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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: Twelve
Best Hire: Lawrence O'Neal, Tallassee
Hardest to Replace: John Ritter, Russellville
Best Job: Russellville
Toughest Job: Jemison
Most Interesting:  Dustin Goodwin taking over for John Ritter at Russellville will be interesting to watch over the next few seasons.  While Coach Goodwin may not have the best resume this may be the first head coaching job where he can showcase his talents.  Time will tell.
 
 
 2024 Coaching Changes 

     
   Of the eleven new hires in 5A only three have previous head football coaching experience.  One interesting fact is that seven of the coaching changes were with schools who posted a winning record in 2023.  Only a single school, Jemison, won less than four games last year.


 Team  2023 Season  2024 Season

Arab (8-3)Lee OzmintKyle Routon
Carroll (4-7)Patrick PlottMatt Mellown
East Limestone (3-7)Clint WoodfinWill Johnson
Faith Academy (8-4)Jack FrenchErik Speakman
Holtville (7-4)Jason FranklinCory Lee
Jemison (1-9)John TherrellRishard Davis
Montevallo (7-3)Blake BorenGarrett Langer
Priceville (5-7)Chris FosterSeth Parker
Russellville (9-3)John RitterDustin Goodwin
Scottsboro (8-3)Cris BellTyler Vann
Vigor (7-3)Markus CookJohn McKenzie
West Point (5-6)Don FarleyKevin McCravy



 
 Most Victories 
 
     Class 5A has the distinction of having three coaches with over 250 wins in their career.  Terry Curtis surpassed Buddy Anderson a couple of years ago for the most victories in Alabama.  Danny Horn is very close behind with 351 wins in his coaching career and Trent Taylor who is currently at Andalusia.


Terry Curtis UMS-Wright 355 98
Danny Horn Central Clay County 351 97
Trent Taylor Andalusia 277 148
Clint Smith Jacksonville 156 89
Jerry Hood Leeds 144 69
Lance Reese Guntersville 119 42
Lance Tucker Demopolis 119 58
George Redding Jr. Fairview 117 69
Keith Register Hayden 90 123
George Bates Center Point 86 54



 
 Most Playoff Victories 
 
     Coach Curtis also has the most playoff victories of any coach in the state with 81 but once again he has Coach Horn close on his heels with 75.  Those two are tops in the state all-time.

Terry Curtis UMS-Wright 82 24
Danny Horn Central Clay County 75 24
Trent Taylor Andalusia 40 30
Jerry Hood Leeds 23 11
Lance Tucker Demopolis 21 9
Clint Smith Jacksonville 18 15
Lance Reese Guntersville 11 13
George Bates Center Point 11 10
Kirk Johnson Catholic Montgomery 11 2
Chris Smelley Sylacauga 10 6
Ronnie Jackson Ramsay 10 2
   * only in-state wins counted



 
 Longest Tenure at Current School 
 
   Terry Curtis has been at UMS-Wright for twenty-six seasons.  It has been an impressive run for the Bulldogs under his direction to say the least.  When he first moved to UMS-Wright back in 1999 the Bulldogs were 3A.  Now they are competing in 5A thanks to the private school multiplier and competitive balance.  Even with the move to 5A the Bulldogs are still very competitive.

   The average tenure of all the 5A coaches is 4.8 years.  Of course Coach Curtis does help that average.

26 - Terry Curtis, UMS-Wright
18 - George Redding Jr., Fairview
15 - Lance Reese, Guntersville
13 - Clint Smith, Jacksonville
12 - Keith Register, Hayden
10 - Trent Taylor, Andalusia
9 - Rod Carson, Carver Birmingham
8 - Jeremy Sullivan, Boaz
8 - Matt Zedaker, Lincoln
7 - George Bates, Center Point
7 - Danny Horn, Central Clay County
 



 
 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. Greenville, with fifteen winning seasons during this time, has changed coaches ten times. It makes you wonder why. Crossville decided to drop the football program for a few years in hopes of rebuilding from the bottom up. Look for them to return in a couple of seasons.


12 Carver Birmingham  
13 Crossville  
11 Headland  
10 Greenville  
10 Carroll  
9 Ardmore  
9 Douglas  
9 Valley  
9 Citronelle  
9 Corner  
9 Jemison  





David Parker
  AHSFHS.org
  dparker@ahsfhs.org





Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History

Spence McCracken won a record 21 Area/Region Championships at Montgomery Academy, Lee Montgomery and Opelika during his coaching career.