Newton promoted offensive coordinator Josh Skelton to head coach Friday, bringing to 32 the number of offseason GHSA football hires. There have been 67 openings. Skelton has been on Newton’s staff since 2012. It has been his only employer since leaving Jacksonville State. The former cornerback also played at Stephenson in DeKalb County.

Parkview head coach Eric Godfree resigned late Tuesday after nine seasons at his alma mater and is expected to be announced as head coach at another school soon. Godfree, who took over for longtime Parkview coach Cecil Flowe in 2014, led the Panthers to region titles in 2018 and 2019 and a 70-37 overall record.

Blessed Trinity hired Ed Dudley as its football coach Monday. Dudley, a Georgia head coach for 29 seasons, has led programs at Buford (1992-94), Walton (1995-2008), Ware County (2009-13) and most recently Winder-Barrow (2018-22).

Grayson hired Gainesville assistant Santavious Bryant as head football coach Thursday evening, filling one of the state’s most attractive jobs, while Grayson’s defensive coordinator, Danny Carlisle, was announced as Chattahoochee’s coach Friday morning. Pope, Seckinger, Dacula, Walker and Central-Macon also made hires Thursday or Friday.

Burke County has hired McEachern coach Franklin Stephens, an alumnus and former player, to replace the retiring Eric Parker. Stephens has coached at four schools, leading each to multiple region titles. He led Tucker to Class 4A championships in 2008 and 2011.

Lenny Gregory, who led Collins Hill to a Class 7A football championship in 2021, was announced as Gordon Central’s coach Thursday morning. Gregory resigned at Collins Hill in December, citing philosophical differences with the administration.

Allatoona coach Gary Varner, whose 2015 team was the first in Cobb County Schools history to win a football state championship, is retiring. Varner started Allatoona’s program in 2008 and won 129 games, four region titles and the 2015 Class 5A championship.

Centennial football coach Sean O’Sullivan resigned Wednesday to take another unnamed coaching position. O’Sullivan, who worked previously at North Atlanta, has rebuilt two struggling programs in his five seasons as a coach.

Darlington football coach Tommy Atha announced Tuesday that he would retire at the end of the academic year after 21 seasons as the Tigers’ coach, and Northside of Warner Robins hired Peach County offensive coordinator Ben Bailey as its next head coach. Atha’s teams won seven region titles and reached the state quarterfinals or better five times.

Mill Creek’s Caleb Downs, a senior safety who also spent time on offense at running back and wide receiver, had 76 tackles, five interceptions, 390 yards rushing and 422 yards receiving in leading the Hawks to the first football state championship in school. The state’s consensus No. 1 recruit and the all-classification player of the year, was among more than 400 players honored on the 2022 all-state team.

Tim McFarlin, who led Roswell and Blessed Trinity to state championships before becoming Fellowship Christian’s football coach in 2021, is jumping into college football as Georgia Tech’s director of high school relations. McFarlin confirmed the news to the AJC on Thursday evening.

The GHSA’s board of trustees will discuss instant replay to review officials’ calls, minimum seating requirements for football playoff games and NIL deals Monday at the GHSA’s Thomaston office. Only the seating requirements can come to a vote, but discussion on the other issues could set the stage for rule changes beginning in the 2023-24 academic year.

Eric Parker, who won seven region titles and a state championship as Burke County’s football coach since 2007, retired Wednesday. Parker also coached at Laney in Augusta from 1997 to 2006, and his record over 26 seasons was 208-102. His 208 victories ranked 10th among active GHSA coaches.

Ed Pilcher, best known for winning five state championships as Thomas County Central’s football coach in the 1990s, died Thursday. He was 72. Pllcher’s record was 250-116-1 over 30 seasons. The victory total is tied for 24th all-time among GHSA coaches.

First-time state champions Mill Creek and Hughes finished as the top Georgia teams in the final 2022 national high school football rankings, which were released this week. Mill Creek, which defeated Carrollton 70-35 in the Class 7A final, was the state’s highest-rated team in six of the eight widely recognized polls that were tracked by Georgia High School Football Daily.

Lowndes hired Grayson’s Adam Carter as its football coach Monday morning, Lowndes County Schools announced on its Facebook page. Carter led Grayson to the Class 7A football championship in 2020 and was 45-9 in his four seasons with the Rams of Gwinnett County.

Jackson County hired former Lanier coach Korey Mobbs as its football coach Monday. Mobbs was head coach at Knoxville Catholic in Tennessee the past two seasons and was Lanier’s coach from 2014 to 2020. His Lanier teams were 58-22 with two region championships.

The Georgia High School Association, in partnership with Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Atlanta Falcons, announced a three-year deal Thursday to bring the football and flag football state championship games back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium beginning in 2023.

Lenny Gregory of Collins Hill and Darius Smiley of Central-Carroll stepped down from coaching positions this week, bringing to 37 the number of offseason openings at GHSA schools. Gregory, who led Collins Hill to its first championship in 2021 in Class 7A, resigned Wednesday, saying his vision of the program did not match that of the new school administration.

The Georgia High School Association is expected to announce Thursday that it is moving the football championship games back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium beginning in 2023. The GHSA and the Atlanta Falcons are holding a joint media event Thursday at 2 p.m., the association said in a press release issued Tuesday afternoon.