Georgia high school football coaching changes: Morrow hires veteran coach

Morrow has named Jarrett Laws as its next head football coach, he confirmed to the AJC on Friday.

Laws has been a head coach in Georgia since the 2007 season. He's coached at Mt. Zion-Jonesboro, Drew, Griffin, Salem and Central-Macon. Laws and Central-Macon parted ways after an 0-10 finish to 2025.

Laws' best season came in 2014, when he led Griffin to an 11-1 record and a region championship in his first season. He led Mt. Zion to the state quarterfinals in 2008, and the school hasn't won a playoff game since his departure.

Laws will take over at another struggling program in Morrow, which is coming off a 1-9 season. The Mustangs' last winning season was a 6-5 mark in 2019.

Northgate found its next head football coach in the assistant coaching ranks of one of the top Class 4A teams in Georgia.

Kell assistant coach Chaz Ferdinand was announced as Northgate's seventh head coach on Wednesday. Ferdinand grew up close to Northgate as an alumnus of crosstown rival Newnan.

Ferdinand served as assistant head coach at Kell, coaching an offense centered around four-star running back Quinterrius "Moonie" Gipson. The Longhorns went 11-3, won their region and made the state semifinals while averaging over 31 points per game.

Northgate went 8-3 last season, a stark difference from its 2-8 finish in 2024, under former first-year coach Kevin Whitley. Westlake hired Whitley after the turnaround last season.

Northgate will make the jump to Class 7A next season and compete in a talent-drenched region with Carrollton, Douglas County, East Coweta, Westlake and Paulding County. The Vikings competed in Class 5A last season.

Veteran Georgia high school coach Sheddrick Risper will take over at Macon County, he confirmed to the AJC on Thursday.

Risper was the winningest modern era coach in Bibb County during his time at Westside-Macon. He coached the Seminoles for the last 17 seasons, amassing a 119-72 record.

Westside made the playoffs 15 times under Risper, including two trips to the quarterfinals. The Seminoles also won a region championship under Risper in 2012.

Macon County is coming off a 5-6 season that ended with a first-round playoff exit. The Bulldogs have made the playoffs for the last 14 seasons, including a state championship season in 2016.

Risper will place Kurt Williams, who parted ways with the school after two seasons. Risper will be Macon County's 12th head football coach.

Brantley County is in the market for a new head football coach after parting ways with David Shores. 

The Blue Herons went 0-10 last season for the first time since 2001, losing by an average of 33.8 points.

Shores was in his second year with the program. Brantley County went 2-8 in his first season.

Shores served as assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and safeties coach for Brunswick before Brantley County hired him. He also worked on staffs at Camden County, Lowndes and Peach County. Shores also has extensive coaching experience in the Alabama high school ranks.

Brantley County hasn't had a winning season since 2016 and hasn't made the playoffs since 2021. The Blue Herons are looking for their 16th coach in the program's 55-year history.

Washington County went to Cedartown to find its next head football coach.

The program has hired the Bulldogs' offensive coordinator Jay Ware as its next head coach, according to a WRDW report. Ware coached a 2-8 Cedartown team that averaged 18.9 points per game.

Cedartown was much better in the years before last season. The Bulldogs won at least eight games every season from 2020 to 2024 and averaged 33.6 points per game during that stretch.

Washington County replaced former University of Georgia running back and former first round NFL draft pick Robert Edwards. The school and Edwards parted ways in December.

Washington County has made the playoffs annually for the last seven seasons but hasn't won a postseason game since 2018.

Union Grove has announced Sumter County offensive coordinator Darren DeMeio as its next head coach.

DeMeio's Panthers averaged over 41 points per game last season and advanced to the semifinals.

Union Grove went 0-10 last season for the second time in school history. The last time was the program's inaugural season in 2000.

The Wolverines also averaged just 11.7 points per game.

East Jackson has found its next head football coach.

The program, coming off one of its best seasons in program history, has hired Ashley Henderson away from Jasper County.

FULL STORY HERE.

Alcovy is in the market for a new head coach, according to Garrett Pitts of The Covington News.

Fourth-year coach Spencer Fortson has stepped down from his position. Fortson went 11-29 across four seasons, the last of which ended with a 1-9 record.

Fortson was a longtime assistant coach at Newton before taking his first head coaching job at Alcovy.

Druid Hills hired Deuce Roberson away from Riverdale, the coach announced on social media.

Roberson has coached two metro Atlanta schools in the last four seasons. He led Stone Mountain in 2022 before coaching Riverdale for the last three seasons. The Raiders went 3-27 under Roberson.

Roberson also coached Savannah in 2017, leading the Blue Jackets to a 7-5 record. Savannah hasn't won more than three games in a season since his departure.

Roberson takes over a similarly struggling Druid Hills program. The Red Devils were 20-29-1 under former coach Frederick Greene. Their best season was in 2023 when they finished at 8-1-1.

Chapel Hill alumnus Julian Washington announced he will take over as head coach on social media.

"I'm home! Time to instill pride and a championship mentality back into the Chapel Hill community," Washington said in the announcement. "Let's go!"

Washington was a standout linebacker at Chapel Hill before playing at Savannah State. 

Washington served as an assistant at several Georgia programs before taking his first head coaching job at Arabia Mountain in 2021. He led a program that went 3-5 the year before he was hired to a 9-2 region championship season in 2023.

Chapel Hill went 1-9 both of the last two seasons. The Panthers have one winning season in the last five years.