Mortimer Jordan High School has named Heath Lauderdale as its new head football coach, according to a news release from the Jefferson County School District. Lauderdale has been the Blue Devils’ assistant head coach for the past two seasons and was in charge of the program’s strength and conditioning program.

“When we started looking at possible coaches to take over the program, we realized that we already had the most qualified person working for us,” Mortimer Jordan principal Craig Kanaday said in the release. “Promoting Heath makes all the sense in the world to me. He will continue to build on the positive momentum that we have already created here.”

Lauderdale replaces Dusty Goode, the team’s winningest coach, who announced his departure from the school on May 1. Goode was 80-41 at Mortimer Jordan in 10 years. Last season’s team was 8-3, falling at Fort Payne in the Class 6A playoffs first round.

“I am extremely grateful and honored to be named the next head football Coach at Mortimer Jordan,” Lauderdale said in the release. “It is a wonderful school and community that I hope to make proud, both on and off the field.

“It will be huge shoes to fill following a winner and a man like coach Goode, but I will do all I can to provide the program direction, discipline and commitment that creates tremendous young men. These are great kids that are a pleasure to coach, and to also have the opportunity to work for an elite administration is what makes this job so attractive. It’s a great day to be a Blue Devil.”

Lauderdale has 16 years of coaching experience, including a five-year stint as the head coach at Susan Moore, where he was twice named Class 3A Region 7 Coach of the Year. According to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Lauderdale was 31-22 at the Blount County school. His team also had a perfect 10-0 regular season in 2019, the same year Lauderdale was named Blount County Coach of the Year and was the defensive coordinator of the North squad for the 2020 North-South All-Star game.