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The best of the best in Alabama High
School Football over the past 100 seasons.
2022 Football Coaching Changes
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New Hires: Nine Best Hire: Ben Blackmon, Enterprise. Hardest to Replace: Josh Niblett, Hoover Best Job: Hoover Toughest Job: Mary Montgomery |
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Most Interesting: When Josh Niblett decided to leave
Hoover in December for Gainesville High School in Georgia everyone wondered who
would get the job. Dozens of names were thrown around before the Bucs
decided to hire Wade Waldrop to lead their prestigious program. Niblett led the Bucs to a
combined 171-26 record including six state championships and eight region titles
during his 14 year stint in Hoover. Those are big
shoes to fill for Coach Waldrop especially when you consider Thompson is in the same
region. | |||||||
| 2022 Coaching Changes | |||||
| Five of the new coaching
hires in 7A were head coaches at a different school last season. The other
four were coordinators. Ben Blackmon moves to Enterprise and brings with him
a record of 129-52 in fifteen seasons as a head coach. While Enterprise is
considered a very good football school, they have won just five playoff games
since 1994. Coach Blackmon's team at Spanish Fort won that many the past two seasons alone. The Wildcats also have not won a region championship since 1991. The hire could be just what the Wildcats need to advance to the next level in 7A. | |||||
| Team | 2021 Season | 2022 Season | |||
| Albertville (1-9) | Chip English | Chip English | |||
| Autauga Academy (4-6) | Jeremy Perkins | Jeremy Perkins | |||
| Baker (7-4) | Steve Normand | Steve Normand | |||
| Baldwin County (7-4) | Steve Normand | Steve Normand | |||
| Chelsea (4-7) | Dustin Goodwin | Todd Cassity | |||
| Davidson (3-7) | Rick Cauley | Rick Cauley | |||
| Davidson (3-7) | Rick Cauley | Rick Cauley | |||
| Decatur (3-7) | Rick Cauley | Rick Cauley | |||
| Decatur (4-7) | Jere Adcock | Rick Cauley | |||
| Dothan High (4-6) | Smitty Grider | Jed Kennedy | |||
| Enterprise (8-4) | Rick Darlington | Ben Blackmon | |||
| Florence (5-6) | Wade Waldrop | Kenny Morson | |||
| Hoover (12-1) | Josh Niblett | Wade Waldrop | |||
| Huntsville (3-7) | Mark Fleetwood | Mark Fleetwood | |||
| J.B. Pennington (8-4) | Todd Cassity | Rory Bell | |||
| Mary Montgomery (0-10) | Stan McCain | Zach Golson | |||
| Mary Montgomery (0-10) | Stan McCain | Zach Golson | |||
| Opelika (9-4) | Erik Speakman | Erik Speakman | |||
| Opp (9-3) | Mike Dubose | Erik Speakman | |||
| Percy Julian (8-3) | Eric Hudson | DreQuay Everett | |||
| Smiths Station (2-8) | Mike Glisson | Mike Glisson | |||
| Spain Park (2-8) | Shawn Raney | Tim Vakakes | |||
| Vestavia Hills (4-6) | Sean Calhoun | Robert Evans | |||
| 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 236 games under his direction including nine state championships at Bessemer Academy, Spanish Fort and the last three at Thompson. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 thirteenth season
with the program. His teams at Austin have finished 83-53 and have gone
8-8 in the playoffs. They also won region championships in 2016, 2017 and
2020. The average tenure of all 7A head coaches is just 3.6 years. That is the lowest of any classification except the 3.5 years in 4A. | |||
| 13 - Jeremy Perkins, Austin | |||
| 9 - Josh Floyd, Hewitt-Trussville | |||
| 8 - Tim Carter, Fairhope | |||
| 8 - Mark Freeman, Thompson | |||
| 7 - Kenny King, Daphne | |||
| 6 - Mark Fleetwood, Huntsville | |||
| 6 - Laron White, Sparkman | |||
| 5 - Erik Speakman, Opelika | |||
| 5 - Mike Glisson, Smiths Station | |||
| Coaching Turnover 2000-2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 23 years. There are a few notable schools here that are not considered losing programs in Enterprise, Florence and Spain Park. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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David Parker
AHSFHS.org
dparker@ahsfhs.org
Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History
In 1970 Monroe Academy won the first championship in the A.I.S.A. by defeating Lowndes Academy 6-0.
In 1970 Monroe Academy won the first championship in the A.I.S.A. by defeating Lowndes Academy 6-0.
