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The best of the best in Alabama High
School Football over the past 100 seasons.
Active Winning Coaches
| (Updated 9/10/2019) In this day and age of "what have you done for me lately" high school football coaches are most often judged on wins and loses when in reality they accomplish much more during their careers. We receive emails weekly from former players that more often than not look upon their former coaches as mentors, teachers and father figures. Many of the most successful coaches in Alabama teach much more than football to their players. |
 Coach Josh Niblett |
|
Yet when it comes to the
fans they are quick to jump on any bandwagon when their team falls short of
expectations during the season. In the end all that seems to matter are the
wins and losses. To that end we have put together a list of the football coaches in the state with the highest winning percentages during their head coaching careers. The criteria is simple. A coach must be active in 2019 and have at least 100 wins. All these football coaches on our list have one thing in common. All have been to a state championship game in the past few seasons. | |
| 10. Danny Horn | ||
| High School: | Clay County | |
| College: | Jacksonville State | |
| Record: | 301-86 77.8% | |
|
Coach Danny Horn
became the head coach at Clay County in 1989 where he would remain for the
next twenty seasons. His record at Clay County was 225-40. All but one of
his teams qualified for the playoffs and won a total of six state
championships. Between 1994-97 the Panthers won fifty-five consecutive games
which is the longest streak in state history. His 1996 team produced a state record eleven shutouts while the 1994 team came up with ten shutouts on defense. Prior to his arrival at Clay County, the Panthers had won ten games in only two seasons during their long history. During his tenure they would win ten games a total of thirteen seasons. Following the 2008 season Coach Horn would move up to 6A Benjamin Russell where he found the going a little tougher. His first two seasons with the Wildcats produced identical 1-9 records before improving to 7-5 in 2011. His next four teams all won at least 10 games each season. In 2018 he returned to Clay County to coach at Central where his first team won a state championship. | ||
| 9. Terry Curtis | ||
| High School: | Murphy | |
| College: | Auburn | |
| Record: | 305-85 78.2% | |
|
Coach Curtis began his
head coaching career at Shaw in Mobile in 1989 before moving back to Murphy
in 1993. In 199 he would make the move to UMS-Wright where he has found
unprecedented success. Coach Curtis currently remains as the head coach at U.M.S. and holds a career record of 303-85 over 30 seasons. His playoff record stands at 70-20 and his region record is among the best of all time in the state at 146-21. | ||
| 8. Jamie Riggs | ||
| High School: | T.R. Miller | |
| College: | Alabama | |
| Record: | 313-86 78.5% | |
|
Following three
seasons at Opp, Coach Riggs came home to T.R. Miller in 1989. During the
1990s his Tigers won 117 games, more than any other team in the state. His
team won 27 consecutive games from 1994-95. Every team during his tenure at
Miller qualified for the playoffs. The Tigers reached the semi-finals of the playoffs in fourteen of his seasons winning four state championships along the way. During his tenure at Miller his teams were shutout just once and hold the state record for consecutive games scoring at 342. Twenty of his twenty-seven teams won at least ten games. | ||
| 7. Josh Niblett | ||
| High School: | Demopolis Academy | |
| College: | Alabama (1993-95) | |
| Record: | 205-53 79.5% | |
|
Coach Niblett began
his high school football coaching career in 2000 when he was named the head
coach at Oneonta. Each of his teams at Oneonta won more games than the
previous season culminating in a 3A state championship following the 2004
season. Prior to the 2005 season he would take his talents to Oxford where
he was the coach for three seasons. Following the resignation of Rush Propst at Hoover in 2008, Josh was named the head coach at perennial football power Hoover. During the past ten seasons his Bucs have gone 126-18 while playing in the Super Six Championship game nine times, winning six championships. | ||
| 6. Mark Freeman | ||
| High School: | Bessemer Academy | |
| College: | Alabama Birmingham | |
| Record: | 200-50 80.0% | |
|
Coach Freeman became the head coach at Bessemer Academy in 1998 at
set out immediately in building a dominate program in AISA. During his ten
years with the Rebels his teams qualified for the playoffs every season and
won four state championships. Between 2001 and 2007 his teams went 40-1 in
region play and 17-3 in the playoffs. After serving as the quarterbacks coach at Minor during the 2008 season he would take over the reins at 5A Gulf Shores and take the Dolphins to their best record in school history (9-3). In 2011 Coach Freeman moved up the road to Spanish Fort where the Toros won two Class 5A state titles. In 2015 he moved back north to take over the program at Thompson. | ||
|
5.
