Veteran football coach Jere Adcock has come out of his one-year retirement to take over as head football coach at Whitesburg Christian Academy in Huntsville.

Adcock was introduced to players and parents and then the local media this morning, according to Whitesburg athletic director Jeff Bell.

“Without a doubt, being a head football coach for 27 years, he’s going to bring a passion and enthusiasm for the love of the game,” Bell said. “He’s going to give our football players at the Academy the opportunity to have an experienced football coach who will instill discipline and organization and everything needed for a young man to grow up. He’s going to have a tremendous impact on their lives.”

Adcock, who retired after 27 years as head coach at Decatur High School after the 2022 season, replaces Jimmy Nave, who stepped down after three years as head coach for the 4-year-old program.

Adcock was 187-120 at Decatur with seven region championships. His Red Raiders had one unbeaten regular season and five double-digit winning seasons. His 2022 team was 9-3 with an appearance in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

“To be honest with you, I wasn’t tired of coaching,” Adcock said. “When I got out, it was just the right time to do it. The more I sat through this football season, the more I missed it and the more I watched and studied stuff. I caught myself doing what I always did. I asked myself, ‘Why continue to study if you’re not going to coach?’

“I continued to be involved with learning. I didn’t sit it on the shelf and say I was done with it.”

The 68-year-old said he wasn’t actively seeking a new coaching job. His son, Riley – a former assistant of his at Decatur – got the first call from Whitesburg.

“He told me that Whitesburg wanted my number,” Adcock said. “I said, ‘Give it to them.’ He said, ‘I already did.’”

Adcock said he received a call from Bell about two weeks later and agreed to talk with him about the job.

“I did a little research on them,” he said. “They weren’t so great last year (2-8), but maybe this is a school that’s growing and has some promise. I did more research and had conversations with them and applied and went through the interview process. Through it all, my wife and children were very supportive. I had a lot of encouragement from my coaching friends.

“I got offered the job and here we are. Hopefully we can do something to help that program and make it start making some headway in this state.”

Whitesburg has a 12-28 record in its history, with Nave’s 5-5 finish in 2022 the only non-losing season. The Warriors play their home games at Madison County Elementary’s stadium in Gurley, about 15 miles from the school.

The team moves to Class 3A in the 2024-25 AHSAA reclassification announced this week, after entering the Alabama High School Athletic Association as a 2A school. The average enrollment figure for Whitesburg – multiplied by 1.35 based on the private school formula used by the AHSAA – is 220.05. It is the 11th smallest 3A school for 2024-25.

The Warriors will be in Region 8, along with 2023 2A state champion Fyffe, Geraldine (the only team to beat Fyffe last season), Asbury, Brindlee Mountain, Collinsville, Holly Pond and Sylvania.

Whitesburg Christian, located at 7290 Whitesburg Drive south of downtown Huntsville, is building a new gymnasium that is expected to be completed in February 2025. After that, Bell said, “We will look at our facilities and determine what’s next. A new weight room, field house and then a new stadium will be located in sight of the South Parkway.”

Adcock said he was excited to be a part of the planning for the buildup for the program. “We’re limited right now, playing off campus and the weight room off campus,” he said. “If there is something in their vision, in their immediate plan to provide a weight room and dressing room, I’m excited about that. Hopefully, they will allow me to be a crucial part of that planning. I’d like to do it in a way that provides us a great tool to work out and have more kids who want to come out and play football.

“I look at this as an opportunity to step in and doing something that’s never been done,” Adcock said.