Former Georgia Southern linebacker with 22 years of coaching experience takes Hiram job

Joe Scott has been hired to lead the Hiram football program.

Scott, a previous head coach in the state of Georgia, has been a high school coach for the last 22 seasons, most recently serving as defensive coordinator of the Purple Hurricanes at Cartersville. At Cartersville, Scott led an impressive defensive unit that only allowed around 14 points per game during the 2024 season as the Purple Hurricanes made their quarterfinals run.

In his final season at Cartersville, Scott led a defense that was responsible for holding opponents under seven points in six games a year ago, including three shutouts against Columbia, Hapeville Charter and Allatoona.

In 2018, Scott was the head coach at Landmark Christian where he led the War Eagles to a 2-8 record in his lone season leading the program. After a successful 2023 season that saw the Hornets finish 9-3 with a postseason victory before losing to Jefferson in the second round, last season’s team went 5-6 and finished with a first round exit as Kell defeated them 48-31.

Scott and the Hornets will be competing against Scott’s former team in Cartersville as the two are in Region 7-4A together. A season ago, the Hornets finished third in the region with a 4-2 record, two spots behind the Purple Hurricanes who were undefeated, 10-0 in region play in first place.

Scott comes from a football background, having played the sport at multiple levels during his playing career.

After attending Fitzgerald High School, Scott earned a spot on the Georgia Southern football team where he walked onto the team and earned a number of accolades during his time with the program. The former Georgia Southern-linebacker is a two-time national champion, winning back-to-back championships with the Eagles in 1999 and 2000. The “Hit-man,” a nickname earned during his time with the program, also became a 5-time Southern Conference champion as well as an All-Conference linebacker in 2001 and 2002. During his final year with the team, Scott earned team captain honors.

Scott will look to spark a fire under the Hiram football program as a new era will start for the Hornets in 2025.