Georgia high school football program fires coach one game into 2025 season

Just one game into the Georgia high school football season, Banks County has made a change at head coach.

On Friday afternoon, the school announced that it was moving on from coach Todd Winter and promoting offensive coordinator Mark Hollars to replace him. The change comes during the team’s bye week — and on the heels of a 42-21 loss to East Hall last week.

Hollars, who came over from Commerce after last season to be the OC, will now look to get things going back in the right direction.

Winter was hired in January 2024 and led the program to a 2-8 record during his lone full season at the helm. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Holy Innocents, where he led the Golden Bears to five straight Class A and back-to-back Class 4A state playoff berths. He also guided the program to three region championships, two quarterfinals, and one semifinal playoff berth during his seven seasons. 

“Banks County School System has made the decision to move in a different direction with the leadership of our football program,” Banks County superintendent Dr. Ann Hopkins said in a press release announcing the decision. “We are appreciative of the time and commitment Coach Todd Winter has given to our student-athletes.  

… We are excited to announce that Coach Mark Hollars will serve as the new head football coach at Banks County High School. Coach Hollars is committed to building a strong, unified program that reflects the values of teamwork, discipline, and pride in being a Leopard. We look forward to the future of Banks County football under his leadership and are confident this new chapter will bring fresh energy and focus to our program.”

Hollars came to Banks County during the offseason after four years as the head coach at Commerce, where he led the Tigers to a 31-16 record and playoff appearances every year. That included a region title in 2023 and an 8-4 record in 2024.