ATLANTA— Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott has announced the hiring of cornerbacks coach Cory Peoples and inside linebackers coach Brian Landis to the Panthers' staff.
 
Peoples is a former NFL player with more than 10 years of college coaching experience, most recently serving as cornerbacks coach at Georgia Southern.
 
Landis won 88 percent of his games in three seasons as the head coach at Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington, Ky., after previously serving on the staffs at Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky and Georgetown (Ky.) College.
 
"We are excited about adding two outstanding coaches to our defensive staff," Elliott said. "Both are strong coaches, recruiters and men as well great fits for Georgia State football."
 
Georgia State is coming off a seven-win season and appearance in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, the Panthers' third bowl berth in the last five years.
 
 
BRIAN LANDIS, Inside Linebackers
 
Brian Landis joins the Georgia State staff after three seasons as the head coach at Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington, Ky. He previously served on the coaching staffs at Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky and Georgetown (Ky.) College.
 
Landis compiled a 35-5 record at Frederick Douglass after starting the program from scratch in 2017 at the newly-opened school. In 2019, he led the Broncos to a 14-1 record and a berth in the Class 5A state finals.
 
His first team posted a 10-3 record and reached the 2017 state quarterfinals, and in 2018, Frederick Douglass went 11-1 and earned a No. 1 ranking in 6A.
 
Landis went to Frederick Douglass after one season (2016) at Kentucky as a defensive quality control coach working with linebackers, and one year (2015) as the defensive backs and special teams coach at Eastern Kentucky.
 
He spent a total of 12 seasons (2001, 2004-14) coaching at Georgetown, his alma mater, where he was part of NAIA national championships as a player (2000) and coach (2001).
 
Landis coached the Georgetown defensive backs from 2006-14 and also served as the Tigers' recruiting coordinator from 2010-14. During that time, he helped Georgetown to four conference titles and NAIA playoff appearances, including a No. 1 national ranking during the 2012 season.
 
Landis enjoyed a standout playing career at Georgetown, culminating with a senior season in which he captained the Tigers' to the 2000 NAIA title team and was named the Defensive Player of the Game for the championship. The following year he served as a graduate assistant coach as Georgetown won its second straight NAIA championship.
 
He had a brief professional career in arena football before returning to Georgetown as assistant linebackers and special teams coach in 2004, when the Tigers reached the NAIA national semifinals.
 
Landis graduated from Georgetown in 2001 with B.S. degree in business administration, and he completed his master's in special education in 2006.
 
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Landis and wife Ashley have two sons, Park, 10, and Jack, 7.
 
 
CORY PEOPLES, Cornerbacks
 
Cory Peoples, a former NFL player with more than 10 years of college coaching experience, has joined the Georgia State staff as cornerbacks coach.
 
Peoples comes to the Panther program after one season (2018) as the cornerbacks coach at Georgia Southern, where he coached a pair of two-time All-Sun Belt Conference cornerbacks.
 
Peoples is a three-time recipient of the NFL Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, working with the Philadelphia Eagles (2012) and the Kansas City Chiefs (2015-16).
 
In 2017, Peoples served as the defensive coordinator at Albany State, where three of his players earned all-conference honors as the Golden Rams allowed fewer than 290 yards of total offense per game. 
 
He also spent one season (2016) coaching the defensive backs at South Carolina State, including two all-conference safeties.
 
Peoples coached defensive backs at Charleston Southern for two seasons (2014-15), and in his final year there, he helped coach a Buccaneers' squad that ranked No. 9 in the nation in total defense and No. 4 in passing yards allowed en route to a berth in the FCS playoffs. He had two all-conference defensive backs in both years, including the Big South's career leader in pass breakups.
 
His other college coaching stops include St. Augustine (2013), Clark Atlanta (2009-12) and Georgia Military College (2008). He began his coaching career in 2007 as an assistant at W.J. Keenan High School in Columbia, S.C.
 
Peoples spent two years (2005-06) on the Philadelphia Eagles' roster and played one season each with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
 
A native of Bishopville, S.C., Peoples was an all-state quarterback and defensive back at Bishopville High School. He attended Georgia Military College, where he won the NJCAA National Championship in 2001, and then lettered two years in the secondary at South Carolina.
 
Peoples earned his bachelor's degree in retail management from South Carolina in 2005. He is married to the former Keilah Speed and the couple has two sons, Cory Jr. and Lucas, and a daughter, Isabella.