Allatoona coach Gary Varner, whose 2015 team was the first in Cobb County Schools history to win a football state championship, is retiring. Varner started Allatoona’s program in 2008 and won 129 games, four region titles and the 2015 Class 5A championship.

Centennial football coach Sean O’Sullivan resigned Wednesday to take another unnamed coaching position. O’Sullivan, who worked previously at North Atlanta, has rebuilt two struggling programs in his five seasons as a coach.

Darlington football coach Tommy Atha announced Tuesday that he would retire at the end of the academic year after 21 seasons as the Tigers’ coach, and Northside of Warner Robins hired Peach County offensive coordinator Ben Bailey as its next head coach. Atha’s teams won seven region titles and reached the state quarterfinals or better five times.

Mill Creek’s Caleb Downs, a senior safety who also spent time on offense at running back and wide receiver, had 76 tackles, five interceptions, 390 yards rushing and 422 yards receiving in leading the Hawks to the first football state championship in school. The state’s consensus No. 1 recruit and the all-classification player of the year, was among more than 400 players honored on the 2022 all-state team.

Tim McFarlin, who led Roswell and Blessed Trinity to state championships before becoming Fellowship Christian’s football coach in 2021, is jumping into college football as Georgia Tech’s director of high school relations. McFarlin confirmed the news to the AJC on Thursday evening.

The GHSA’s board of trustees will discuss instant replay to review officials’ calls, minimum seating requirements for football playoff games and NIL deals Monday at the GHSA’s Thomaston office. Only the seating requirements can come to a vote, but discussion on the other issues could set the stage for rule changes beginning in the 2023-24 academic year.

Eric Parker, who won seven region titles and a state championship as Burke County’s football coach since 2007, retired Wednesday. Parker also coached at Laney in Augusta from 1997 to 2006, and his record over 26 seasons was 208-102. His 208 victories ranked 10th among active GHSA coaches.

Ed Pilcher, best known for winning five state championships as Thomas County Central’s football coach in the 1990s, died Thursday. He was 72. Pllcher’s record was 250-116-1 over 30 seasons. The victory total is tied for 24th all-time among GHSA coaches.

First-time state champions Mill Creek and Hughes finished as the top Georgia teams in the final 2022 national high school football rankings, which were released this week. Mill Creek, which defeated Carrollton 70-35 in the Class 7A final, was the state’s highest-rated team in six of the eight widely recognized polls that were tracked by Georgia High School Football Daily.

Lowndes hired Grayson’s Adam Carter as its football coach Monday morning, Lowndes County Schools announced on its Facebook page. Carter led Grayson to the Class 7A football championship in 2020 and was 45-9 in his four seasons with the Rams of Gwinnett County.