After the most successful five-year tenure in the history of Baker High football, head coach Steve Normand told his team he was stepping down Friday afternoon.

Normand plans to retire from education in the state of Alabama and finish his career in Mississippi.

“It’s just time,” he told AL.com on Friday. “It’s a situation where I have enough years in. I’ve been doing this for 26 years. The time was right. It felt like the right time to get out and do something different.”

Normand took over as Baker’s interim coach in 2018 after the Hornets lost the first three games under Danny Smith. The team finished 5-5, and the interim title was removed.

“I never had much of a desire to be a head coach in reality,” Normand said Friday. “I was the interim when Mr. (John) Poiroux decided to make a change that year, but I wasn’t even going to apply to be the full-time head coach. Coach (Jacy) Todd convinced me to apply. He basically said, ‘You have to apply or be fired. The interim coach always gets fired.’

“I had no head coaching experience at all, but I will always appreciate Mr. Poiroux and Paul Agnew, who as athletic director here at the time, having enough confidence in me to get the job done. You don’t know what it is really like until you sit on the other side of the desk. That has been a very different perspective.”

The decision worked out well for Baker. In Normand’s five full-time years, the Hornets went 29-24 and reached the playoffs four times. His 2023 team, led by first-team All-State stars Josh Flowers and Bryce Cain, went 8-3. The Hornets lost to Auburn in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.

“I’ve been blessed to have the players and the assistant coaches I’ve had here,” Normand said. “With guys like that, anyone with a clipboard and a whistle can do the job.”

Though his tenure was short in the grand scheme, Normand will go down as one of Baker’s most successful football coaches. His four playoff appearances are more than any previous coach and his total wins counting his time as interim coach (34) and region wins (28) are second only to Billy Odom, who spent 14 years at the school from 1974-1987.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank coach Steve Normand for his dedication to Baker High School and the leadership he has provided to our football program,” Poiroux said in a statement. “Coach Normand stepped in to fill the role of head coach during a challenging time. Over the past five seasons, he has proven that relationships and culture make a difference in both the lives of student athletes and the success of a program. Coach Normand has established Baker High School football as a program that can compete and win at a high level on a consistent basis.”

Normand spent 20 years on the Baker coaching staff in various roles. He had previously spent four years at B.C. Rain. He said the decision to leave wasn’t an easy one.

“In fact, it’s been a lot tougher than I thought,” he said. “Even talking with my coaches, it was a little emotional. My son (Leland) is graduating this year and I got to coach him. My daughter cheered here. My wife still teaches here. Baker High has been a huge part of our lives for 20 years. It will always be a big part of me and our family.”

Normand said he hasn’t looked for a new job in Mississippi yet.

“I really didn’t even know I was eligible to retire until I started punching in the numbers,” he said. “I don’t know that I want to be a head coach again. I think I may just want to be a position coach or find something different over there.

“I’m going to miss it here. I didn’t realize how much until I started this process. I hope I left the football program better than I found it. I feel like we are on the upswing.”

Poiroux said Baker would open the position up and look for someone who can take the team to the next level.

“We’ll look for someone who can continue to move us forward,” he said. “I believe in constant growth and our next goal is to win the region and win playoff games.”

The only playoff win in the history of Baker High came in 1984, a 25-20 first-round victory over Vigor.