After 46 years as a high school football coach, Jack French is retiring.

French spent the last six years of his 40-year head coaching career at Faith Academy. He led the Rams to 55 victories and the school’s first AHSAA playoff berths.

“I just think anyone with half good sense can figure out it’s time,” the 70-year-old French told AL.com. “I’m getting tired. I just know that the kids need someone that has a little more energy than a guy like me, especially our kids. We’ve got good young people, and they need someone that can give more than I’ve been able to give. I need to back off and realize I’m not even middle aged anymore.”

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French took over a Faith program that had won 38 games in a decade since moving from the AISA to the AHSAA and had never been to the playoffs in that league. He led the Rams to the postseason every year, including a pair of runs to the Class 5A state semifinals and another to the quarterfinals.

He also spent four years as head coach at Baldwin County, one at Clarke County and four at Baker. Before coming to Alabama, French coached 25 years in Mississippi, winning three state titles at Forest High.

He was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) Hall of Fame last summer, representing Mississippi.

“He has been amazing,” Theodore head coach Steve Mask said of French before his Hall of Fame induction. “He has that unique ability to go into programs that have not been consistent winners to say the least and lift the programs to a level where they consistently compete for championships. His longevity says a lot about the energy he brings to every program he takes over.”

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