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The best of the best in Alabama High
School Football over the past 100 seasons.
Active Winning Coaches
| In this day and age of "what have you done for me lately" high school football coaches are most often judged on wins and loses when in reality they accomplish much more during their careers. We receive emails weekly from former players that more often than not look upon their former coaches as mentors, teachers and father figures. Many of the most successful coaches in Alabama teach much more than football to their players. Yet when it comes to the fans they are quick to jump on any bandwagon when their team falls short of expectations during the season. In the end all that seems to matter are the wins and losses. |
 Coach Josh Niblett |
To that end we have put together a list of the football coaches in the state with the highest winning percentages during their head coaching careers. The criteria is simple. A coach must be active in 2013 and have at least 100 wins. All these football coaches on our list have one thing in common. All have been to a state championship game in the past few seasons. | |
| 10. Randy Ragsdale | ||
| High School: | Rockdale GA | |
| College: | Jacksonville State | |
| Record: | 218-66 76.8% | |
|
Coach Ragsdale became the head coach of the Trinity Presbyterian Academy Wildcats in 1989. Since that
first season his teams have compiled a record of 218-66, won ten region
championships and a state championship in 2003. His 2003 team also completed
the season 15-0 and remains the only undefeated team in Trinity history. For
four seasons from 2000-05 his teams won forty-five consecutive regular
season games. The Wildcats have qualified for the football playoffs in all but two of his twenty-four seasons. The Wildcats will enter the 2013 season with a record thirty-one consecutive winning seasons streak. | ||
| 9. Josh Niblett | ||
| High School: | Demopolis Academy | |
| College: | Alabama (1993-95) | |
| Record: | 134-38 77.9% | |
|
Coach Niblett began
his high school football coaching career in 2000 when he was named the head
coach at Oneonta. Each of his teams at Oneonta won more games than the
previous season culminating in a 3A state championship following the 2004
season. Prior to the 2005 season he would take his talents to Oxford where
he was the coach for three seasons. Following the resignation of Rush Propst at Hoover in 2008, Josh was named the head coach at perennial football power Hoover. During the past five seasons his Bucs have gone 69-6 while playing in the Super Six Championship game each season winning two of them. | ||
| 8. Jamie Riggs | ||
| High School: | T.R. Miller | |
| College: | Alabama | |
| Record: | 273-75 78.4% | |
|
Following three
seasons at Opp, Coach Riggs came home to T.R. Miller in 1989. During the
1990s his Tigers won 117 games, more than any other team in the state. His
team won 27 consecutive games from 1994-95. Every team during his tenure at
Miller have qualified for the playoffs. The Tigers have reached the semi-finals of the playoffs in fourteen of his seasons winning four state championships along the way. During his tenure at Miller his teams have never been shutout and hold the state record for consecutive games scoring at 329. Seventeen of his twenty-four teams have won at least ten games. | ||
| 7. Danny Horn | ||
| High School: | Clay County | |
| College: | Jacksonville State | |
| Record: | 245-65 79.0% | |
|
Coach Danny Horn
became the head coach at Clay County in 1989 where he would remain for the
next twenty seasons. His record at Clay County was 225-40. All but one of
his teams qualified for the playoffs and won a total of six state
championships. Between 1994-97 the Panthers won fifty-five consecutive games
which is the longest streak in state history. His 1996 team produced a state record eleven shutouts while the 1994 team came up with ten shutouts on defense. Prior to his arrival at Clay County, the Panthers had won ten games in only two seasons during their long history. During his tenure they would win ten games a total of thirteen seasons. Following the 2008 season Coach Horn would move up to 6A Benjamin Russell where he found the going a little tougher. His first two seasons with the Wildcats produced identical 1-9 records before improving to 7-5 in 2011 and 11-2 last year. | ||
| 6. Mark Freeman | ||
| High School: | Bessemer Academy | |
| College: | Alabama Birmingham | |
| Record: | 137-35 79.7% | |
|
Coach Freeman became
the head coach at Bessemer Academy in 1998 at set out immediately in
building a dominate program in AISA. During his ten years with the Rebels
his teams qualified for the playoffs every season and won four state
championships. Between 2001 and 2007 his teams went 40-1 in region play and
17-3 in the playoffs. After serving as the quarterbacks coach at Minor during the 2008 season he would take over the reins at 5A Gulf Shores and take the Dolphins to their best record in school history (9-3). In 2011 Coach Freeman moved up the road to Spanish Fort where the Toros won the state title this past season. | ||
| 5. John Mothershed | ||
| High School: | Sheffield | |
| College: | North Alabama (1982-85) | |
| Record: | 193-49 79.8% | |
|
Coach Mothershed
served as an assistant coach at Deshler for eight seasons before taking over
the helm for the Tigers in 1995. In the past eighteen years his teams have
amassed a record of 193-49 winning back to back state championships in 1998
and 1999. The Tigers have reached the Super Six Championship game on five
other occasions only to come up a little short in their quest for a title.
