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The best of the best in Alabama High
School Football over the past 100 seasons.
2023 Football Coaching Changes
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New Hires: Twenty Best Hire: Steve Smith, Westbrook Christian Hardest to Replace: Steve Smith, Piedmont Best Job: St. James Toughest Job: Brindlee Mountain |
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Most Interesting: Jonathan Miller has been very
successful at Saks the past eleven seasons and will be filling the shoes of
Steve Smith at Piedmont this fall. His teams at Saks won 100 games and
fourteen playoff games. The most interesting change will likely be Coach
Smith taking over at Westbrook Christian. His success at Piedmont will go
down as one of the best tenures of any coach ever. Westbrook Christian has been an up and down program the past twenty-five years but Coach Smith will breathe new life into the program without a doubt. Neal Posey at St. James will inherit a team loaded with talent and one of the best quarterbacks, KJ Jackson, in the state. All they did last year was win the 3A state championship. | |||||||
| 2023 Coaching Changes | |||||
| There were more new hires,
twenty, in
3A than in any other classification. Eight of the new coaching
hires were head coaches last season. Brian Seymour moving to Trinity will be
a team to watch in the near future. Opp went looking out of state and lured Matt Brunson away from Florida where his team at Baker won state titles in 2016 and 2018. He has a career record of 213-73 over the past 25 seasons. Saks may have lost a great coach in Jonathan Miller but should be just fine under Coach Freeney who turned around a program in Florida. All-in-all Class 3A seems to have made several great hires that will prove to change the landscape we have grown accustomed to the past decade or so. Time will tell if all the changes pan out for the schools. | |||||
| Team | 2022 Season | 2023 Season | |||
| Asbury (1-9) | Chris Williams | Matt Harris. | |||
| Ashford (2-7) | Robin Tyra | David Stapleton III | |||
| Brindlee Mountain (2-8) | Keith Garner | Joshua Bailey | |||
| Carbon Hill (1-9) | Mark Cochran | D.J. Emerson | |||
| Clements (2-8) | Joby Burns | Michael Parker | |||
| Colbert Heights (4-6) | Taylor Leathers | Tyler Jeffrey | |||
| Cottage Hill Christian (5-5) | Bobby Parrish | Carvel Jones | |||
| Dadeville (10-1) | Roger McDonald | Roger McDonald | |||
| Elkmont (2-8) | Nathan McDaniel | Chris Bunio8/Staff | |||
| Elkmont (1-9) | Chris Bunio | Chris Bunio8/Staff | |||
| Greensboro (3-7) | Winston Johnson | Deon Washington | |||
| Hanceville (4-6) | Ryan Brewer | Ryan Brewer | |||
| Hillcrest Evergreen (4-6) | Harry Crum | Will Pouncey | |||
| Hillcrest Evergreen (4-6) | Harry Crum | Justin Nared | |||
| Holly Pond (0-10) | Chris Moss | Coleman Mason | |||
| New Brockton (0-10) | Zack Holmes | Jason Barnett | |||
| Northside Methodist Academy (4-6) | Toby Greene | Stefan Gainey | |||
| Opp (8-3) | Mike Dubose | Matt Brunson | |||
| Phil Campbell (7-4) | Kevin Barnwell | DreQuay Everett | |||
| Phil Campbell (7-4) | Kevin Barnwell | Jacob Hamilton | |||
| Piedmont (12-3) | Steve Smith | Michael Williams | |||
| Piedmont (12-3) | Steve Smith | Jonathan Miller | |||
| Saks (7-4) | Jonathan Miller | Alphonso Freeney | |||
| Saks (7-4) | Jonathan Miller | Alphonso Freeney | |||
| Sheffield (5-5) | Brian Dickerson | Brian Dickerson | |||
| St. James (13-2) | Jimmy Perry | Tyler Robinson | |||
| St. James (13-2) | Jimmy Perry | Neal Posey | |||
| Straughn (7-4) | Ashley Kilcrease | Hunter Adams | |||
| Susan Moore (3-7) | Stephen Jackson | Wes Patterson | |||
| Sylvania (10-4) | Tyler Vann | Chris Smelley | |||
| Tarrant (2-8) | Rico Jackson | Matt Stockton | |||
| Trinity (9-3) | Granger Shook | Brian Seymore | |||
| Trinity (9-3) | Granger Shook | Brian Seymore | |||
| Weaver (2-8) | Gary Atchley | Ken Cofer | |||
| Weaver (2-8) | Gary Atchley | Ken Cofer | |||
| Westbrook Christian (5-5) | Drew Noles | Don Farley | |||
| Westbrook Christian (5-5) | Drew Noles | Steve Smith | |||
| Wilcox Central (1-8) | Reggie Powell | Brandon Cheatham | |||
| Most Victories | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class 3A includes some of the winningest coaches
with five over the 200 win mark and sixteen topping the 100 win milestone.
Both are tops for any classification. They are led by Dale Pruitt at
Plainview and Steve Smith at Piedmont. The next two on our list made moves during the off season with Hugh Fountain back at W.S. Neal with hopes of rebuilding that program and Bob Godsey at Madison Academy. The region with the most coaching wins and experience is not even close. All the head coaches in Class 3A region six have won a combined 1,074 football games in their respective careers. They have coached in a total of 1,639 games. Absolutely amazing stat. The region in a distant second is 7A region three with 776 total wins. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Most Playoff Victories | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 62 playoff victories by Steve Smith rank fifth all-time in the state. In twenty-eight seasons as a head coach all but his very first squad at Cedar Bluff qualified for the playoff. That is simply a tremendous statement to the great head football coach he is today. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Longest Tenure at Current School | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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With eleven head coaches with at least ten seasons at their current school,
class 3A has the longest average tenure of all the classifications at 4.9
years. Michael Robertson at Hokes Bluff and Dale Pruitt at Plainview
are tied for the longest tenures in the state with 27 years at their current
schools. Eleven head football coaches in 3A have been at their current school more than ten seasons. That is the most of any classification. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Coaching Turnover 2000-2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 no surprises on this list. No teams here would be considered a consistent winning program. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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David Parker
AHSFHS.org
dparker@ahsfhs.org
Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History
The Prattville Lions won 56 consecutive regular season games between 2001 and 2007.
The Prattville Lions won 56 consecutive regular season games between 2001 and 2007.
