Bruce Miller, who led Gainesville to its first football state championship in 2012 and won 225 games in 30 seasons as a head coach, retired this week.
Miller took over the Gainesville job in 2002 after leading North Forsyth to its first and only semifinal appearance in 2001. Miller then led Gainesville to a semifinal season in his first season and never failed to make the playoffs in his 16 years with the Red Elephants.
Gainesville would reach the Class AAA final in 2010 but fell short for the seventh time in school history, maintaining position as the most successful football program in Georgia without a state title.
But in 2012, Gainesville broke through with quarterback Deshaun Watson, Miller’s most famous former player. Others coached by Miller at Gainesville included Blake Sims, Tai-ler Jones, A.J. Johnson and Kendrick Lewis.
Miller’s record is 225-126. He won nine region titles and coached 30 first-team all-state players.
Veterans hires former ECI coach Turner
Veterans has hired former Emanuel County Institute head coach Milan Turner to replace David Bruce, who started the program in 2010. Turner most recently had been a defensive assistant at Coffee, the Class AAAAAA runner-up last season. Turner led ECI to a state title in 2007 with star player Washaun Ealey. His record at ECI was 89-22. Turner was an assistant at Veterans rival Warner Robins when the Demons won the Class AAAA title in 2004.
Thomas Central hires Valwood coach
Thomas County Central has hired Ashley Henderson, who has led Valwood in Valdosta to three state titles in the Georgia Independent School Association, to replace Bill Shaver. Henderson's record at Valwood is 66-12 with championships in 2013, 2016 and 2017. Henderson, a Valdosta graduate, is a former offensive lineman at Georgia Tech, where he was a teammate of former Thomas Central star Joe Burns. Henderson finished up at Valdosta State, where he began his coaching career. Shaver was Thomas Central's coach the past 10 seasons. His record was 74-40 overall, 3-8 in 2017.
Grady picks Mays assistant
Grady has hired Mays defensive assistant Kevin Clark to replace Earthwind Moreland. Clark has coached for 18 seasons but never been a head coach. Moreland led Grady to a 10-2 finish in 2016, but the Knights dropped to 207 last season.
Tankersley gets Stephens County job
Wesley Tankersley is the new head coach at Stephens County. Tankersley's record in 10 seasons as a head coach is 65-44. He inherited a Ridgeland team that had gone 4-6 in 2014 and left with a 11-1 record in 2017. Tankersley also coached at Gilmer, where he inherited a team that had gone 2-8 in 2007 and left it with an 8-3 finish in 2014. Stephens County was 29-15 in four seasons under Frank Barden.
Berrien brings back Alligood
Berrien on Tuesday hired Coffee assistant Tim Alligood as its new head coach. Alligood was Berrien's defensive coordinator before going to Coffee two years ago. He had been an assistant at Fitzgerald, Tift County and Lowndes.
Here are 46 reported openings this off-season
| School | New coach | Came from (seasons) | Previous coach | Went to |
| Apalachee | Steve Sims (3) | |||
| Armuchee | Muhammad Abdellatif (4) | |||
| Banks County | Chad Cheatham | Josh Shoemaker (2) | ||
| Berkmar | Willie Gary | Kenan Dever (3) | ||
| Berrien | Tim Alligood | Bill Cribb (2) | ||
| Bowdon | Richard Fendley | Robert Andrews (3) | Walnut Grove | |
| Brantley County | Geoff Cannon | Mark Walker (8) | ||
| Bryan County | Abram Scott | Mario Mincey (1) | ||
| Carver-Columbus | Calvin Arnold (1) | |||
| Cherokee Bluff (new) | Tommy Jones | Dacula (5) | ||
| Creekview | Terry Crowder (5) | Denmark | ||
| Dacula | Tommy Jones (5) | Cherokee Bluff | ||
| Denmark (new) | Terry Crowder | Creekview (5) | ||
| East Laurens | Chris Robinson (2) | |||
| Franklin County | Paul Sutherland | Jerry Underwood (5) | ||
| Gainesville | Bruce Miller (16) | |||
| Grady | Kevin Clark | Earthwind Moreland (4) | ||
| Greene County | Robert Edwards (6) | |||
| Hiram | Pete Fominaya | Chris Brown (5) | ||
| Jordan | Justin Newman (2) | |||
| Kendrick | Cedric Ware (3) | |||
| Kennesaw Mountain | Caleb Carmean | Andy Scott (6) | ||
| LaGrange | Dialleo Burks (4) | |||
| Landmark Christian | Wayne Brantley (6) | |||
| Lanier County | Carl Parker (3) | |||
| Lincoln County | Kevin Banks (4) | |||
| Metter | Chris Johnson (3) | |||
| Miller Grove | Justin Larmond (2) | |||
| Model | Gordon Powers (12) | |||
| North Paulding | Jim Bob Bryant | Scott Jones (6) | ||
| Northside-Columbus | Morgan Ingram (5) | |||
| Putnam County | Kyle Gourley (5) | |||
| Ridgeland | Wesley Tankersley (3) | Stephens County | ||
| Riverwood | Mark Myers (1) | |||
| Savannah Christian | Donald Chumley (13) | |||
| South Paulding | Ed Koester (5) | |||
| Stephens County | Wesley Tankersley | Ridgeland (3) | Frank Barden (4) | |
| Thomas County Central | Ashley Henderson | Valwood School (6) | Bill Shaver (10) | |
| Twiggs County | Kelvin Blackshear | Zackery Harris (1) | ||
| Veterans | Milan Turner | David Bruce (8) | ||
| Walnut Grove | Robert Andrews | Bowdon (3) | Ben Reaves (5) | |
| Westover | Octavia Jones (8) | |||
| Wheeler County | Randy Collins (2) | |||
| Whitefield Academy | Coleman Joiner | John Hunter (2) | ||
| Wilcox County | Ken Cofer | Mark Ledford (17) |
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