Former American Christian coach Chris Smelley has been approved as the new head football coach at Sylacauga High.

Smelley spent the 2022 season as quarterbacks coach at Hoover.

“We are super excited,” he told AL.com on Wednesday morning. “My wife and kids are excited. We’ve been down to Sylacauga. It’s a neat place. One thing that jumped out at me was the pride the people have there and the community involvement. You can see the pieces there for it to be a very successful program.”

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Smelley was set for an introductory pep rally in Sylacauga today. He hopes to officially start his new job early next week. He replaces Rob Carter, who went 7-14 in two seasons with the Aggies. Sylacauga slipped to 0-10 in 2022 and was outscored 456-128.

It ended a streak of 10 straight playoff trips for the Aggies.

“The key to being successful is all about what you believe in and how you carry yourself,” Smelley said. “We want to do things the right way, do everything with excellence and represent our program in everything we do. The people I’ve met there already – it’s a special place. They want to see things done the right way, and we are going to do it the right way.”

Smelley was an all-state baseball catcher and quarterback during his playing days at American Christian. He threw for 134 touchdowns and signed to play football at South Carolina. However, he transferred home to Alabama in 2009 and finished his college career as a baseball player.

He started his coaching career as running backs coach at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa for one season before returning to ACA as offensive coordinator. He was promoted to head coach following the departure of John Causey in 2014.

Smelley went 65-21 in seven seasons as head coach of his alma mater, including a 24-3 record in his final two seasons. He stepped down in August of 2021. He credits his high school coach, Stephen Hooks, with his desire to remain in the profession.

“I wouldn’t be a high school coach today if it wasn’t for him,” Smelley said. “He was just one of those coaches you just love to play for. He believed in you and cared about you and a was a great motivator and encourager. Guys were willing to run through walls for him.

“At the end of the day, what I’ve learned is it is all about relationships and developing a level of trust. If you can do that, guys are willing to work hard for you and bring their best every day.”

Smelley said his style at Sylacauga offensively will be similar to what he ran during his tenure at ACA.

“We will definitely adapt to the athletes we have,” he said. “But we will do a lot of what we’ve always done. We will have a wide-open offense centered around being physical and running the ball downhill. I know kids like to do the things they see done on Saturday. We will be an up-tempo fun offense that can adapt and do a lot of different things.”