Stratford Academy hires Paul Carroll as new head football coach, succeeding Chance Jones

Paul Carroll takes over Stratford Academy's football program after six seasons at Howard High School.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Stratford Academy has named Paul Carroll as its new head football coach, following the departure of Chance Jones after this past season.

Jones was 14-10 in two seasons as Stratford’s head coach, including a record of 5-6 in 2023.

Carroll, who will be Stratford’s ninth different head coach since 1970, has led Howard High School’s football program since 2018.

In six seasons as Howard’s head coach, Carroll achieved a 28-30 record, with his teams finishing .500 or better in four of those seasons. The Huskies had only reached that mark twice before Carroll’s leadership—once in 2015 and again in 2017 under Barney Hester’s five-year tenure from 2013 to 2017.

Howard now seeks its fifth head coach since the program started in 2008.

Carroll’s experience includes serving as Howard’s athletic director and various assistant coaching stops at schools including Warner Robins and Jones County in Middle Georgia.

“Coach Carroll is a leader who brings intensity, accountability, and fire to every program he has been involved in,” Stratford Athletic Director Barry Veal said in a school news release. “Players love him and would run through a brick wall for him. Coach Carroll will have our students excelling in the classroom and on the field and will consistently have Stratford among the best in GIAA.”

Carroll earned his Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education from Georgia Southern University and his Master’s degree in Education and Sports Management and Fitness from Troy University. While at Georgia Southern, he played on the 1990 National Championship and 1993 Southern Conference Championship teams.

He’s Georgia Southern’s career tackles leader.

A meet and greet will be held Sunday, January 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the Henry Tift Auditorium.