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The best of the best in Alabama High
School Football over the past 100 seasons.
2023 Football Coaching Changes
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New Hires: Four Best Hire: Shane McComb, Oak Mountain Hardest to Replace: Laron White, Sparkman Best Job: Oak Mountain Toughest Job: Albertville |
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Most Interesting: Shane McComb moved 2,000 miles to take the head coaching job at Oak Mountain. His teams at Palm Desert High in California won six straight district championships and were 33-2 in its past 35 district games. He brings a 53-20 record to his second head coaching job, with seven of the losses coming in his first season. He joins arguably one of the toughest regions in the entire country. | |||||||
| 2023 Coaching Changes | |||||
| Only four new head coaches will rule the sidelines this fall in 7A. For two, Albertville and Sparkman, it will their first head coaching job. | |||||
| Team | 2022 Season | 2023 Season | |||
| Albertville (1-9) | Chip English | Bert Browne | |||
| Autauga Academy (7-4) | Jeremy Perkins | Jeremy Perkins | |||
| Baker (4-7) | Steve Normand | Steve Normand | |||
| Brantley (5-6) | Kelvis White | Kelvis White | |||
| Central Tuscaloosa (2-8) | Rodney Bivens Jr. | Patrick Nix | |||
| Davidson (3-7) | Rick Cauley | Kenny King | |||
| Escambia Academy (4-6) | Brandon Wilcox3/Gex Billups | Ben Blackmon | |||
| Hoover (11-2) | Wade Waldrop | Wade Waldrop | |||
| Oak Mountain (3-7) | Tyler Crane | Shane McComb | |||
| Opelika (5-5) | Erik Speakman | Erik Speakman | |||
| Phil Campbell (7-4) | Kevin Barnwell | DreQuay Everett | |||
| Prattville (6-4) | Jason Wallace | Jason Wallace | |||
| Prattville (6-4) | Jason Wallace | Jason Wallace | |||
| Prattville Christian (6-4) | Jason Wallace | Jason Wallace | |||
| Prattville Christian (5-5) | Norman Dean | Jason Wallace | |||
| Smiths Station (1-9) | Mike Glisson | Bryant Garrison | |||
| Smiths Station (1-9) | Mike Glisson | Bryant Garrison | |||
| Smiths Station (1-9) | Mike Glisson | Bryant Garrison | |||
| Sparkman (5-5) | Laron White | Ronnie Watson | |||
| Most Victories | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The most successful coach in 7A and one of the best coaches in any classification is Mark Freeman at Thompson. His teams have won 247 games under his direction including ten state championships at Bessemer Academy, Spanish Fort and the last four at Thompson. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Most Playoff Victories | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No surprise here as Coach Freeman also sits atop the Class 7A playoff win total list. His 54 victories rank fifth among active head football coaches in Alabama. One crazy stat is that all the head football coaches in region four have won a total of nine playoff games and eight of those victories are by Jeremy Perkins at Austin. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Longest Tenure at Current School | |||
| The longest tenured coach at their
current school in 7A is
surprisingly Jeremy Perkins at Austin who is beginning his fourteenth season
with the program. His teams at Austin have finished 90-57 and have gone
8-9 in the playoffs. They also won region championships in 2016, 2017,
2020 and 2022. The average tenure of all 7A head coaches is just 4.1 years. That is the lowest of any classification except the 3.9 years in 6A. | |||
| 14 - Jeremy Perkins, Austin | |||
| 10 - Josh Floyd, Hewitt-Trussville | |||
| 9 - Tim Carter, Fairhope | |||
| 9 - Mark Freeman, Thompson | |||
| 8 - Kenny King, Daphne | |||
| 7 - Mark Fleetwood, Huntsville | |||
| 6 - Erik Speakman, Opelika | |||
| Coaching Turnover 2000-2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The lack of success in most football programs often leads to a change in the head coach. These schools have had the most head coaching changes over the past 24 years. There are a few notable schools here that are not considered losing programs in Enterprise, Florence and Spain Park. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Editorial comments: I wholeheartedly believe that coaches should not be judged on wins and losses. While winning football games is important, other factors must be taken into consideration when determining whether a head coach has been successful. If AHSFHS.org posted a list of the best coaches in the state it would not be based solely on how many games they have won. Therefore I personally will never put out a list of who I believe to be the best coaches in Alabama simply because most fans would not understand or accept the criteria. There are head football coaches I consider to be among the absolute best in Alabama who do not have outstanding won/loss records. On the flip side, there are a few programs where many coaches would find success and pile up the wins over the years. Some coaches choose very difficult places to begin a career, never can get their footing and end up leaving a tough situation when in reality they would have been successful in the right position with a better program. The best head football coaches are those who have taken a down trodden program and turned it into one respected and competitive. It may be they only won six to eight games most seasons but the overall program was in much better shape a few years after they arrived. Success as a head coach depends on so many more factors than just players and coaching style. School administration, the backing of the community, financial support and so many other factors must be considered before a program can move forward. A few coaches have stood out the past few seasons as they arrived at a new school and literally changed the culture and attitude of the football programs. In 7A watch what Jed Kennedy at Dothan and Zach Golson at MGM are doing to turn around their respective football programs. The lists we do publish are just for informational purposes and not to demean or diminish the accomplishments of any coach. I applaud each and every coach who takes the sidelines this fall. I know why you are there. It is for the love of the game and the young men you coach. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
David Parker
AHSFHS.org
dparker@ahsfhs.org
Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History
Marion County defeated Meek 83-6 in a playoff game in 2012. It is the most points scored by a team in a playoff game.
Marion County defeated Meek 83-6 in a playoff game in 2012. It is the most points scored by a team in a playoff game.
