Coaching hires: Smith resigns at Osborne; four openings in DeKalb; Fannin hires Gainesville coordinator

Osborne football coach Xarvia Smith stepped down this week at a program that hasn’t won more than three games since 1994.

Osborne was 2-8 in each of three seasons under Smith, who also has been head coach at Centennial and Cedar Shoals.

“I haven’t moved the program the way I wanted to, and it just wasn’t working out,’’ Smith told the Marietta Daily Journal.

Osborne was moved from Class AAAAA to AAAAAA in the latest reclassification effective in 2014 and has decided to play a non-region schedule because of concerns about competing in the highest classification.

Several other coaching changes have been reported this week:

Fannin County has hired Gainesville’s defensive coordinator, Jim Pavao, as its new head coach. Pavao has been Gainesville’s defensive coordinator since 2007. He also has coached at Burke County and made college stops at Davidson, Princeton and Norwich Univesity. Pavao replaces Greg Chambers, who was 3-17 in two seasons.

Stone Mountain’s Dante Ferguson is out after five seasons. The Pirates were 22-28 under Ferguson, an improvement over the 16-35 the previous five years, but never made the playoffs.

Redan has let go Willie Griffieth, who was 3-17 in two seasons. Redan’s last winning season was 2007 (6-5).

Clarkston coach Gary Wansley won’t be back. He was 11-18-1 in three seasons, and the 9-10-1 record for the past two is the best two-year for the Angoras since 1998.

David Radford has resigned at Cross Keys, one of the state’s more challenging jobs. Radford’s teams were 5-52-2 in six seasons, the past four against a non-region schedule.

Ron Sebree has left Social Circle after two 0-10 finishes. Sebree is the former athletics director for DeKalb County schools.

Larry Milligan is leaving Oglethorpe County after five seasons. He was 14-36. Oglethorpe has had one winning season (6-4 in 2005) since 1999. Milligan had led Greene County to the state semifinals at Greene County in 2005 with quarterback Josh Nesbitt.

Bradwell Instittude coach Adam Carter has offered his resignation after one season to take a job at Reinhardt University in Waleska. Bradwell was 4-6 under Carter, its best finish since 2010. Carter was one of six Georgia head coaches who were graduates of Paulding County. Two since have resigned. The other was Cook’s Ken Cofer.

Heritage in Ringgold has  Hired E.K. Slaughter, formerly coach of Red Bank High in Tennessee, to replace Tim James, who started the program in 2008. Heritage had a 7-3 season under James in 2011 but dropped to 0-10 and 1-9 the past two seasons.

Reported job openings listed with former coach:

Armuchee - Preston Cash

Bacon County - Hildrick Garrison

Baldwin - Dexter Copeland

Bradwell Institute - Adam Carter

Cass - Rick Casko

Cedar Shoals - Chris Davis

Chattooga - Clay Livingstone. Hired: Charles Hammon

Clarkston - Gary Wansley

Coahulla Creek - Jared Hamlin

Cook - Ken Cofer

Cross Keys - East Coweta - Clint Wade

Fannin County - Greg Chambers. Hired: Jim Pavao

Forest Park - John Diehl

Hampton - New School

Heritage, Conyers- Mike Parris

Heritage, Ringgold -Tim James. Hired: E.K. Slaughter

Jenkins County - Ashley Harden

LaGrange - Donnie Branch. Hired: Dialleo Burks

Lovejoy - Al Hughes. Hired: Edgar Carson

McIntosh County Academy - Keith Gosse

Monroe Area - Matt Fligg

Mount de Sales - Robert Slocum  Hired: Keith Hatcher

Mount Zion, Jonesboro- Ervin Starr

Oconee County - Mitch Olson

Oglethorpe County - Larry Milligan

Ola - John Kovzel

Osborne - Xarvia Smith

Parkview - Cecil Flowe

Rockmart -  Dan Duff  Hired: Bin Turner

Social Circle - Ron Sebree

Stone Mountain - Dante Ferguson

Toombs County - Steve Versprille

Twiggs County - Jeb Stewart

Upson-Lee - Tommy Watson

Winder-Barrow - David Wagner

Woodland, Stockbridge - Scott Schmitt