Former Georgia star Jarvis Jones named head coach at Carver-Columbus

Former Georgia football star Jarvis Jones was announced last week as head football coach at defending Class 2A champion Carver of Columbus, his alma mater.

Jones played on Carver’s 2007 Class 3A championship team and became an All-American linebacker at Georgia and a first-round NFL draft pick who played four NFL seasons, mostly with the Steelers.

After leaving the NFL, Jones returned to Georgia to get a degree and has worked with the football program since, most recently as player connection coordinator.

Jones was the AJC’s Class 3A defensive player of the year in 2007, when Carver won its first state title under Dell McGee, who is now Georgia State’s head coach.

Jones played one season at Southern Cal before transferring to Georgia.

After sitting out a year, he became a two-time first-team All-SEC selection. In 2012, Jones was the SEC defensive player of the year and a consensus first-team All-American for a 12-2 team that finished ranked No. 4 in the final coaches poll.

Jones will replace Pierre Coffey, who recently resigned to become the principal at Stewart County High.

The 2024 state title was Carver’s second. Carver finished 14-1 and outscored its five playoff opponents by an average score of 47-10.

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