Coaching changes: Cambridge, Mays make hires

Cambridge and Mays hired football coaches this week, bringing to 22 the number of offseason hires with 27 jobs still open.

Cambridge announced Wednesday that Walton offensive coordinator Tyler Jones will succeed Craig Bennett, the program founder who became head coach at Pickens.

Jones was at 2023 Class 7A runner-up Walton for two seasons and has coached at River Ridge and Wheeler.

Cambridge, a north Fulton County school, was 6-5 last season and won its first region title in 2022 in Class 5A.

Mays, an Atlanta city school, hired Reggie “Boom” Austin, a former Mays defensive coordinator, to succeed Tony Slaton, who was 8-5 and 7-5 in his two seasons.

Austin is an Atlanta native and Harper High alumnus who played cornerback for the Chicago Bears in 2000-02.

He was on Mays’ football staff from 2015 to 2020 and also coached at Lithia Springs. His son, Reggie Jr., is a star baseball player at Vanderbilt.

“Being able to lead these young men, many of whom share a similar background to mine, fills me with an immense sense of pride and responsibility,” Austin said.

In other moves, Riverwood has made Shawn Hill its permanent coach after he spent the 2023 season as the interim.

Holy Innocents’ coach Todd Winter has taken the Banks County job. Winter led the Golden Bears to region titles in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Banks County hasn’t had a winning season since 2016.

Northgate’s Mike McDonald has retired. He won 102 games over 17 seasons as head coach at Northgate, Newnan and Union Grove.

Ola’s Tom Causey has gone to Miller County, a south Georgia Class A school. Causey’s Ola teams were 6-5 and 7-4 in Region 1-5A, perhaps Class 5A’s toughest.

Click here for a complete list of head coaching hires and openings.