Rush Propst: Back home, reveling in new challenge

[jbcarol]

Back in the state after a journey that began in 1989 in Ashville and wound through both Alabama and Georgia, Propst is home

"I love it," Propst said during Pell City's competition at the Hustle Up 7on7 competition at the Hoover Met Complex, a stone's throw from the program he restored to dominance in the early 2000s. "I could sit here and talk to you about it for an hour, but at the end of the day, being back in Alabama gives me a lot of satisfaction. I'm glad to be back, glad to finish my career here."

Propst's story is well known. After his first head coaching position in Ashville, Propst coached at Eufaula and Alma Bryant before accepting the Hoover job in 1999. He restored the program that struggled after the 1994 death of legendary Bucs coach Bob Finley.

Hoover posted three straight losing seasons before Propst built a dominating program, winning five state championships in nine seasons and shining a national spotlight on the program with the 2006 MTV reality show Two-A-Days.

The Propst story is not without controversy. ...

[jbcarol]

Rush Propst to Oxford coach: 'Hey! F--- you!'

Rush Propst is back in Alabama coaching the Pell City football team and on Thursday he was in Hoover for his team's first taste of organized competition.

Propst in Hoover? Something told me that maybe I needed to be there to monitor the situation. Call it the gut instinct of a curious observer.

The occasion was a 7-on-7 tournament involving 16 teams from throughout the state. Typical summertime stuff. I'm not really an expert of 7-on-7 competitions, but it's always encouraging to see young people dedicating their summers to something other than eating Cheetos and playing video games.

Propst picked up some new players including a young quarterback from Los Angeles.

L.A. to Pell City? That's quite the move considering Pell City went 1-9 last year.

Pell City's biggest rival is Oxford, and, coincidentally, they were matched in the 7-on-7 tournament. It was win or go home and Pell City wasn't ready. Oxford won 30-2. Getmanshchuk threw a couple interceptions early and things spiraled from there. Pell City had the ball with time for one more play, and Oxford's sideline decided to use that moment to taunt their rivals.

"Mercy rule," shouted the Oxford players.

"Make their asses quit," shouted one of Oxford's coaches.

There was nothing casual or friendly about the moment. It was just 7-on-7, but Oxford wanted to make a point. Rush who? For Propst, the outburst from Oxford's coach was too much for him to handle. Propst took a few sudden paces onto the field. He was angry.

"Hey!" Propst screamed. "F--- you!"

Assistants pulled him back. It was a scene. In his first competitive environment as Pell City's coach, Propst publicly dropped the F-bomb on Pell City's principle rival. It was a flash of a personality trait that's either Propst's greatest strength or his biggest weakness.

[jbcarol]

Propst on throwing headset at son on sideline: 'He's mine and I'll discipline him'

The questionable sideline behavior of Rush Propst is well known, and on Friday night the excitable football coach added to his history of erratic in-game incidents.

Propst is the new football coach at Pell City. In his first game back in Alabama since resigning from Hoover in 2007, Propst threw his headset at his son, John David Propst.

The headset broke apart against John David Propst's helmet and added to a chaotic sequence during Pell City's 28-24 loss at Moody.

The bizarre moment came during a game stoppage after a personal foul penalty against Moody for a late hit out of bounds. Tempers brewed throughout the week leading up to the game between the two rivals.

There was plenty of trash talk on social media as well as a billboard promoting the game. The hit out of bounds touched off a scuffle between the two teams near the Pell City sideline.

Seeing his son attempting to rush into the fray, Propst reacted by ripping off his headset and throwing it at his son from a short distance.

Pell City athletics director Xavier Robinson intervened by pulling back John David Propst before anything else escalated.

Propst's wife, Stefnie, was also on the sideline during the game. Stefnie Propst serves the Pell City football team as secretary yet nutritionist.

Head set toss stunned nearby players.

Took the steam out of the situation.

New de-escalation technique

[jbcarol]

Propst: There's no evidence he didn't throw headset at son

You make the call

Yeah that wide angle view from 100 yards away really narrowed it down

Propst on Wednesday denied throwing his headset at his son in the midst of a scuffle during Moody's 28-24 win over Pell City on Friday.

"No. 1, I can't say too much," Propst told "The Big Noon Sports Show" on The Tide 100.9. "There was never headsets thrown. We have video evidence to prove that."

An out-of-bounds hit at the end of a punt return sparked a scuffle in which a Moody player was ejected for throwing a punch.

Joe Goodman was covering the game and reported Propst, in an attempt to keep his son – junior wide receiver John David Propst – from getting involved in the fight threw his headset and hit (his hat).

"Proven by video evidence, which will come out soon, is that we de-escalated a situation on the sidelines where there was a tackle out of bounds," he explained Wednesday. "A flag was thrown for an illegal hit out of bounds. There was a punch thrown by a Moody player. He was ejected. We were trying to separate (players). We did a great job. Everybody did a great job of keeping it from elevating to something worse. Nothing else happened except for the one punch.

