Greene, Irwin among 12 Class A Division II teams with new head coaches
Number of hires: 12
Best hire: Darius Robinson, Greene County
Hardest to replace: Rob Stowe, Wilcox County
Best job: Irwin County
Toughest job: Savannah
Most interesting: Greene County and its successful coach, Terrence Banks, parted ways mutually after Banks went 24-10 in three seasons at a program that was 7-22 during the previous three. Banks wound up back in Class 6A with Central Gwinnett. He’d been in the highest class at another Gwinnett County school, Meadowcreek, before taking Greene County and expressed pleasure in the slower pace. Greene made an excellent choice to replace him, nabbing Valdosta running backs coach Darius Robinson. Robinson came to Valdosta after leading J.M. Robinson of North Carolina to a 25-7 record over three seasons.
Region 1
*Pataula Charter hired Valdosta defensive assistant T.J. Brown to replace Sam Brown, who is now Bainbridge’s tight ends coach. T.J. Brown grew up in Valdosta and had been on Valdosta’s staff all but two seasons since 2018. He also worked on staffs at alma mater Lanier County and Randolph-Clay. He’s a Navy veteran who served two tours in Iraq. Pataula was 4-6 in Sam Brown’s only season. Pataula does not play a region schedule.
*Pelham hired Hardaway coach Ryan McKenzie to replace Leonard Guyton. McKenzie’s last Hardaway team was 4-6 after going 0-10 in 2023. He was 5-6 in one season at Chattahoochee County. McKenzie had been Bleckley County’s offensive coordinator and also coached at Sumter County, Central of Macon, Brunswick and alma mater Macon County. Pelham was 11-23 in three seasons under Guyton, 3-8 in 2024. Guyton is not coaching anywhere this season.
*Terrell County hired Pelham co-defensive coordinator Marco Kirk to replace Jack Harris, who became Terrell Academy’s head coach. A Worth County native in his 13th season, Kirk has been on staffs at Pelham, Turner County, McIntosh County Academy and Sherwood Christian. Terrell County was 27-31 in Harris’s seven seasons, 2-8 in 2024.
Region 2
*Irwin County hired Central Gwinnett coach Larry Harold to replace Casey Soliday, who retired from public schools and joined brother Erik Soliday's staff at Tiftarea Academy. Harold has been a head coach at five schools over 10 seasons, most recently at Central Gwinnett since 2022. He won a region title at Macon County with NFL star and former Georgia player Roquan Smith in 2014. Irwin County was 54-16 with a 2020 state title in five seasons under Casey Soliday.
Region 3
*Claxton hired Screven County offensive coordinator Phillip Richards to replace Greg Hill, who is now Thomson’s wide receivers coach. Richards, a Savannah native, is in his 35th season as a high school coach. That includes previous head-coaching stints at New Hampstead (2016) and Pelham (2004-07). He was Screven’s offensive coordinator in 2024 and 2022 and was on Edmund Burke Academy’s staff in 2023. Claxton was 9-33 in Hill’s four seasons, 1-9 in 2024.
*Emanuel County Institute promoted assistant Chad Harper to replace Chris Kearson, who retired from public schools and is now Bulloch Academy’s defensive coordinator. Harper has been on ECI’s football staff for 26 seasons. He has been ECI’s head baseball coach for 18 seasons. ECI was 112-52 in Kearson’s 14 seasons with a Class A championship in 2012.
*Savannah hired Jenkins defensive coordinator Moses Green to replace Anthony Tolliver, who became head coach at Hidden Valley in Virginia. Green was on Jenkins’ staff the past four seasons, including the 2023 Class 5A quarterfinal team and the 2024 Class 3A second-round finishers. Green is an alumnus of Savannah’s Bethesda Academy and Savannah State. Savannah has lost 35 consecutive games.
Region 4
*Dooly County hired Northside of Warner Robins defensive line coach Tony Alexander to replace Cecil Lester, who is now Monroe’s wide receivers coach. Alexander is a former Georgia Southern player. He began coaching at Crisp County in 2019. Dooly County finished 0-10 last season after going 8-5 in 2023 while winning the school’s first region title since 1999.
*Wilcox County promoted offensive coordinator Stephen McDuffie to replace Rob Stowe, who became Union County's head coach. McDuffie has coached at Wilcox, his alma mater, for 13 years, 12 as head baseball coach, seven as an assistant football coach. He also coached baseball and football at Hawkinsville. He will no longer coach the baseball team, a state runner-up last season. Wilcox was 50-24 in Stowe’s six seasons, 7-4 in 2024.
Region 5
None
Region 6
*Chattahoochee County hired Dunwoody coach Michael Nash to replace Bruce Figgins, who is now Lumpkin County’s offensive line coach. Nash’s Dunwoody teams were 34-66 over 10 seasons and made the playoffs the past two seasons. Chattahoochee County was 3-7 under Figgins, who had been the Panthers’ ninth coach since 2010.
*Marion County promoted offensive coordinator Jeff Collins to replace Billy Law, who retired. Collins was Marion’s offensive coordinator the past two seasons and previously coached at Manchester, Harris County, Brookstone and Knoxville Central. Marion County was 16-32 in Law’s five seasons, 5-6 in 2024.
Region 7
None
Region 8
*Greene County hired Valdosta running backs coach Darius Robinson to replace Terrence Banks, who became Central Gwinnett's head coach. Robinson came to Valdosta in 2023 after leading J.M. Robinson of North Carolina to a 25-7 record over three seasons. He previously been defensive coordinator at Central Cabarrus in North Carolina and Blythewood in his native South Carolina. Greene County was 24-10 in three seasons under Banks and was 8-3 in 2024.
