This is an opinion piece.
It was a turbulent week for the Hoover football team.
Actually, it was more of a turbulent three days.
Head coach Drew Gilmer – who was poached from defending Class 6A state champion Clay-Chalkville in January – and defensive coordinator Adam Helms were placed on leave Tuesday after videos of a Bucs practice session circulated on social media that appeared to show controversial behavior by two of the team’s coaches.
On Thursday, the Hoover City School Board accepted the resignations of both. This comes just two weeks before the Bucs open the 2024 season against Western of Davie, Florida, on Aug. 24. Former Albertville and Grissom head coach Chip English was named interim coach and will serve in that role for the remainder of the season.
With English, Hoover has now had four head coaches in the last four years. This comes after Rush Propst and Josh Niblett spent a total of 23 years at the school, winning 11 state titles and turning Hoover football into a national brand.
This is breathtaking.
I really feel for everyone involved.
I feel for Gilmer and Helms, who are now out of a job. I don’t know Coach Helms. I know Gilmer and like him. We’ve always had a good relationship. I can’t defend the actions we all saw on video and I wouldn’t try to, but I haven’t spoken to either coach to see if they have another side to offer.
Maybe I’ll get that chance.
I certainly feel bad for the players – those seen in the controversial videos and the rest of the team who are now picking up the pieces, getting used to a new coach, and preparing for what will always be a tough Class 7A schedule.
After opening at Western, Florida on a Saturday, the Bucs return home the following Friday (Aug. 30) to play rival Spain Park, which dropped to 6A this season, before opening the 7A, Region 3 schedule with road games at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa and Hewitt-Trussville.
The rest of the schedule includes traditional 7A club Prattville, Class 6A playoff contender Parker and the rest of Region 3 rivals, including Thompson and Vestavia Hills.
It’s difficult.
However, this Hoover team is not without talent.
Quarterback Mac Beason transferred from Gardendale. Jonah Winston — the younger brother of NFL QB Jameis Winston — will play multiple positions. Both of them and many others took to social media this week to defend Gilmer and Helms and what they are trying to build at the school.
Winston said Gilmer and Helms have a “different style and that’s why they win.” He said, “Our culture is broken. 5-7 shows it!” He was, of course, referring to the 2023 season, in which the Bucs lost five of their first six games but ultimately made the playoffs. Hoover hasn’t missed the playoffs since Propst’s first year in 1999.
After the events of this week, the 2024 team faces enormous challenges.
Can Beason, Winston and the team keep the playoff streak alive, put Hoover back on top of the 7A league and ensure the Bucs remain one of the most prominent programs in the country? Can English and the rest of the staff unite the team toward a common goal going forward?
It’s been a rough week, but it can still be a season to remember. How many times have we seen a sports team motivated to make an impressive run by an incident or tragedy off the field or on it?
That’s what I hope for this team.
After all this, can Hoover still be Hoover?
We’ll all find out soon.
Time of transfer
There has been a lot of talk recently—and especially in this column—about the increasing number of high school athletes transferring from one school to another.
To be honest, I’m not sure who I’ll see on which team on Friday night. That worries me.
When I sent out emails this summer to preview each class, I asked coaches who their top recruits were. I’ve always asked that question with an eye toward younger players who could be significant in the upcoming season. Now it has to include players who have transferred into college.
You can’t blame parents for trying to make the best decisions for their children, but what has become striking – and unfortunate – recently is the timing of many of these transfers.
Many players have already completed spring and summer workouts with their former teams before announcing their transfer, even though school starts this week in many districts. I’ve heard several stories this summer of student-athletes who made their transfer without speaking to their former coaches about the decision.
I’m not sure what the answer is, but I hope the new AHSAA executive director, Heath Harmon, has some ideas. Certainly the trend has grown with the popularity of the NCAA Transfer Portal, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing on either level.
Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I couldn’t imagine playing for any other high school than the green and gold Clarkston High Angoras. I certainly couldn’t imagine playing for two or three other schools.
A positive ending
Despite the Hoover situation this week and the rampant transfers, I am still excited for the upcoming new high school sports season.
The ASWA preseason football rankings have been released. At AL.com, we have begun rolling out our A-List posts on the state’s top senior football recruits. Later this month, we will also be releasing our A-List of top volleyball players.
We are also starting a high school newsletter, which you will hear a lot more about in the coming week. I hope you will join us.
Thoughts for the week
“If there is a grace that is incomparable,
Even those who nailed him there,
Then even your guilt and shame, your worst mistakes, can be restored.” – Forgivable, Mercy Me
Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter for AL.com. He was named one of the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s 50 Legends. Follow him on Twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio app Wednesdays at 2 p.m.
