The Godby Cougars have a new head football coach, and it's a familiar face.

Nearly a month after Demario Jones stepped down from his role as head coach to take a job at Charlton County in Folkston, Georgia, former assistant coach and interim head coach John Holston has been named as the new head coach of the Godby football program.

"I'm excited," Holston told the Democrat. "It's a big responsibility, former four-time state champion and still in the process of rebuilding right now, so I'm excited."

This is Holston's first head coaching role and he is not new to the program as he spent last year with the Cougars, primarily working with special teams. Holston spent time on Gadsden County's coaching staff before coaching at Godby and takes over for Jones who went 5-14 while leading the rebuild of the program.

It has been a quick turnaround for Holston from receiving the interim role to be promoted to the full-time coach. He said he's worked to fill out the schedule, meet with staff and prepare for the upcoming season in a whirlwind month.

"I didn't really have time to sit around and process anything or celebrate anything," Holston said. "I've just been taking it in stride and rolling."

Godby finished last season 3-6 and finds itself in a rebuilding phase with a lot of momentum due to young players like Tylan Vickers and Lazarus Chambers.

Holston will lead the Cougars into the new year and he hopes to continue building on the community support that had grown under Jones. The first-time head coach wants to implement his brand of football, which he wants to be fast, physical and aggressive, a style like the one of legendary Godby state title teams.

"I think it's a great time to have the alumni come back. We've heard a lot from the 1986-87 championship teams and they've been talking about coming out to help with practice and wanting to be on the sideline and watch, and I'm all for it," Holston said. "I want to get the community back into it, I want this to be a real program again."

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Godby football hires from within, promotes interim head coach to new role