Here are some more coaching moves that took place over the last couple of months.
Matt Patterson is the new head man at Buckhorn. He comes from Madison Academy where he served last year under Bob Godsey. A former standout player at Arab, he played at West Alabama and spent his early years coaching with Tom Causey at Demopolis. After 2 years as the offensive coordinator at Bibb County, Patterson went back north where he served as Kevin Rose's offensive coordinator at Bob Jones. Buckhorn will be his first head job. “You never feel fully ready until you just go and do it, take that risk,” he said.
Aryvia Holmes has been selected as the new head coach at McAdory. He comes to the Yellow Jackets from Minor where he had spent the last two seasons as offensive coordinator. A former player at Samford, Holmes has been around successful programs in the Birmingham area, coaching at Clay Chalkville, Homewood, Hoover and Pinson Valley. “If you do things the right way and surround yourself with right people, good things will happen in the end," Holmes said after taking the job.
Aubrey Blackwell has left Montgomery Catholic to take the head coaching position at Benjamin Russell. Blackwell was 54-19 in seasons with the Knights. His 2020 squad lost in the 3A finals to Fyffe 21-16. Blackwell is excited about the possibilities in Alexander City. “There are tough kids there and it’s a special community with great people in it,” he said. “And there have been so many great men that have come before me -- Phil Lazenby and Danny Horn and Willie Carl Martin and Steve Savarese -- that have been in this spot and had a lot of success."
When Blackwell left Montgomery Catholic, assistant Kirk Johnson was named the head coach. Johnson had served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Catholic. "It's not often that you get the opportunity in your first head coaching job to take over a State Championship caliber football team," Johnson said. "I look forward to the opportunity to expand on what has been built and continue to lead the program to the next level."
Alma Bryant has hired former McAdory coach Bart Sessions to come back to the Mobile area and revive their program. A native of Grand Bay, Sessions coached as an assistant around the Mobile area for several years. He is most well known for his three seasons as head coach at McGill Toolen from 2011-2013 where his Yellow Jacket teams went 34-5 and made it to the 2013 semi finals before losing to Auburn. 24-21. “That entire community has a tremendous amount of pride and football is important to them,” Sessions said. “When you look at the new administration and their commitment to excellence in all areas — that certainly is going to play into having enough support to build back the program to what it once was." Sessions has also been head coach at Tuscaloosa County and Gadsden City.
Albertville has tabbed Chip English as their new head coach. He leaves Grissom after leading the Tigers to their first winning season since 2002 and the first playoff appearance since 2004. “I want to make sure that our kids are prepared when we go out on Friday night,” English added. “I made it an emphasis in the interview process, that we’re not always going to match up, nobody is, there is going to be a time where you face somebody in front of you, whether it be team to team or individual, where you don’t match up physically against them, but you can always be prepared. You can always do the right thing, and you can always know what’s happening. Our practice, our structure and the way we do things is about that preparation. Ninety five percent of their football career is preparation, only five percent is games. Think about what we’re investing in, we’re investing in their preparation.”
Corner has hired Jon Cooper as their new head coach. He spent the last two years at Appalachian. Before going to North Alabama he had served as head coach at Slocomb and Kinston. “Corner is a unique place with unbelievable support,” Cooper said. “They have been extremely competitive over the last several seasons. Their record has not always been an indicator of how close they are to breaking out as an elite team. "
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