with two region titles. This will be Brunner’s first state championship game as a coach.
*Ben Reaves, Milton: Reaves played at Newton under his father, Ben Sr., and was a preferred walk-on wide receiver at Georgia in 2004 and 2005, finishing up the 2005 season as a student assistant. He’s been on high school staffs at Collins Hill, Berrien and Bay Shore in Florida. Milton hired him in 2017. He was the offensive coordinator on Milton’s 2018 Class 7A championship team that upset No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten Colquitt County. Milton promoted him last season, when he became the first rookie head coach to reach a GHSA Class 7A semifinal. His teams are 22-6 with two region titles.
Class 6A
*John Hunt, Woodward Academy: Hunt is a former All-SEC guard at Florida who played briefly in the NFL with the Cowboys and Buccaneers in the 1980s. He coached high school football in Florida for seven seasons, then joined Steve Spurrier’s staffs with Florida (1999-2001), the Redskins (2002-03) and South Carolina (2004-08). Hunt was back coaching high school teams in his native Florida when Woodward hired him as head coach in 2011. His Woodward teams are 131-35 with eight region titles. This will be Hunt’s first state championship game.
*Justin Rogers, Thomas County Central: A native of Greenville, Ala., Rogers started his coaching career just across the Georgia border at Harris County (2002-09). His stint as Griffin’s offensive coordinator (2010-13) propelled him as an innovator as the 2013 Bears team averaged 42.7 points per game and won the Class 4A title. Rogers was Jones County’s head coach for five seasons, leading the Greyhounds to their first two 10-win seasons (2014, 2017). He was Colquitt County’s coach from 2019 to 2021 and won a region title and was 26-7. His teams have won two region titles and 26 of 27 games in two seasons at Thomas County Central, which will be playing in its first championship game since 2002.
Class 5A
*Mike Coe, Coffee: Coe was an all-state high school center who endured four knee surgeries. He says he has known since the sixth grade that he’d be a football coach. And he’s been one since the 12th grade, when he coached his alma mater Auburndale (Fla.) High’s JV team the spring before graduation. Coe remained on Auburndale’s staff until Madison County of Florida hired him in 2003. He became Madison County’s head coach in 2010. His teams won state titles in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, and he was inducted into the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2020. Coe’s Coffee teams are 24-3 and will be playing for the first state title in school history.
*Maurice Dixon, Creekside: Dixon, the only state finals coach working at his alma mater, was an all-state lineman at Creekside and played at Bethune-Cookman and West Georgia. He also played basketball, wrestled and competed in track and field at Creekside. Dixon had worked as offensive coordinator at Mount Zion and Drew in Clayton County before Creekside hired him as head coach in 2017. Despite an 0-10 rookie season, Dixon has led Creekside to four region titles and three straight 10-win seasons.
Class 4A
*Thomas Clark, Stockbridge: Clark was an offensive lineman at Naxapater High in Philadelphia, Miss., and at West Virginia Tech. He coached at Tech for three seasons, then came to Georgia on the encouragement of former college teammates from Henry County. He has been at Stockbridge since. He was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach during a 2012-18 run in which the Tigers won at least 11 games each season. He was athletic director in 2019 and 2020, then hired as head coach in 2021. Stockbridge has won region titles the past two seasons and is in the finals for the first time in the football program’s 60-season history. This will be Clark’s first state final.
*Kevin Smith, Perry: Smith was an undersized offensive lineman at LaGrange in the 1980s. He’s spent most of his coaching career in Houston County. He coached 16 seasons a Northside, four as defensive coordinator. Smith was the defensive line coach on Northside’s 2006 and 2007 state championship teams. He was on Houston County’s staff for three seasons and spent two years at Griffin. Perry hired him in 2017. Smith led Perry to its first region title in 61 years in 2020. He has won three region titles, and his teams are 59-26 over seven seasons at a program that won 28 games the previous seven seasons.
