Former Auburn star Sammie Coates wanted to be a high school football coach.

He wanted to be back in his home state.

He wanted a challenge.

Coates accomplished all three goals when he took the head coaching job at Columbia High School in the offseason. Yes, the same Columbia High that has a 91-game losing streak entering the 2025 football season.

In fact, the Eagles haven’t won a game since 2015. They’ve never been to the playoffs.

Yet, Coates is unafraid. In fact, he’s excited for the challenges ahead. Those will start Aug. 22 at Priceville.

Coates, a state championship player at Leroy High and an SEC Champion at Auburn, talked to AL.com at the Huntsville High School Media Day on Monday about his reasoning for taking the Columbia job, his plans for turning it around and his high school and college careers.

How exactly did you end up at Columbia High?

“I decided to get into high school coaching. I wanted to be a head coach. I was in college coaching, but I wanted to be a head coach. I wanted to run my own show. It’s been going great. I can’t complain about anything that is going on. The kids are buying in. I have a great group so far. I look forward to the process of building a new program. I know it’s going to take a lot of work, but we don’t have a problem with that. It’s a blessing to come somewhere where my expectations are high. I like to have high expectations, and I like to have a challenge. I like to challenge myself to see what I can really do. I think this is a position that will be challenging, but I feel good about it.”

Columbia may be the biggest coaching challenge in the state. How do you turn it around?

“We have to focus on us. We can’t focus on outside noise. We are looking forward. We don’t care about anything else other than what our team can become. We are trying to become a family, trying to become one, trying to learn how to be disciplined, learn how to do things the right way. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about winning in life. If I can get them to understand that – how to be better people, better players – all that adds up to wins. Win or lose, I’m going to teach them how to do it the right way.”

There were more than 100 offseason high school coaching changes in Alabama this offseason. Why Columbia?

“I was looking to come back to Alabama. I was in Virginia, coaching at a university up there. I was looking to get back home, come back to a place that made me who I am today. I did a little research on Columbia. I saw their record. I thought, “There has to be more to it.’ I get here and I see the players – the great guys I have – I just think the discipline hasn’t been there, and that’s the biggest change I’ve seen. Football is about discipline and consistency, and we are doing a great job so far.”

Do you see it changing?

“Every day we wake up, it’s a chance to change it. I tell them that every day. We are going to change it if ya’ll are willing to change. You have to pay attention to little things and the big things will take care of themselves.”

How are your numbers?

“We are getting there. I’m not going to say we are there, but we have the right numbers to play football games, and that is what matters. We have enough to go out there and compete. It’s going to be a little struggle at first, but that’s part of changing the program.”

Do they know the legacy of Sammie Coates as a high school and college player in this state?

“Once or twice when they start talking about being good football players, I have to show them and remind them. They know a little about me. They were so young when I was playing. It’s crazy to think about that. They were 5 years old when I was at Auburn, but they are trusting me and trusting the process. That’s the biggest thing.”

What do you remember about your time at Leroy?

“I remember Danny Powell, one of the best high school coaches in Alabama. He’s in the Hall of Fame. What he implanted was hard work. He didn’t care who you were. If you didn’t do it the way he wanted it, you weren’t going to play for him. That’s one thing I take away from high school. You’ve got to earn everything. I learned that from Danny Powell. If you didn’t want to be there, you could go on. Also, just the team we had in high school, how close we were. That’s why we won so much. We did everything together. There are no secrets to winning. It’s a family. You have to be on the same page. Coach Powell made sure we were on the same page, not only in football, but baseball as well.”

That Highway 43 corridor in South Alabama with Leroy, Jackson, Thomasville and Clarke County among other schools is legendary for good high school football. Why is that?

“The support. You go to a game on Friday night and the whole town shuts down. It’s truly what it means to be under Friday Night Lights. It means something to them. It’s just that pride. I remember going to those fields when I played Jackson, when I played Thomasville – how packed, how loud, how crazy it was just for a high school game. It made me keep loving the game more, made me play harder. That is what I’m trying to get these kids to understand. True Friday Night Lights hasn’t been here for a while. I’m trying to teach them here how the little things can make it so special.”

How do you get Columbia to that point?

“Getting the community to understand that sports can save these kids lives. It’s not just a game for us. It’s something that keeps us around each other. We learn how to work with people, how to be on the same page, how to grow up, how to mature. The support is everything. Kids do better when you support them so the more support we get in the community the better these guys are going to do, not only in football, but in life.”

It looks like you are wearing some of your Auburn championship rings today. What do you remember about being an Auburn Tiger?

“I remember the growth, the maturity. I went through the ups and downs there. My freshman year, I broke my foot. In 2012, we went 3-9, but I also remember in 2013 winning the SEC championship and going to the national championship. It taught me a lot about life – knowing you are going to fail, but you can also win after that. I took everything I went through with all the amazing coaches I had – (Gus) Malzahn, Rhett Lashlee, all the guys who are doing great now – they put a lot in me. That’s why I wanted to get into coaching because I had some great role models.”

You made a key play in the now famous Kick 6 win over Alabama in 2013.

“I tied the game up. People forgot about that because Chris Davis had to go run that kick back for a touchdown in the biggest game in the world. Some missed the little play I had. (Quarterback) Nick (Marshall) read the defense really good. The safety and the corner came down. He saw me wide open and just tossed it up in the air. The Kick 6 was amazing. Chris Davis was a great player. We had a lot of great players that year.”

No way you could drop that, right?

“I could have. My eyes got really big when I saw that ball coming. That’s why I caught it with my body. I had to cradle it. I was too wide open.”

What did you learn from coach Malzahn?

“Coach Malzahn, coach Rhett Lashlee – the way they approached the business and the way they approached us – they didn’t just treat us like football players, they treated us like human beings. These days, I feel like it is more of a business. A lot of them will get what they need to out of you and move on. That’s why we played so hard for those Auburn coaches. They treated us with respect. They always had our backs. That’s why we did the things we did at Auburn.”