ITG Next has confirmed that one of the most attractive head coaching positions among the dozen or so that became available this month in the Georgia high school football coaching landscape is no longer vacant. Rome High School is set to make Bill Stewart the new Rome head football coach pending approval by the Rome City Schools Board of Education.
Stewart was North Gwinnett’s head football coach from 2017 to 2022, where he led the Bulldogs to four region titles in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. In that first season of 2017, he led the Bulldogs to the Class 7A state championship in a 19-17 victory over Colquitt County and coach Rush Propst.
Stewart will be taking over for former head coach John Reid, who announced he was retiring from his post as the Rome head football coach following the Wolves’ loss in the Class 5A state playoffs.
Stewart will have huge shoes to fill.
John Reid guided the Rome football program to two state championships and nine region titles in 11 seasons as head coach at Rome High School. He led Rome to the state semifinals five times.
But, Stewart brings his own impressive winning resume to Rome. In six seasons as the head football coach at North Gwinnett, Stewart compiled a .759 winning percentage, averaging 10 wins per season with a 60-19 overall record, including the 2017 state title. He led the Bulldogs to the state playoffs every year, advancing to at least the second round each season, with four region championships in his six years.
The 2017 state championship was the school’s first ever football state championship.
Stewart gained a reputation around the state as one of the brightest defensive minds in high school football, which led him to leave the high school ranks for the Flats of Georgia Tech, where he became a defensive analyst on Tech’s defensive staff in 2023. The next season, Stewart was elevated to the position of defensive assistant coach in charge of linebackers for the 2024 season.
Stewart left Georgia Tech to return to the high school football ranks, joining the Rabun County coaching staff as defensive coordinator under head coach Rance Gillespie last year.
Stewart’s hiring is pending the Rome City Schools Board of Education final approval and vote.
UPDATE – 1/20/2026
In a Tuesday morning meeting of the Rome City Schools Board of Education, the board members voted to not approve the recommendation of Bill Stewart as the next head football coach at Rome High School.
ITG Next will provide additional details as they become available.
UPDATE – 1/29/2026
Rome City Schools announced the hiring of Bill Stewart as the new head football coach at Rome High School.
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