Pell City superintendent Michael Barber welcomed Keith Etheredge as Pell City High School's new football coach and Athletic Director. Photo by Kristen Dale. 

The room was packed at the Feb. 16 Pell City Board of Education meeting with anticipation running high on the night’s promised announcement. Keith Etheredge’s impending job offer and acceptance was clearly an interest for many Pell City residents.

Faculty, community members, players and coaches showed up to support the school’s newest addition, as did several of his former players from Leeds High School, athletic standouts and scholarship recipients including Koi Freeman and TaDarryl Marshal. They were present to wish their former coach luck in his new endeavor.

Etheredge comes from a football program with a proven record of success. Leeds is the reigning 4A state champion, the school having an overall record with 62 winning seasons. In the past 10 years, under Etheredge’s leadership, the team has won four state championships.

While the main buzz surrounding Etheredge’s arrival was his position as head football coach and his successes on the field, he was also named the school’s athletic director – a position that he said he values very highly.

“I will be involved in every sport,” Etheredge said. “I’m not the coach, but I am here to work with those coaches.”

Numerous sports at Pell City have found their own successes throughout recent years. The varsity baseball team was the Area 10 champions in the 2015 season. Etheredge credits the current coaches with operating systems that work.

“There are a lot of great coaches here. I’m not trying to come in and change how all the sports are being run,” Etheredge said of Pell City. “I will do everything I can to help them in any way they need, but I don’t want to undermine the great work they’re doing.”

Pell City Superintendent Michael Barber believes that Etheredge’s success in football will transfer onto other fields and courts.

“Success is success,” Barber said. “He’s shown that he can win in several sports, he’s really an advocate for all of them, so we are excited to see that carry over to Pell City.”

Barber, who had not met Etheredge before his interview last week, is looking forward to getting his new AD acclimated to Panther life as soon as possible. Etheredge officially begins his position, Monday, Feb. 22.

“Right now, we feel Coach Etheredge gives us the opportunity to be successful in all areas,” Barber said. “We want him to begin making a difference in the lives of young people as soon as possible. We’re simply thrilled about it.”

PCHS Principal Tony Dowdy was excited at the prospect of having a coach and AD who puts academics before sports.

“He’s a principal’s dream,” Dowdy said. “He’s a guy who’s going to be in the halls and in classrooms, leading kids to be academically successful and allowing sports to take a backseat to their education.”

Etheredge, along with his wife, Allison and two children, Camden, 13, and McKenzie, 8, will be transitioning into Pell City throughout this year.

Allison, who teaches fourth grade at Leeds Elementary, will continue teaching her class through the school year.

“I couldn’t leave my kids in the middle of the year,” Allison said. “I’m not positive about where I will be next year. We will see what the future holds.”

Allison said Camden and McKenzie will attend Pell City schools in the fall. She sees Pell City as a place for her family to settle down and make their home for years to come.

“I am so excited for him, and I think Pell City is really a place he can give his heart to,” Allison said. “This is somewhere we can settle down, and call home.”

The Etheredge decision comes at a time of additional developments for the Pell City football program. At the same meeting, the Board approved to accept a bid for the construction of a new press box at Pete Rich Stadium.

The new press box will be constructed by Thirty-One Construction. The company was the low bidder, with a bid totaling $315,819.

“We’re very excited about this,” Barber said. “It is something we’ve needed for a while.”

The press box should be completed by the fall, with the current press box undergoing demolition sometime next month. The Board’s vote to accept the construction bid was unanimous.

“It’s a beautiful press box,” Barber said. “We can’t wait to see the finished product.”

Over the course of the upcoming year, the prospect of new assistant coaches is yet another moving part in the athletic department.

“[Etheredge] will have the opportunity to bring two or three guys with him,” Dowdy said. “That is a process that we will be working on throughout the rest of the school year.”

With his new positions, fast-approaching football spring training, and the Board in need of another person to assist with scheduling and athletic decisions, Etheredge will begin making his mark in Pell City very soon.

“Coach brings something very special to this school,” Barber said. “I’m excited to see what’s next for all of our sports programs with him as a leader.”

When Keith Etheredge was named head football coach at Leeds High School in 2006, the team was in a slump, having won only seven games in the previous three seasons. But in the past 10 years his teams have never missed a trip to the AHSAA Playoffs. He’s also taken the Green Wave to the State Championship game five times in those 10 years, and walked away victorious in four of the contests.

He leaves Leeds with a record of 104-37.

“He turned a lot of boys into men. They grew up under him, and he turned them into good husbands and fathers when they were headed for something worse,” said Willie Strickland, the announcer for the Green Wave. Strickland worked with Eltheredge for all 10 years of his tenure at Leeds High, and said his loss will be felt both in the football program and the community.

“He’s not just a great coach, he’s a great leader.”