Phil Jones came to Shorter in 2005 from NCAA Division I AA Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Jones served as assistant head coach for the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs, where he worked with receivers and special teams. The GWU Bulldogs won back-to-back Big South Conference Championships during this time. Prior to Gardner-Webb, Jones served for one year as assistant coach at Southern Methodist University and coached under Jim Donnan at the University of Georgia from 1997-2001. During this time, Jones held several positions at UGA including defensive end coach, special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach. The Georgia Bulldogs rolled to four straight bowl victories and compiled a 35-13 record while Jones was on coaching staff.
“Phil Jones holds a great knowledge of Georgia and this region of the country and has a tremendous background with high school coaches in the state,” said former UGA Head Coach Jim Donnan. “Jones has a good feel for what is required to develop young men and is an outstanding coach.”
Longtime UGA head football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley commented, “Phil Jones was one of the most universally respected and successful high school coaches in Georgia; he later became an outstanding college coach as well.”
In addition to his collegiate coaching success, Jones coached Georgia high school football for 29 years. In 1968 Jones began his coaching career as assistant coach for Bobby Rich at Northside High School in Warner Robins. Jones earned his first head coaching position in 1973 at Jeff Davis High School in Hazelhurst, Georgia. From 1975-1979 Jones served as head football coach and athletic director at Fitzgerald High School in Fitzgerald, Georgia. He then served Dooly County High School in Vienna, Georgia, as head football coach and athletic director from 1980-1984, where his team earned an impressive 31-7 record. In 1983, Jones was named 1-AA Coach of the Year; during this same year, the Macon Telegraph named Jones as Middle Georgia Coach of the Year.
“He brings instant credibility to Shorter among Georgia high schools,” said UGA Associate Athletic Director and former UGA quarterback Mike Cavan. “I have the greatest respect for Phil as a coach and even more respect as a person. He is one of the finest men that I have ever known.”
From 1984-1997, Jones served as head football coach at Winder-Barrow High School. His teams made the playoffs eight times, with a compiled record of 81-58-2. In 1993, the Winder-Barrow team made it to the AAA semifinal state playoffs; as a result of his team’s accomplishment, the Georgia Athletic Directors Association named Jones as 1993 AAA Coach of the Year and 1994 AAA Athletic Director of the Year. Jones served on the Georgia High School Association Executive Committee on three separate occasions and served as the State Football Chairman from 1993-1995.
Jones is a Thomaston, Georgia, native who graduated from Mercer University in 1968. He and his wife, Janie, have two children and five grandchildren.
Bill Peterson - Running Backs Coach
bpeterson@shorter.edu
In his third year on the Hawks’ coaching staff, Bill Peterson has already shown his importance to the growing Hawks football team, serving as a head public relations figure, while also helping to coordinate the football booster club. He is also Shorter College' athletic director.
Peterson came to Shorter from Mount Paran Christian School in Kennesaw, Georgia, where he served as head baseball coach. In 2005, he led Mount Paran to a school record with 24 wins, a berth in the state finals and was named the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Coach of the Year. Prior to coaching, Peterson was president and co-founder of Horizon Medical Products (HMP), a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Atlanta.
Peterson played collegiate football at Texas Lutheran College, where he was a member of the 1974 NAIA national championship team, coached by the legendary Jim Wacker. He finished college at Florida State University in 1978 with a degree in accounting.
His father, Bill Sr., is credited with bringing the pro passing game to college football. He coached the Florida State Seminoles from 1960-1970, coached at Rice University in 1971 and also coached the NFL Houston Oilers from 1972-1973.
Peterson and his wife, Joanna, have four children: Will, Molly, Ben and Sam. Will is a member of the 2007 Hawks team.
Mike Bartik - Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Coordinator
mbartik@shorter.edu
Mike Bartik returns to the Hawks for his third season as assistant head coach. Before joining the Hawks staff in 2005, Bartik was the secondary coach at Cumberland College in the fall of 2004. From 2000-2003, Bartik served as outside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Gardner-Webb University. During this time, the GWU Bulldogs were known for operating out of multiple sets with an aggressive, attacking defense.
Before GWU, Bartik served as defensive coordinator at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, from 1996-1999. In this position, he helped establish Rocky Mountain College as a national football contender, producing playoff berths and being the Frontier Conference Champions in ’98 and ’99.
Bartik began coaching at Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, where he was instrumental in beginning and maintaining their football program at the NAIA level for several seasons. Following this, he coached high school football for 10 years, carrying a .732 winning percentage before returning to the collegiate level in 1990 to coach Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama.
After graduating from Lakeside High School, Bartik gained much of his foundation for coaching as a football player at Furman University where he earned All-South Carolina and Churchman’s All American honors in 1973 and lettered three years in baseball. Upon graduation, he spent two years in the World Football League, playing for the Philadelphia Bells and the Birmingham Americans.
Bartik is an Atlanta, Georgia, native. He and his wife, Kimbi, have three children: Kelli, Bo and Kati.
Joe Curtiss - Defensive Line Coach
jcurtiss@shorter.edu
Joe Curtiss returns to the Hawks this year for his third season. Curtiss came to Shorter from the NIFL Billings Mavericks, where he was the 2005 head coach; during this year, the team made the NIFL playoffs. Previously, he served as NIFL Billings Outlaws head coach from 2002-2003. While under his leadership, the team made the 2002 NIFL championships and finished with a record of 18-12. Curtiss began his coaching career at Rocky Mountain College, where he was the defensive line coach from 1996-1999 and the defensive coordinator from 2000-2001. The RMC Bears were conference champions in 1998 and 1999.
Curtiss played football for San Bernadino Valley College in California during the 1992 and 1993 seasons; the SBVC Wolverines were national champions in 1992. He then played defensive line for Rocky Mountain College during the 1994 and 1995 seasons, before beginning his coaching career.
Curtiss is married to Johnna and they have four children: Ashley - age 12, Emma - 12, Brittany - 8, and Ben - 7.
