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.

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.