Challenges abound for area's newest coaches

Typically you need a roster to keep up with the new players when a new high school football season kicks off.

This year, you need one for the coaches.

Eight programs come into the start of the 2013 campaign with new head coaches (in alphabetical order -- Banks County, Commerce, East Jackson, Habersham Central, Jefferson, Lumpkin County, North Forsyth and Towns County. This comes on top of the fact that six area programs added new coaches before the 2012 season, meaning 14 of the 29 area teams we cover are in some state of flux.)

While most fans think of new as, well, new, five of the coaches have extensive experience, having led programs in the distant and recent past.

Banks County hired native son Biff Parson, whose dad coached the Leopards from 1979-88, for his first-ever coaching stint. Commerce, after being left in a lurch by Marvin Justice just two days prior to spring practice, tapped long-time defensive coordinator Michael Brown on an interim basis.

East Jackson, similar to Commerce, was left at the altar by Robert Andrews from Grayson after financial issues arose. The Eagles then turned to Gary Hughes, who was the defensive coordinator the past two seasons at Dacula, but was the head coach for 13 years at three different schools in central Florida from 1985-2001.

Towns County hired Blair Harrison, who came from Kingston High in Tennessee but was the head man at Brookstone for nine seasons in Columbus. Habersham Central tabbed Michael Pollock, who was head coach at Cook County a decade ago, and Americus-Sumter as recently as 2011.

Lumpkin County hired Decatur's Brad Waggoner, who has had just one losing season in four years as a head coach at Decatur and Chattooga. North Forsyth brought in Jason Galt, who spent the past six seasons as head coach at Dutchtown in Henry County.

Jefferson, fresh off its first-ever state championship, turned to offensive coordinator Ben Hall after legendary coach T McFerrin retired at the end of the season.

All have different challenges, but Hall, taking over his first program, will certainly see more spotlight, and scrutiny, in the group.

"There's always pressure to win but I put more pressure on myself than anyone else could," Hall said. "You don't replace a guy like Coach T. He's a legend, not just in Georgia but in the entire Southeast. I know people will be watching but I can't worry about that.

"We have great players here and they have helped make the transition very smooth. Our goal will not change here. We want to win the region, go to state, and try to win a championship."

Lumpkin County's Waggoner is no stranger to the sidelines. He spent the past season as head coach at Decatur and was head coach at Chattooga for three seasons prior to that. He spent six years as a head coach in Alabama before that.

But the opportunity for both he and his wife to teach in the same system and raise their family is what drew them to the north Georgia mountains.

"I had five guys at Decatur that were projected to be Division I but we were both driving 45 minutes in opposite directions and it was tough," Waggoner said. "When this job came open we came up here and looked around and loved it. This is a great place to raise a family and I feel we have a chance to build a solid program here. We're very excited to be here."

New Commerce coach Michael Brown is no stranger to his program, having spent the past 15 seasons as an assistant coach with the Tigers. But he is only on an interim basis for the moment.

Brown agreed to take the reigns after Marvin Justice left suddenly to take an assistant's job at Stephens County just two days before spring practice was set to begin.

"It was a tough time to try and find a new coach so I said I would do it on an interim basis to keep things moving," Brown said. "Being a head coach is not something I had really thought about much. I was very comfortable as the defensive coordinator.

"I'm from Commerce and I understand the commitment it takes here. I just want to make sure it's the best fit for me and my family and the program. We'll take a look at everything after the season is over."

Parson also is no stranger to his new school having grown up in Homer watching his dad patrol the sidelines for the Leopards. Parson is a former NFL Europe quarterback and was the offensive coordinator for the Frankfurt Galaxy for two seasons, including helping them win the 2006 World Bowl.

He spent the last four seasons as a defensive coordinator, first for Lamar County (three seasons) and last year at Mary Persons, which advanced to the Class AAAA quarterfinals.

"It's great to be able to come home. I always enjoyed being here," Parson said. "I had other opportunities but it just felt like this was the right place at the right time for me. We have some players and I think once everyone gets up to speed we have a chance to build something special here."

North Forsyth's Galt was lured away from a successful program at Dutchtown in a similar manner as Waggoner looking for a move for his family.

"I was content at Dutchtown and we had things really working our way," Galt said. "But North Forsyth called and me and family thought a it would be a good place for us to be. This is very similar to when I took over Dutchtown."

Galt's first year there was a learning process but then he guided them to five straight .500 or better seasons, including a trip to the Class AAAA quarterfinals in 2009.

"We had to change the mindset there and that's what we have to do here," Galt said. "The kids are buying in and we're really excited to get going. I like the challenge of building something."

Like Galt, East Jackson's Hughes will have to change hearts and minds before X's and O's.

"Right now our goal is to get a winning attitude back," he said. "There's been a lot of changes over the years so getting everyone on the same page about winning is the top priority."

He will have his work cut out for him as the Eagles are mired in a 16-game losing streak going back to the 2011 season.

"When you've lost 16 straight games, any game is big for building some confidence so getting some wins and seeing your success is important," he said. "We want to be as competitive as we can. That's our goal."

Habersham's Michael Pollock understands the challenges the Raiders face in Region 7-AAAAAA, which has four teams ranked in the top 10 in preseason. However, he spent four seasons as an assistant at Valdosta so he also understands what it takes to win at the highest classification.

"Football is the same no matter where you're at. I always had heard through the coaching grapevine that Habersham Central was a great place, and I jumped at the opportunity when it came," he said.

"With four teams in top 10, I would say we're probably in the toughest region in the state," said Pollock, who took over in the offseason after the Raiders went 1-9 in their first campaign in the largest classification in the state. "Our kids know what we're up against. We know our numbers aren't there with other teams (in Region 7-AAAAAA) student-body wise, but I'm used to that, and you can't use that as an excuse. You just control what you can control and the rest will take care of itself."

For Blair Harrison at Towns County, just building consistency will be the challenge. The Indians have had just one winning season in their 45-year history, a 7-3 mark in 2008.

"It took us three years at Brookstone to turn things around, and I would love to do that here," said Harrison, who guided the Cougars to seven winning seasons in his eight years there. They had just three winning seasons in the previous eight years before his arrival.

"It was good timing for me to come here. I had been back at a school in east Tennessee (for one year after leaving Brookstone) and it wasn't a good fit for me, but I wanted to stay near the area. I also wanted to work for someone that appreciated hard work and going about it the right way. Towns County fit all of those needs perfectly.

"The kids here are great, and they've done a great job helping me transition. They have really bought in and want to be successful."

Here's to wishing all the "new" coaches success in their new homes.

-- Morgan Lee contributed to this story.