Fred Yancey was born in 1945 in Memphis Tennessee. He attended Messick High School in Memphis and graduated in 1963. The Tennessee native says "I played football for 6 years and was a Captain and selected on the Coachs All Memphis team."

"I also played basketball and ran track while in high school." says the Tennessee native. " I appreciate and was impacted by my high school coach at Messick, Robert Brick Mason."

Yancey graduated from Memphis State University and got a B.S. degree in 1969 and a Masters in Education in 1974. He majored in Physical Education and minored in History.

His first coaching job was at Memphis Overton High School as an assistant from 1963-1973. Yancey was a head coach at Towering Oaks in Memphis for three years, the head football coach at Gatewood School for three years and a Junior High coach in Memphis at Evangelical Christian School from 1981-89. His high school coaching record in Tennessee was 41-20-1.

In 1990 Coach Yancey arrived in Alabama as the head football coach at Briarwood Christian in Birmingham. Over the next 26 seasons his Briarwood teams have ranked among the best in their classification. Fifteen of his teams have won at least ten games during a season.

Briarwood won State Championships in 1998, 1999 and 2003. His teams made it to title games in 2007 and 2010 before falling short in their quest for a championship.

In 1998 Briarwood ran over Randolph County in the Class 3A championship game 56-14. The 1999 squad thumped Lincoln in the Class 3A championship game 55-19.

The Lions returned to Legion Field in 2003 for their third title game and came away with a 31-7 rout of Russellville in the Class 5A title game. In 2003, Briarwood lost to St. Pauls in the closing seconds 14-13. The 2010 squad were shutout by Spanish Fort 14-0 in a defensive struggle.

Yanceys 136-23 area and region slate at Briarwood ranks fifth all-time in the state. Coach Yanceys teams also won fifteen area and region titles including nine in a row (1994-2002) at one point.

His Lions qualified for the playoffs a total of 25 times including the past twenty-six years in a row with a playoff record of 59-24.

During his tenure as a head coach, Yancey also coached basketball, track and soccer at the high school level. He was named Coach of the Year in Shelby County several times and the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 5A Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1998. He was also the Bob Finley Award winner twice.

Coach Yancey retired following the 2018 football season at Briarwood.

Coach Yanceys coaching record stands at 305-114-1 after 35 years as a head coach. His record at Briarwood Christian School is 278-95 after 29 years as the head coach.

"I was greatly influenced by my brother, Bob, who had a long and distinguished coaching career in Tennessee" stated Coach Yancey. "Coaching has been a pleasure and a privilege for me. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to coach this great game."