North Cobb Christian hires Cobb native Matt Jones as coach
May 8—North Cobb Christian's football program is going to look different on the field this fall.
More than likely, the team's triple-option offense will be put on the shelf, and a spread attack will take its place. That is because it is the specialty of the Eagles' new coach, Matt Jones.
"We're going to use our athletes and get them in ball in space," he said.
Jones, a McEachern High School graduate who most recently served as the offensive coordinator at Lanier High School in Gwinnett County, takes over for former coach Mark Hollars, who took the coaching position at Commerce last month.
It will be Jones' first head-coaching position, and he said he is excited to get started next week and begin to get involved into the North Cobb Christian community.
"I haven't met a bad person yet," Jones said, "and I feel like I've met everybody over here. I've been floored with the support of the school and the community. It was a no-brainer of a decision to come here.
"I love the small-school environment. The school sells itself. There are no negatives."
Jones spent five years leading the offense at Class AAAAAA Lanier, in which the Longhorns went 30-16, including two 10-win seasons and a trip to the state semifinals in 2018. Before that, he was an assistant under Marietta native Jess Simpson at Buford for three seasons, including a state championship year in 2014.
Jones also spent three seasons as an assistant at Pope (2011-13) and five seasons at Lumpkin County (2006-10).
During his time at Lanier, Jones helped numerous players earn opportunities to play on the college level, including players who earned scholarships to LSU, Texas A&M, Temple and Mercer, among others.
Though the 2021 season will be Jones' first as a head coach, he is no stranger to what it takes to lead his own team.
Jones comes from a family of coaches. His father, Steve, was the head coach at Walton from 1985-86 and was the longtime athletic director of the Cobb County School District. His uncle, Tom, had a 28-year coaching career at Brookwood High School, and his cousins — Phillip and Tommy — are currently the coaches at Brookwood and Cherokee Bluff, respectively.
As a player, Matt Jones was a three-year letterman at McEachern under longtime Indians coach Jimmy Dorsey. After graduating in 2001, he walked on to the Georgia football team as a long snapper under Mark Richt.
Jones had his first opportunity to meet many of his North Cobb Christian players Friday as he introduced himself and handed out equipment for spring practice.
"Our ultimate goal is to build better men," Jones said. "We want to help make quality people who are proud of where they come from. Proud to be from North Cobb Christian."
