South Atlanta hires Franklin as head coach; eight jobs unfilled

South Atlanta hired Jeff Franklin as football coach this week, leaving only eight GHSA jobs unfilled in an offseason that has seen 94 openings.

South Atlanta, a Class 2A school, was perhaps the top job on the board. The Hornets have won three consecutive region titles and gone 11-2 and 11-1 the past two seasons under Michael Woolridge, who left for Pebblebrook, a Class 7A school in Cobb County.

Franklin, the defensive coordinator at Woodland in Stockbridge last season, is a Chicago native with a diverse coaching background. He has coached at South Gwinnett in Georgia, Chicago Bulls Prep in his home state and Bridgton Academy in Maine. He’s made college stops at Holy Cross, Wabash College, Wright State and alma mater Central State and worked internationally for the Milano Daemons in Italy and the Minas Locomotives in Brazil.

That’s since 2009, when he was a star defensive back at Central State, where he was inducted into the school’s sports hall of fame in 2019. He also played two seasons of arena football, winning a pair of Continental Indoor Football League titles.

Jobs still open are Baconton Charter, Berrien, Crawford County, Cross Keys, Greenville, Riverdale, Twiggs County and Wheeler County.

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