News Detail
Ranking Athens-area’s 10 greatest high school football coaches of all-time — Here’s the list (ABH)
Former Athens Academy football coach Michael Gunn checks in at #6
Back
Athens has a rich and storied tradition of high school football, and many coaches have provided unforgettable memories on and off the field.
To compile our list, we took into account on-the-field success and paired it with the impact their programs had on Athens and its area communities.
Some coaches spent nearly their entire career at one school while others left lasting impacts during their brief stays in the area.
Here’s our list of the 10 coaches that meant the most to the Athens area.
1. Billy Henderson
Ask any athlete that played under Billy Henderson and they’d describe him as more than a coach.
Henderson, who died in 2018, was one of Athens’ most beloved human beings and will be forever revered for the person he was on the sidelines, in the classroom and in the community.
In his 23 years as Clarke Central’s head coach, Henderson claimed 11 region titles and three state championships, including a 15-0 mark in 1985 with players like David Perno, the Gladiators current head coach.
Overall, Henderson won 285 games in his career, 222 as the head man of Clarke Central, where his name adorns the stadium.
2. Ray Lamb
In 22 seasons, Lamb led Commerce to eight region titles and the 1981 Class A state championship. His 190 wins with the Tigers came with a .757 winning percentage and he added 59 more wins during stints at Warren County (where he won two state titles before joining Commerce) and Monroe Area.
Lamb later worked at UGA as director of high school relations under former coach Mark Richt, and he’s had a family full of coaches garner great success at Calhoun High School and Mercer University.
3. Steve Savage
Savage continued Lamb’s legacy in Commerce, winning 180 games, six region championships and the 2000 state championship after succeeding Lamb in 1989 as the Tigers’ coach.
For 43 years, Savage and Lamb combined as Commerce’s only coaches, with an overall record of 371-136 and a .731 winning percentage.
4. Jeff Herron
Herron ranks 15th in total wins (287) in Georgia, two ahead of Henderson, but 154 of his wins and three of his five state championships were with Camden County in Southeast Georgia.
But what he did in his time in the Athens area makes him one of the region’s most beloved head coaches. Herron led Oconee County to the 1999 Class 3A state title, finishing 33-6 in three seasons in Watkinsville.
He also won region championships in his three seasons at Prince Avenue Christian (31-6 record) and led Cedar Shoals (32-11) during a four-year span in the early 1990s.
5. T McFerrin
McFerrin is tied for ninth in all-time wins (317) in Georgia. While many of those weren’t in the Athens-area, his two state championships came as a coach in the region.
McFerrin’s 75 wins at Elbert County were his most at any school in Georgia and he led the Blue Devils to their lone state title in 1995.
6. Michael Gunn
In 23 seasons at Athens Academy, Gunn won seven region titles and departed following the 2013 season with a 194-72 record. The Spartans reached the state quarterfinals six times and the state semifinals twice under Gunn’s leadership.
He begins his first season at Walker High School in Marietta this year.
7. Jim Stoudenmire
Perhaps the most underrated coach on the list, Stoudenmire won a pair of region titles at Jefferson and claims two of the three region titles in Oglethorpe County’s 69 seasons of football.
Stoudenmire was 135-82-4 in 20 seasons at the two area schools, and added nine more wins in two seasons at Monroe Area.
He’s one of just two coaches all-time with winning records at Oglethorpe County (83-58). The other? John Nix (15-5) in 1968-69.
8. Scott Wilkins
Wilkins went 108-68-1 in a pair of stints at Cedar Shoals and shares the name of the school’s football stadium with John Waters (100-41-3) who launched the Jaguars’ program in 1972.
Wilkins gets the nod on the list over Waters for winning the program’s only region title in 2002.
9. Leroy Ryals
He was 60-22 as Clarke Central’s head coach, nearly leading the Gladiators to the 2009 state title before leaving for Thomasville three years later.
After two seasons there, Ryals returned to Athens where he’s led Cedar Shoals to a 26-19 showing in four seasons, and in 2018 had the Jaguars hosting a playoff game for the first time in 17 years.
10. Terry Tuley
North Oconee’s all-time wins leader departed the football sidelines in 2016 with an 84-40 overall record, which included a winless season in his final campaign as Titans’ coach.
Before that, North Oconee had some of the area’s best teams in his 11 seasons at the helm.
Tuley led the Titans to two region titles and a Class 4A quarterfinals appearance in 2014.
Athens Academy
Athens Academy is an independent, co-educational school for students in K3 through 12th grade, located on a beautiful 152-acre campus in Northeast Georgia. For over 50 years, Athens Academy has pursued its mission of Excellence with Honor through academics, athletics, fine arts, and service and leadership.