Since 1997 his teams have reached the third round of the playoffs in every season except two. Deshler has also won fourteen region championships and compiled a 98-10 region record during his term as the head football coach. The Tigers qualified for the playoffs in every season and scored in every game since 2000. | ||
| 4. Paul Benefield | ||
| High School: | Fyffe | |
| College: | Jacksonville State | |
| Record: | 200-48 80.6% | |
|
Coach Benefield won
his 200th game as a head coach in 2012 at Fyffe and Sylvania. He took over
the head coaching job at Sylvania in 1992 and proceeded to lead the Rams to
back to back 12-1 seasons in 1994 and 1995. The twelve wins were the most in
school history and were also the first 10-0 regular seasons since Sylvania
began playing football in 1947. After five season at Sylvania and a 45-11 record Coach Benefield returned home to Fyffe as their head coach in 1997. Since then his teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season except 2000, won nine region championships and won at least ten games in nine of those years. He also has the distinction of never coaching a team with a losing record during his twenty-one seasons. | ||
| 3. Jack Hankins Jr. | ||
| High School: | ||
| College: | West Alabama | |
| Record: | 114-27 80.9% | |
|
Coach Hankins is a
second generation coach following in his father's footsteps. Jack Sr. won
two consecutive state championships at Millport in 1983 and 1984. Junior
would take over at Thomasville in 2002 and continue the success the Tigers
had come to expect over the years. Since that time each of his teams have qualified for the playoffs with the 2010 team winning the Super Six Championship in Auburn. His overall region record is 66-11 in a region that has proven to be one of the toughest not only in 4A but the entire state the past few years. | ||
| 2. Bobby Carr | ||
| High School: | ||
| College: | ||
| Record: | 128-29 81.5% | |
|
| ||
|
Coach Carr, the head coach at Edgewood Academy is a close second on our list. Since
becoming the head coach of the Wildcats in 2001 he has reeled off a record
of 122-25 including 62-4 in the past five seasons. His Wildcats have also
won four of the past five AISA-AA state championships with a playoff record
of 14-1. The Wildcats will enter the 2013 season riding a thirty-one game winning streak, the longest in the state. The Wildcats also set an AISA state record by scoring a total of 645 last season. He also coaches the Edgewood baseball team in his spare time. His baseball teams have also won four state championships. | ||
|
1.
Laron White | ||
| High School: | Courtland | |
| College: | Alabama (1993-96) | |
| Record: | 105-21 83.3% | |
|
| ||
|
Coach White of Tanner
leads the way with a winning percentage of 83.3% in his short ten year
career at Tanner high school. Coach White, the son of long time Courtland
coach Louis White, led his team to the 2A state championship in 2012. His
teams have qualified for the playoffs in each season and won a minimum of
seven games. Tanner will begin the 2013 season with a thirty-five game regular season winning streak, a 28 game region winning streak and a twenty-six game home winning streak. All three marks are tops in Alabama. | ||
|
NEXT: Which football coaches have the highest winning percentage in state history?
David Parker
AHSFHS.org
dparker@ahsfhs.org
Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History
In 1969 the two point conversion was adopted for play following a touchdown. Until that time all conversions were worth one point.
In 1969 the two point conversion was adopted for play following a touchdown. Until that time all conversions were worth one point.
