Rutland's new head coach has been around nothing but winning, and has a state title ring

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

            Griffin rolled to a 15-0 record and the GHSA Class 4A state title in 2013, and Central Georgia again appears set to benefit from that program.

            Rusty Easom is the latest former Bear assistant to head to Central Georgia to take over a struggling – in this case, a really struggling – area football program, Easom being approved Thursday night by the Bibb County School District to take over at Rutland.

            Justin Rogers was the Griffin offensive coordinator on that championship team, and he left soon after to take over at Jones County, then basically a .500 program much more often than not.

            The Greyhounds are now a perennial top-10 Class 5A team and are 45-15 under Rogers.

            Easom replaces Mark Daniel, who resigned after last season with a 2-27 record, as head coach and athletics director.

            Easom was the Griffin defensive coordinator from 2007-13, also serving as special teams coordinator before that. Griffin reached three semifinals and won three region titles and had the perfect season in 2013.

            Griffin won at least 10 games seven times from 2004-13, and lost in the first round of the playoffs only twice, reaching at least the quarterfinals five times.

            He has been at East Coweta since then. The Indians are a 7A program in Region 2, located in Sharpsburg, just east of Newnan.

            Easom joined the new staff of new head coach Steve Pardue at East Coweta in 2014. Pardue was among the state’s most successful high school coaches, going 161-45 in 17 seasons at LaGrange before joining the Kentucky staff for several years.

            He went 24-9 in three seasons at East Coweta, which has gone 9-13 the past two seasons.

            In Easom’s 15 seasons at Griffin and East Coweta, the 4-8 mark – the Indians made the playoffs and beat Marietta before losing 24-17 to Tift County – in 2018 is the only losing season he has been a part of.

            He graduated from Columbus State and has a Master’s from Troy and is working on his Specialists degree from Valdosta.