Laron White | ||
| High School: | Courtland | |
| College: | Alabama (1993-96) | |
| Record: | 161-40 80.1% | |
|
Coach White of Tanner
leads the way with a winning percentage of 84.3% in his short eleven year
career at Tanner high school. Coach White, the son of long time Courtland
coach Louis White, led his team to the 2A state championship in 2012 and
pulled off the repeat the next season. His
teams qualified for the playoffs in each season and won a minimum of
seven games. Tanner won 61 consecutive region games during his tenure at the school. They also had a thirty-eight game home winning streak. In 2017 he took his talents to Sparkman High School. | ||
| 4. Brent Hubbert | ||
| High School: | Lanett | |
| College: | Jacksonville State | |
| Record: | 185-41 81.9% | |
|
In 2001, Brent Hubbert became the head football coach and athletic director at Jemison High School where he stayed for three seasons
with a 17-15 record and two playoff spots. Following the 2003 football season he moved Maplesville. During his time as the head football coach at Maplesville all his teams qualified for the playoffs and ten won region titles. His region record stands at 105-15 which ranks as one of the best in the state. In 2019 he moved south to take the job at T.R. Miller in Brewton. | ||
| 3. Bobby Carr | ||
| High School: | ||
| College: | ||
| Record: | 226-45 83.0% | |
|
Coach Carr became the head football coach at Edgewood Academy in 2001. Over
the next 15 seasons his teams reeled off a record
of 167-29 including 76-4 in the past six seasons. His Wildcats have also
won five of the past six AISA-AA state championships with a playoff record
of 17-1. The Wildcats won 71 consecutive games from 2010-2015, the longest in the state. The Wildcats also set an AISA state record by scoring a total of 751 points in 2014. He also coaches the Edgewood baseball team in his spare time. His baseball teams have won 11 state championships. After one season as an assistant coach he became the head coach at Autauga Academy where his second team once again claimed a AISA state championship in 2018. | ||
| 2. Mitchell Tuberville | ||
| High School: | Monroe Academy | |
| College: | ||
| Record: | 137-28 83.0% | |
|
Coach Tuberville would
become the head football coach at Monroe Academy in 2006. Over the past thirteen seasons his teams have gone 136-26 and 22-7 in the playoffs. The 2009, 2013, 2917 and 2018 teams won State Championships in the AISA. Over the past 11 seasons his teams have won ten region titles and finished second the other year finishing with an overall region record of 60-1 during that time. | ||
| 1. Paul Benefield | ||
| High School: | Fyffe | |
| College: | Jacksonville State | |
| Record: | 284-53 84.3% | |
|
Coach Benefield won
his 200th game as a head coach in 2012 at Fyffe and Sylvania. He took over
the head coaching job at Sylvania in 1992 and proceeded to lead the Rams to
back to back 12-1 seasons in 1994 and 1995. The twelve wins were the most in
school history and were also the first 10-0 regular seasons since Sylvania
began playing football in 1947. After five season at Sylvania and a 45-11 record Coach Benefield returned home to Fyffe as their head coach in 1997. Since then his teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season except 2000, won fourteen region championships and won at least ten games in fifteen of those years. He also has the distinction of never coaching a team with a losing record during his twenty-eight seasons. The Red Devils have also laid claim to three state titles during his tenure as head coach. | ||
|
David Parker
AHSFHS.org
dparker@ahsfhs.org
Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History
In 1969 the two point conversion was adopted for play following a touchdown. Until that time all conversions were worth one point.
In 1969 the two point conversion was adopted for play following a touchdown. Until that time all conversions were worth one point.
