O.B. Owens served as an assistant football coach for the legendary C.T. Manley at Colbert County High before embarking upon his head coaching career..

Owens accepted the head coaching position at Courtland High School in 1969 where he remained for the next six seasons. He was the first head coach for the new program and his Chiefs produced a 24-33-3 record during his tenure.

Coach Owens stepped down following the 1974 season and returned after one year off to coach the Danville Hawks. Once again he took over a program in its infancy. His first, and the schools first, season as head coach the team finished with a respectable 5-5 record.

He coached football at Danville High School for 15 seasons, until his retirement after the 1990 season. His teams compiled a 76-76-1 record during his time at the school.

After retiring from the sidelines, he served as Falkville High principal and was a board member of the Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Corp. Coach Owens overall football record is 100-109-4 in 21 seasons as a head coach. The Danville stadium is named Smith-Owens Stadium in honor of their beloved coach.

Coach O.B. Owens, a resident of Danville, died from injuries suffered when his Chevrolet pickup and a CSX train collided in Falkville. Owens, 74, passed away June 14, 2013.