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   The best of the best in Alabama High   
  School Football over the past 100 seasons.





2024 Football Coaching Changes


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New Hires: Sixteen
Best Hire: Aubrey Blackwell, St. James
Hardest to Replace: Lawrence O'Neal, B.T. Washington
Best Job: St. James
Toughest Job: Talladega
Most Interesting:
      Several interesting coaching changes in 4A led by the hiring of Lawrence O'Neal at Tallassee.  All O'Neal did was take the Golden Eagles to the semi-finals last season before losing to Catholic.  In just three seasons he turned the football program at B.T. Washington into a winner.

     Maurice Freeman moves over from Georgia and brings with him 257 victories and a couple of state championships as he works to rebuild the program at Daleville.  It will interesting to see what Aubrey Blackwell does at St. James upon his return to the Montgomery area in 2024.

      So many of the new hires in 4A have little to no head coaching experience at any level which is unique to this classification this season.  A lot of new faces on the sidelines in 4A this football season.  Of the sixteen changes only five teams won more games than they lost last year.
 
 2024 Coaching Changes 

     
    Class 4A saw the most new hires during the off season as sixteen schools will have a different head coach as the season approaches.  All but five of the incoming coaches have head football coaching experience.
   

 Team  2023 Season  2024 Season

B.T. Washington (9-5)Lawrence ONealDeandre Austin
Cleburne County (4-7)Joby BurnsVaughn Lee
Cordova (2-8)Shane SmothersBrian Maner
D.A.R. (0-10)Kyle DavisMatt Putnam
Daleville (3-7)Will GarnerMaurice Freeman
Etowah (3-8)Matt Glover2/Blake BoneScott Peavey
Madison County (2-8)Matt PutnamChris Hancock
Mobile Christian (15-0)Ronnie CottrellCharles Lawson
New Hope (4-6)Tyler JohnsonMichael Harper
Opp (4-7)Matt BrunsonEd Rigby
Orange Beach (1-8)Jamey DuBoseWade Waldrop
St. James (11-3)Neal PoseyAubrey Blackwell
St. John Paul II (4-6)Chad OMeliaKevin Creehan
Straughn (10-2)Ashley KilcreaseGarrett Windham
Talladega (0-10)William F. SmithDamien Dorsey
Tallassee (1-9)Mike Battles Jr.Lawrence ONeal
West Blocton (6-5)DreMail KingChris Wilson



 
 Most Victories 
 
   Dale Pruitt at Plainview leads all 4A coaches with 282 victories in the state of Alabama and 314 total wins.  His Bears are always a tough opponent for any team on a Friday night.   Three other head coaches top the 200 win list and nine are over the 100 win mark.


Dale Pruitt Plainview 314 165
Hugh Fountain W.S. Neal 266 143
Maurice Freeman Daleville 257 120
Bob Godsey Madison Academy 233 79
Larry Strain Handley 179 118
Michael Robertson Hokes Bluff 179 133
Ed Rigby Opp 148 110
Andro Williams Danville 135 69
Wade Waldrop Orange Beach 116 84
Scott Peavey Etowah 112 115
Ed Rigby Opp 95 39
Matt Geohagan Bibb County 82 27
Chris Musso Oak Grove 82 86



 
 Most Playoff Victories 
 
   Class 4A has the most coaches with at least 30 playoff wins at three. 


Dale Pruitt Plainview 32 25
Bob Godsey Madison Academy 32 21
Larry Strain Handley 32 18
Hugh Fountain W.S. Neal 29 26
Andro Williams Danville 26 12
Darrell LeBeaux Pleasant Grove 18 6
Michael Robertson Hokes Bluff 17 15
Chris Wilson West Blocton 15 7
Ed Rigby Opp 14 10
   * only in-state wins counted



 
 Longest Tenure at Current School 
 
   Coach Michael Robertson at Hokes Bluff and Dale Pruitt at Plainview are the longest tenured coach at their current schools in 4A as they begin their twenty-ninth seasons.  Of course Coach Pruitt in on his third stint as the head coach at Plainview.

   The average tenure of all the 4A coaches is 4.6 years.  Only two coaches have been with their current school more than fourteen seasons.

29 - Michael Robertson, Hokes Bluff
29 - Dale Pruitt, Plainview
14 - Heath Wood, Central Florence
12 - Clint Smith, Jacksonville
10 - Matt Geohagan, Bibb County
10 - Alan Scott, Good Hope
10 - Larry Strain, Handley
10 - Hugh Fountain, W.S. Neal
9 - Denton Bowling, Hatton
9 - Louis LeBlanc, Westminster Christian
 



 
 Coaching Turnover 2000-2024 
 
   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.  Only two other schools has had more changes than Daleville and Bullock County in any classification.  The fourteen coaching changes trails only J.F. Shields and Dallas County for the most.

14 Daleville  
14 Bullock County  
11 Ashville  
11 East Lawrence  
11 Cordova  
10 Satsuma  
10 Dale County  
10 Holt  
9 Curry  
9 Dora  
9 Escambia County  
9 Etowah  
9 Randolph  
9 St. John Paul II  
9 Talladega  





David Parker
  AHSFHS.org
  dparker@ahsfhs.org





Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History

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