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AHSFHS Article Series
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: Nine Best Hire: Bobby Carr, Carver Hardest to Replace: Steve Normand, Baker Best Job: Hoover Toughest Job: Robertsdale |
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Most Interesting: No doubt the hiring of Bobby Carr at Carver will be monumental in the future. With the closure of Sidney Lanier the Wolverines may just be the perfect storm for 2024. Carr has been very successful in the AISA winning championships at Edgewood and Autauga Academy. Can he bring that winning formula to the AHSAA? Most think he will. | |||||||
| 2024 Coaching Changes | |||||
| Four schools, Baker,
Davidson, J.A.G. and Percy Julian, will enter the 2024 football seasons with head coaches in their first head coaching jobs.
Former Alabama football star Roy Upchurch will try to improve the football fortunes at J.A.G. in 2024. Miles Holcomb at Tuscaloosa County and Juan Johnson at Baker will be fun to watch in the future. | |||||
| Team | 2023 Season | 2024 Season | |||
 | Baker (8-3) | Steve Normand | Juan Johnson | ||
 | Brantley (8-5) | Roland Jones Jr. | Kelvis White | ||
 | Carver Montgomery (7-4) | Marcus Gardner | Bobby Carr | ||
| Carver Montgomery (7-4) | Marcus Gardner | Bobby Carr | ||
 | Davidson (5-6) | Rick Cauley | John Lambert | ||
 | Hoover (5-7) | Wade Waldrop | Chip English | ||
| Hoover (5-7) | Wade Waldrop | Chip English | ||
 | Huntsville (5-5) | Mark Fleetwood | Jimmy Gay | ||
 | J.A.G. (0-10) | Rory Bell | Roy Upchurch | ||
 | James Clemens (8-1) | Tommy Miller | Chad McGehee | ||
 | Oakman (7-4) | Ryan Hall | Shane McComb | ||
 | Opelika (4-6) | Erik Speakman | Bryan Moore | ||
 | Robertsdale (0-10) | Kyle Stanford6/Staff | Cris Bell | ||
 | Smiths Station (1-9) | Bryant Garrison | Bryant Garrison | ||
 | Tuscaloosa County (5-5) | Adam Winegarden | Miles Holcomb | ||
| Tuscaloosa County (5-5) | Adam Winegarden | Miles Holcomb | ||
| Most Victories | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The most successful coach in 7A and one of the best
coaches in any classification is Mark Freeman at Thompson. His teams have
won 258 games under his direction including ten state championships at
Bessemer Academy, Spanish Fort and Thompson. Bobby Carr won 254 games
in the AISA and brings his coaching talents to Carver in 2024. Jamie
Mitchell won 216 games in Arkansas and Mississippi before arriving at
Hillcrest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Most Playoff Victories | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No surprise here as Coach Freeman also sits atop the
Class 7A playoff win total list. His 57 victories rank fifth among active
head football coaches in Alabama. The top six coaches have all won
state championships at some level of high school football in Alabama. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Longest Tenure at Current School | |||
| The longest tenured coach at their
current school in 7A is
surprisingly Jeremy Perkins at Austin who is beginning his fifteenth season
with the program. His teams at Austin have finished 98-60 and have gone
8-10 in the playoffs. They also won region championships in 2016, 2017,
2020 and 2022. The average tenure of all 7A head coaches is just 4.0 years. That is the lowest of any classification except the 3.8 years in 6A. It seems the turnover rate for head coaches is greater in the higher classifications. | |||
| 15 - Jeremy Perkins, Austin | |||
| 11 - Josh Floyd, Hewitt-Trussville | |||
| 10 - Tim Carter, Fairhope | |||
| 10 - Mark Freeman, Thompson | |||
| 9 - Kenny King, Daphne | |||
| 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.
There are a few notable schools here that are not considered losing
programs in Enterprise, Florence and Hillcrest. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Editorial comments: I wholeheartedly believe that coaches should not be judged on wins and losses. While winning football games is important, other factors must be taken into consideration when determining whether a head coach has been successful. If AHSFHS.org posted a list of the best coaches in the state it would not be based solely on how many games they have won. Therefore I personally will never put out a list of who I believe to be the best coaches in Alabama simply because most fans would not understand or accept the criteria. There are head football coaches I consider to be among the absolute best in Alabama who do not have outstanding won/loss records. On the flip side, there are a few programs where many coaches would find success and pile up the wins over the years. Some coaches choose very difficult places to begin a career, never can get their footing and end up leaving a tough situation when in reality they would have been successful in the right position with a better program. The best head football coaches are those who have taken a down trodden program and turned it into one respected and competitive. It may be they only won six to eight games most seasons but the overall program was in much better shape a few years after they arrived. Success as a head coach depends on so many more factors than just players and coaching style. School administration, the backing of the community, financial support and so many other factors must be considered before a program can move forward. A few coaches have stood out the past few seasons as they arrived at a new school and literally changed the culture and attitude of the football programs. In 7A watch what Jed Kennedy at Dothan and Zach Golson at MGM are doing to turn around their respective football programs. The lists we do publish are just for informational purposes and not to demean or diminish the accomplishments of any coach. I applaud each and every coach who takes the sidelines this fall. I know why you are there. It is for the love of the game and the young men you coach. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
David Parker
AHSFHS.org
dparker@ahsfhs.org
Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History
Morris Higginbotham coached three different teams to divisional state championships in the 1950s. He won titles at Walnut Grove in 1952, West Blocton in 1955 and Enterprise in 1960.
Morris Higginbotham coached three different teams to divisional state championships in the 1950s. He won titles at Walnut Grove in 1952, West Blocton in 1955 and Enterprise in 1960.
