As usual, the high school football offseason was filled with coaching changes throughout the state.

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This year, several Hall of Fame coaches and a few likely future Hall of Famers were on the move. Some traditional powers also changed leadership.

Here is a look at 16 impact head coaching hires this offseason.

Ray Nelson, Mattie T. Blount

The former Theodore High and Samford quarterback legend and Satsuma head coach takes over a proud program Leopards program that has struggled to 3-7 finishes each of the last two years. Nelson spent last season as an assistant for Eric Collier at Theodore and is looking to rebrand and bring stability back to Mattie T. Blount.

Chris Smelley, Sylacauga

After spending the 2022 season as quarterbacks coach at Hoover, Smelley was hired to lead the Aggies. He takes over a Sylacauga program that slipped to 0-10 in 2022 and was outscored 456-128. Smelley went 65-21 in seven seasons as head coach of his alma mater, American Christian, including a 24-3 record in his final two seasons. He stepped down in August of 2021.

Neal Posey, St. James

It’s a good news, bad news situation for Posey. The bad news is he earns the right to take over for a Hall of Fame coach, the retired Jimmy Perry. The good news is he takes over a reigning state champion with an SEC commit, KJ Jackson, at quarterback. Posey was the team’s offensive coordinator in 2022 when the Trojans went 13-2 and won the 3A state title.

Jonathan Miller, Piedmont

Former Saks coach Jonathan Miller will try to keep the Piedmont powerhouse that Steve Smith built rolling. Smith won 198 games and five state titles in 17 years at the school. Miller is coming off a successful run at Saks where he won 100 games in 11 years and reached the playoffs 10 times.

Rico Jackson, Anniston

The well-traveled Jackson inherits an Anniston program that seems ready to compete immediately. The Bulldogs went 11-1 last year before losing by a touchdown (35-28) to eventual state champion Andalusia. Jackson has had previous head coaching stops at Fairfield, Aliceville, Escambia County, Murphy and Tarrant. His most successful season came in 2016 when he led Aliceville to the Class 2A title game.

Phil Lazenby, Bayshore Christian

Lazenby, one of several Hall of Famers on this list, is starting from scratch – literally – with Bayshore Christian, which begins football for the first time. The Eagles are aiming to play four middle school games and a handful of junior varsity games this fall with an eye toward fielding a varsity team for the first time in 2024. Lazenby won 115 games in 16 years at nearby Bayside Academy.

Barrett Trotter, Bayside Academy

The former Auburn quarterback takes over for Lazenby. Trotter comes to Bayside from his alma mater, Briarwood Christian, where he taught and coached for two seasons. He helped with quarterbacks last year and coached tight ends and wide receivers. He also has college coaching experience at Auburn and North Carolina and NFL experience with the Los Angeles Rams. He is just the third coach in Bayside’s history.

Granger Shook, Pike Road

Shook moves down I-85 from his alma mater, Trinity, to Pike Road. Trinity went 28-9 in three seasons under his guidance. The 2022 team was 9-3, losing at Mobile Christian in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs. He is the third Pike Road head coach in three years following Patrick Browning and Ed Rigby.

Brian Seymore, Trinity

It was a strange offseason for Seymore. He left Demopolis and briefly took the head coaching job at Greenville before stepping down a week later. He landed at Trinity as a replacement for Shook. Seymore has a history of fielding competitive teams. In six years at Demopolis, he won 56 games and reached at least the second round of the playoffs five times. He also has been head coach at Pike Liberal Arts, Andalusia and Mary G. Montgomery.

Aairon Savage, Decatur

Savage joins Trotter as former Auburn football players earning head coaching jobs this fall. He replaces Jere Adcock, who won 187 games in 27 years as Decatur’s head coach. Savage is just the school’s sixth football coach since 1933. The Red Raiders went 9-3 in 2022 and lost in the second round of the 6A playoffs.

David Faulkner, McGill-Toolen

Faulkner, the former Alma Bryant, Fairhope and Enterprise head coach, returns to the high school ranks after several years at Troy and West Virginia. Faulkner is 67-56 in 11 years on the high school level. He takes over a Yellow Jacket program that went 5-5 in the tough Class 6A, Region 1 a year ago and missed the playoffs.

Lance Tucker, Demopolis

The former Alabama quarterback was hired to replace Seymour at Demopolis. Tucker, a former quarterback and head coach at Fayette County High, returns to the state after leaving in 2019 to become head coach at Bartlett, Tenn. The son of coaching legend Waldon Tucker, he takes over a perennially successful Tiger program that hasn’t missed the playoffs since 1995.

Steve Smith, Westbrook Christian

The highly successful Smith retired from public school teaching and coaching to accept the job at Westbrook Christian. He won 198 games in 17 years at Piedmont and also led his team to state titles in 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021. He has 283 wins in 29 years overall at Piedmont and Cedar Bluff. Westbrook has missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons.

Steve Mask, Theodore

After a one-year hiatus from the Gulf Coast at Pell City, Mask returns and takes over a Bobcat program that played in the Class 6A state semifinals a year ago. He won 110 games and four state titles in a decade at St. Paul’s from 2012-2021 and has 211 victories overall. Mask was inducted into the Alabama High School Hall of Fame in 2021. He takes over for Eric Collier, who took an off-the-field job at South Alabama.

Rush Propst, Pell City

He’s back. The controversial coach who put Hoover on the map will try to resurrect the football program at Pell City. The Panthers went 1-9 under Mask a year ago and haven’t had a winning season or made the playoffs since 2017. Propst won 110 games and five state titles with the Bucs from 1999-2007 and has 295 career wins (after having to forfeit seven wins at Valdosta High). He has been out of coaching for the past two seasons.