There is a new high school football program coming to Baldwin County, and it will have a Hall of Fame coach.

Bayshore Christian athletic director Jeff Hauge told AL.com on Thursday that the classical Christian school in Fairhope, Ala., plans to officially start football and has hired former Bayside Academy coach Phil Lazenby to lead the way.

“I’ve known coach Lazenby for 15 or 16 years and have always kept my eyes on him as a coach,” Hauge said. “He has done a wonderful job wherever he’s been. This is a dream hire for our school to be able to get coach Lazenby on board and lead our football program.”

Lazenby’s official start date at Bayshore is June 1. His title will be Director of Football Operations. Hauge said the plan is to focus on teaching the game in 2023 with an eye toward fielding a junior varsity team in the fall of 2024.

Though Bayshore is a young school in the AHSAA, the Eagles already have had plenty of athletic success, including back-to-back Class 1A state baseball titles, back-to-back cross country titles and a state volleyball title.

“We have a lot of young students at Bayshore who are interested in football even to the point of writing me letters and raising money to help get it going,” Hauge said. “We’ve been going through this process for two years, going over the details and thinking about when the timing will be right. We believe with coach Lazenby coming on board this is the perfect time.”

Lazenby, a 48-year veteran of coaching, went into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. He has a 200-108 record as a head coach at four stops. He spent five years at Guntersville, one year at Southside-Gadsden, four years at Benjamin Russell and the last 16 at Bayside Academy in Daphne. He was just that Admirals’ second football coach.

“Bayside wasn’t like taking over a totally new program but in a way it was because there was a lot that needed to be done,” he said. “When I first came here to Bayshore and was just watching the kids and talking to the kids, I was just very impressed with the way they behaved, the way they interacted.

“I went to baseball games and saw the way coach Hauge taught them and how they responded. You don’t see a lot of kids react and behave the way Bayshore kids do anymore. I think the church and the school together, all of that helps. I like the Christian atmosphere here, the conservative atmosphere and am excited about teaching kids the right way to play football. I’m thrilled to be here.”

In his 16 years at Bayside, another Baldwin County private school, Lazenby went 115-72 and took the Admirals to the playoffs 13 times. His team went all the way to the Class 3A state title game in 2015. He left Bayside in December but said then he wasn’t done coaching.

“I’m not sick. I’m not decrepit,” he joked. “I’m very lucky and fortunate to have this opportunity. I’m proud to be here. I can’t think of any other place I would rather be.”

Lazenby will teach several classes at the school as well. In the meantime, there is much to do. Hauge said the summer will include hiring assistant coaches and gathering equipment. There have been talks about where the school may play and practice, but those and many other details are still in the works.

Bayshore just this week broke ground on a new upper school campus off Highway 13 in Daphne that is scheduled to open in the fall of 2024. The current campus is located off Highway 98 between Daphne and Fairhope.

“I think success in baseball but also in our other programs have helped us get to this point,” Hauge said. “We have a very good wrestling program, and I think wrestling and football almost go hand-in-hand in building tough men and helping each other become successful. Our student-athletes know how to compete.”

Hauge said he and Lazenby hope to meet with Bayshore parents before school lets out in two weeks. Lazenby knows some of his first steps will be, or at least seem, very basic.

“We will have a football period that will include strength and conditioning and there will be days where it is like, ‘OK, today we are going to learn how to put on our shoulder pads,’” he said. “That’s just part of it, and I’m excited about all of it.”

Lazenby said his love of the game of football has not wavered in nearly five decades of coaching.

“I love everything,” he said. “I love the chess match with the opponents, the interaction with the kids. I think Billy Graham once said that coaches have more impact in one year on students then most pastors have in a lifetime. I think of the thousands of kids I’ve been blessed to coach in a lot of different sports. It’s such a blessing.”