Class 3A
*John Adams, Cedar Grove: Adams is a Southwest DeKalb graduate who played football under coach Buck Godfrey. He played baseball for two years at South Carolina and finished up his undergraduate degree at Jackson State in 2007. Adams had been Cedar Grove’s defensive backs coach since 2016 when promoted to head coach in 2021. He previously coached at Miller Grove, North Atlanta and Northwest Rankin in Mississippi. This is Adams’ third season as Cedar Grove’s head coach. In 2021, he won a state title in his first season. He has been with Cedar Grove for all four of the school’s state titles.
*Baker Woodward, Savannah Christian: Woodward was a quarterback at his now-archrival Calvary Day and later worked on Calvary’s staff for six seasons. He worked at Bethesda Academy for three seasons, then joined Benedictine’s staff and was offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2017, winning state titles in 2014 and 2016. Savannah Christian hired him in 2018. His teams are 57-18 with two region titles.
Class 2A
*Ryan Herring, Pierce County: Herring was a member of a state championship team as a player at Oxford, Ala., under his father, Robert Herring. He then won a national championship as a defensive back at North Alabama. Herring was Pierce County’s defensive coordinator from 2001 to 2004, and Pierce hired him back as head coach in 2019 after he’d been a head coach for 13 years in Alabama at Oxford, Lincoln and Selby County. Herring’s Pierce teams in five seasons are 59-8 with four region titles and the school’s first state title (2020).
*Biff Parson, Rockmart: Parson played quarterback at Franklin County and Liberty University and then for a season in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The son of a long-time Georgia coach, Ronnie Parson, Biff has worked on staffs at Hart County, Liberty, NFL Europe, Dublin, Lamar County and Mary Persons. He was Banks County’s head coach when Rockmart hired him in 2016. He has won seven straight region titles and holds an eight-year record of 83-17. Rockmart had won only 38 games the previous eight seasons. His 2018 Rockmart team was the 2A runner-up.
Class A Division I
*Scott Roberts, Swainsboro: Roberts was a quarterback at Irwin County in the early 1990s and played two years of baseball at South Georgia College. He started coaching in 1997 and has worked on staffs of eight programs. He was Swainsboro’s head coach in 2008 and 2009 but strangely fired after a 10-2 finish. A new administration hired him back in 2017 after four seasons as Bainbridge’s offensive coordinator. In 2018, the Tigers won their first playoff game since his 2009 team. In seven seasons, Roberts has won three region titles and 64 games. Swainsboro’s 2022 and 2023 finals appearances are the school’s first since its 2000 Class 3A title.
*Greg Vandagriff, Prince Avenue Christian: Vandagriff played wide receiver and free safety at Halls High in Knoxville, Tenn., and at Tennessee Wesleyan. He came to Georgia in the 1990s, first as Wheeler’s defensive coordinator, then was head coach at Campbell (1999-2001) and Kell (2003). He was Woodward Academy’s defensive coordinator for 12 seasons before Prince Avenue hired him as head coach in 2016. Vandagriff’s eight-season record at Prince Avenue is 96-12 with four region titles and two state championships.
Class A Division II
*Richard Fendley, Bowdon: Fendley is the son of Richard Findley Sr., a longtime defensive coordinator and for five seasons the head coach at Warner Robins. Fendley Jr. was a center at Warner Robins and a sophomore on the Demons’ 1988 Class 4A championship team. He played four seasons at tackle at West Georgia. Bowdon hired Fendley as head coach in 2018. He’d been an assistant at Heard County from 2008 to 2016, when he also headed up the Braves’ weightlifting teams that won three state titles. Fendley’s Bowdon teams are 52-22 despite a 1-9 first season. The 2022 state title was the school’s first since 1992.
*Stephen Holmes, Manchester: Homes played defensive line at Temple and then at Jacksonville State (1997-2002). Manchester hired him as head coach in 2021 after eight coaching stops as an assistant, including one at Manchester (2013-14). He also worked at Upson-Lee, Villa Rica (twice), Pike County, Spalding, Griffin and most recently Sandy Creek. His Manchester teams are 25-11 in three seasons. This is Manchester’s first state finals appearance since its 1997 Class A championship team.
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