Jackie Ferguson

Jackie Ferguson was a high school head coach for 21 seasons in Alabama. Ferguson graduated from Hazlewood High School in Town Creek and Florence State University before embarking on a coaching career. In 1966, Ferguson became the junior high coach at Muscle Shoals for one year before moving over to Athens High School as an assistant coach for four seasons. His first head coaching position came in 1971 at West Morgan where he remained for three successful seasons before moving over to Brooks in 1974. Ferguson stayed at Brooks for two seasons with a record of 15-5. His next stop was at Hazlewood from 1976-1979 where his teams compiled a record of 37-9. His 1978 team finished 13-1 with an undefeated regular season. In 1980 he got a fresh start at Athens where he remained for five seasons before returning to his alma mater in 1985. This time around things clicked and in five seasons the Golden Bears won three state championships. His record for these five years was 59-9. His teams also won four consecutive region titles. He also coached the track team to state titles in 1986, 1988 and 1990. Ferguson retired following the 1989 season. The 40-year coaching veteran stayed close to football, however, coaching at Bethel College in Tennessee and as an assistant at Coffee High and Colbert County in 2008. He took over the head job at Colbert County in 2010 for another two years. Compiling an overall football record of 171-66-2, Ferguson was named coach of the year three times. He is a member of the Lawrence County Hall of Fame, coached in the North-South All-Star game twice and in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. Ferguson was named Coach of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers in 1985 and 1988. He was inducted into the Alabama High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2006.