BOOM! Mark Farriba joining Barney Hester's staff at Tattnall, bringing together Central Georgia football legends
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
After the Macon Touchdown Club’s annual jamboree in late March, The Central Georgia Sports Report took a picture of a pair of Macon coaching legends chatting.
That post of Mark Farriba talking with Barney Hester was the most-viewed social media post in The Sports Report’s history, with nearly 12,000 views and 7,100 viewers.
Who knew that they may have been talking about working together?
Alas, the two Central Georgia legends are, in fact, now coaching together, Farriba joining Hester’s staff at Tattnall.
Tattnall made the bombshell announcement Thursday morning on social media.
The move brings together two longtime rivals, a scenario with seemingly zero potential a few years ago.
Farriba and Hester talk football last month after the Macon Touchdown Club’s annual jamboree.
Photo: Michael A. Lough/The Central Georgia Sports Report
Farriba stunned the local football community and state private-school world four years and two weeks ago when he resigned as athletics director at Stratford, his alma mater and the place he had been head coach twice for football.
Hester had fully retired from athletics at that point, departing his job as Bibb County athletics director, effective at the end of 2021.
Just short of three years later, Tattnall stunned the local football community and state private-school world with the announcement that Hester, months after the school renamed its stadium after him, was returning to Trojan Trail.
Now, improbably, the former rivals are teammates.
“One of the first things is Coach Hester,” Farriba said in the school’s release. “Having coached against him for so many years, I have such a huge respect for his coaching abilities, but mostly for his character and presence.
“I am really excited for the opportunity to work with him. I am also extremely excited about being given the opportunity to teach Bible to Upper School students. This seemed like the right opportunity at the right time.”
It’s an odd time at Tattnall, which has undergone a fairly constant turnover in its athletic department the past several years. More so, the football program turned in a historic season in Hester’s return: 0-10.
That’s something Hester has never experienced. Nor has Farriba been apart of such a massive rebuild.
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Farriba lasted less than three weeks without a job back in 2022, raising eyebrows yet again later that April when he joined the staff at ACE Charter of head coach Keith Hatcher, formerly of Mount de Sales.
Hatcher got the ACE job about a week after Farriba announced his departure as Stratford’s head coach, in December of 2021.
He has been the Gryphons’ offensive line coach, helping ACE become a perennial playoff team, going 27-17 in Hatcher’s four seasons.
Farriba went 6-14 against Hester during his stints at FPD (1985-1996) and Stratford (2003-6). Hester left Tattnall for Howard in 2012-13, while Farriba was helping start the program at Prince Avenue Christian.
Farriba is 216-134-3 in 30 seasons as a head coach, at FPD twice, Prince Avenue, and Stratford twice.
Hester is 340-177-9 in 43 seasons, 32 with Tattnall, three at Josey Academy and four at Gordon-Ivey.
That puts a combined record of 556-311-12 – a winning percentage of 64.82 – on one sideline.