By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

There have been battles between schools in Houston County and the one in Peach County on the football field.

Now, the blur comes off the football field with coaching flurries, and the latest is Tuesday’s hiring by the Houston County Board of Education of Ben Bailey as Northside’s new head football coach.

Bailey has twice coached at Houston County, and spent last year as Peach County’s offensive coordinator.

That flurry? Peach County head coach Chad Campbell resigned in December, and within a week had been hired in the same position at Westfield in Perry. Last week, Peach County plucked highly successful Marquis Westbrook from Warner Robins.

And there are a few candidates in the county that are likely on the list of possibilities for the Demons.

Nevertheless, Bailey is off the board and brings a career on offense to Green Street.

The item was late on the board’s meeting agenda, and it met in executive session starting just before 2 p.m. At that point, the meeting’s live online feed stopped, and never resumed.

The Northside athletics Facebook account posted a welcome to Bailey at 2:39 p.m.

The decision was a little unexpected, in part because of Bailey’s age – he graduated from Fullington in 2007 – and shorter resume than the others reportedly considered, a list that included Northside assistants Rod Harris, Don Hudson, and Matt Park, as well as former Northside offensive line standout and current Veterans assistant Jason Respert.

The 2022-23 Carousel

Jan: 9: Kaboom: Warner Robins’ Westbrook heading to Peach County
Dec 27: GMC’s Coleman resigns for new job
Dec 14: Alligood to Jones County
Dec. 12: Another Central Georgia coaching bomb drops: Alligood resigns at Northside
Dec. 8: Campbell un-retires, taking over at Westfield, Fitzpatrick returns to baseball full-time
Dec. 6: Pope resigns at Putnam County, Williamson at Hawkinsville
Dec. 2: Central’s Sample out
Nov. 30: End of an era, Chad Campbell retires from the only place he’s worked, Peach County
Aug. 15: Another Macon private school era is closing: Greg Moore’s 22nds year as FPD’s head coach is his last, and ‘I have incredible peace’

Carousel Coverage, the past year
June 7: Amped up Hiller takes over Peach County baseball; Mount de Sales, basketball moves, around the area, Central Georgia connections
May 27: Catching up on a spinning and dizzying carousel: Hardy to Westfield, and more
April 20: From Eagles to Gryphons, Farriba to ACE (with more ACE moves)
April 17: The carousel has spun - unexpectedly - at Stratford, where it's complicated, with Mark Farriba's unexpected departure from his alma mater as AD
April 17: Longtime Jones County coach and AD Veal to take over at Stratford
April 12: Major changes at Tattnall: Hiller to be replaced as baseball coach, AD, Chambless in as boys basketball coach and AD
March 31: West Laurens picks Mary Persons assistant Burdette
March 31: From the military to law enforcement to coach and teaching, Perry’s Reggie West handing over the Panthers’ keys
March 31: Gainous resigns at Georgia College, ready to take over Perry boys basketball and rejoin family full time
March 21: Lockhart returning to Upson-Lee
March 10: Veterans’ Turner retiring
March 2: West Laurens’ McClain announces resignation
Feb.15: FPD girls basketball coach Griffin retiring
Feb. 4: Very familiar name taking over at Washington County: Robert Edwards III
Feb. 4: Adding Joel Ingram part of busy offseason for Dublin’s Holmes

Bailey joins Perry’s Kevin Smith as former Houston County assistants now leading programs in the county.

Warner Robins remains in the market for a head coach, Marquis Westbrook being named last week as head coach at Peach County.

Bailey is the Eagles ‘ fourth head coach this century, and third since 2019. He replaces Chad Alligood, who announced his resignation on Dec. 12 and announced his new job as athletics director at Jones County a day later.

Alligood went 21-15 in three years as head coach, succeeding former boss Kevin Kinsler, after two stints as an assistant. Kinsler spent two-plus seasons as an assistant at Westfield, the two sides parting ways during the 2022 season.

Bailey, a Fullington grad, comes from Peach County, where he was offensive coordinator for 2022. He had that position at Houston County from 2019-21, his second stint with the Bears. He also coached at Lee County in between those two jobs, as well as at Dooly County and West Laurens.

His brother Brandon is the defensive coordinator at the University of Buffalo, which just beat their college alma mater, Georgia Southern, in the Camellia Bowl last month.