This is an opinion piece.

It’s been quite a week in the high school football coaching ranks.

For the first time I can remember, two coaches changed their minds after taking new jobs.

First, Demopolis coach Brian Seymore announced a week after he was approved as Greenville High’s new coach that he was stepping down from that position. Coach Seymore told me this week that he had not resigned at Demopolis and his immediate plans were to remain at the school. Seymore has a 56-18 record in six years as the Tigers’ head coach.

However, whether he will still be the Demopolis head football coach, has yet to be announced and seems to be in doubt. Superintendent Tony Willis, in a text message earlier this week, told me he hoped to have the school’s 2023-2024 coaching plans finalized at a Board Meeting on Monday night.

A little later in the week, AHSAA Hall of Famer and six-time state champion Stacy Luker announced that he had changed his mind on taking the head football coaching position at Cottage Hill Christian in Mobile. Luker was introduced as the Warriors’ head coach last month.

Cottage Hill moved quickly on naming his replacement, promoting defensive coordinator Carvel Jones to the position on Thursday.

Those moves follow the news last month that Pell City had hired Rush Propst two months after he was named associate head coach at Coosa Christian in Gadsden.

Other coaching news:

Danny Powell, another AHSAA Hall of Famer, has been hired as the new football coach at Jackson Academy. Powell spent last season as an assistant coach at Jackson High School.

Buckhorn defensive coordinator Wes Patterson is the new football coach at Susan Moore.

Selma High announced Leon Day as its next football coach.

Westbrook Christian hired a pair of well-known basketball coaches. Neal Wester will coach the boys team, while Jeremy Brooks will coach the girls. I covered Jeremy as a player at Emma Samson in the early 1990s. One of us is old, and i don’t think it’s Jeremy.

Barry Sanderson is leaving Tuscaloosa Academy to take over the boys basketball program at Northridge High.

Former Baker, Austin and Pleasant Home boys basketball coach Major Deacon has been named to the same position at Albertville.

More Central Board news

Maybe the biggest news to come out of this month’s AHSAA Central Board meeting was the approval of a new Class 7A playoff rotation beginning in 2024. Read more about that here.

However, there were also a few other interesting items.

— As expected, the Board approved a pay raise across the board for all contest officials. The new pay scale will put the AHSAA first in Section 3 in virtually every sport. This was an issue leading up to baseball season as some officials threatened a strike. It was heavily publicized in the Mobile area.

— Also, the Board approved making a “Medical Timeout” before each contest a requirement. The “Timeout” was a recommendation from the AHSAA Medical Advisory Board. It is designed to discuss medical options available to insure both teams are aware of health and safety preparedness in place for that particular contest.

Noteworthy spring highlights

— St. James junior striker Katie Brightwell now has 168 goals for her high school career. According to the AHSAA records, she ranks eighth on the all-time list. Brightwell has an amazing 38 goals in 12 matches so far this season.

— Bayshore Christian freshman golfer Michael Heaton recorded a hole-in-one on the par 4 No. 7 hole at Lakewood Golf Club in Fairhope this week. He was playing in a two-day tournament hosted by Daphne and Fairhope High Schools.

— Sand Rock softball pitcher Jadyn Foster now has 1,000 strikeouts in her high school career. The senior had seven strikeouts in an 8-1 win over Cedar Bluff this week.

— Hartselle High senior Coleman Mizell, an Alabama signee, has hit 11 home runs and driven in 29 runs over the last two weeks for the reigning 6A baseball champs. Mizell has 23 hits in his last 44 at-bats.

Thought for the week

“You earn your respect not by blending in but by standing out. Stand up for what you believe in, even when its unpopular.” — Tim Tebow, One-year Devotional, Mission Possible

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.