"Where this all came from, we don't know.

"All you have to do is pull it up on the 411 Network, and there is nothing to see," Propst said.

I can see that headset flying from across the grassy knoll.

I hope the Moody player gets help. Moods can be a terrible thing to manage.

Joe Goodman is who it came from. That part's not a mystery.

[jbcarol]

Rush Propst supporters rally as Pell City school board schedules special meeting

Pell City Board of Education has called a special meeting for 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Superintendent James Martin told the Anniston Star the agenda includes several personnel items but did not identify any specific personnel.

However, it was clear at a Tuesday afternoon protest in Pell City, that citizens – including some football team members -- think football coach Rush Propst's job could be at least one of the meeting topics.

Football players held signs that read "We want Rush" and "We want the best, We want Rush."

Martin did not return a phone call or email from AL.com Tuesday.

School Board president Joe Sawyer also didn't return an email seeking clarification. Propst did not want to comment Tuesday night.

Propst, who rose to fame in leading Hoover High to national prominence, was hired last March to coach the Panthers. His first team went 1-9, including one forfeit loss due to an eligibility issue.

Propst won five state titles at Hoover and added two more as head coach at Colquitt County, Ga. He's also been head coach at Ashville (1989-1992), Eufaula (1993-1996), Alba/Alma Bryant (1997-1998) and Valdosta, Ga. (2020).

He reached 300 career wins at Valdosta. However, the Wildcats were forced to forfeit seven victories following a Georgia High School Association investigation, dropping him back to 295 officially.

Propst also did not coach in high school in 2019 after his departure from Colquitt County. He was fired after an investigation accused him of providing "pills" to players and being verbally abusive.

[jbcarol]

Rush Propst remains Pell City football coach after heated school board meeting

By Ben Thomas |

[jbcarol]

[jbcarol]

Football coach Rush Propst wins games

Draws controversy

A timeline

By Mike Perrin |

Rush Propst, a lightning rod for controversy and a hugely successful high school football coach, faced another possible bump in the road in his career Wednesday morning at a special called meeting of the Pell City Board of Education. An item on the agenda called for the non-renewal of Propst's contract as head coach at Pell City High.

After a heated discussion, no one on the board offered a motion to vote on the item, so it died and the 66-year-old Propst kept his job – to the delight of much of the packed-house crowd at the meeting, including many of his football players.

Here is a timeline of Propst's career, with information from AL.com, several other news organizations and the Alabama High School Football Historical Society:

1976 – Graduated from Ohatchee High School, where he played football for Ragan Clark

1981 – Graduated from Jacksonville State University. He was a non-scholarship player for the Gamecocks in 1976-77.

1999-2007 – Head coach at Hoover High School, where he was 110-16, with five state championships and two runner-up finishes. His playoff record was 35-3 with the Bucs.

2005-06 – Became well-known nationally as the Bucs' coach via the MTV reality series, "Two-A-Days."

2007 – Controversy came to light when Hoover athletic director Jerry Browning resigned citing differences with then-principal Richard Bishop, who had been a teammate of Propst's at Jax State. Browning told AL.com he had regrets about the power of the Hoover booster club and that Propst was not always following the rules.

July 28, 2007 – The Birmingham News reported on allegations about Propst's "secret family" that came to light after Bishop was fired as principal. An August 31, 2007, an investigation into controversies surrounding Propst and grade-changing allegations went online.

October 30, 2007 – Propst resigns as head football coach at Hoover effective at the end of the playoffs. Hoover was forced to forfeit four games due to an ineligible player's participation.

2008 – Divorced Tammy Cox Propst and married Stefnie, with whom he has four children.

2008-2018 – Head coach at Colquitt County in Norman Park, Ga. He led the Packers to state championships in 2014 and 2015, with back-to-back 15-0 records. His record at Colquitt County was 119-35.

June 2016 – Georgia Professional Standards Commission announces Propst's suspension for the 2016 season over his head-butting of a player

March 14, 2019 – Fired as Colquitt County head coach in a unanimous vote of the Colquitt County Board of Education following an investigation that found he had violated the Code of Ethics for Educators for "legal compliance, conduct with students, honesty and public funds and property." A subsequent investigation changed his punishment to a 131-day suspension and he was cleared in March 2020 of all the accusations of wrongdoing and had his Georgia teaching certificate reinstated.

2019 – Volunteer assistant coach at UAB.

January 2, 2020 – Named head coach for planned private school, Ultimate Student Athlete Academy in Coosada. He resigned about a month late

April 8, 2021 – Valdosta High School team was sanctioned for recruiting and other issues related to the coach and the football booster club. Propst was fired and the Wildcats were forced to forfeit all 12 of its 2020 games.

January 2023 – Hired as associate head football coach at Coosa Christian in Gadsden.

March 31, 2023 – Hired as head coach at Pell City High

April 24, 2024 – Remained head coach after heated Pell City School Board meeting, where an agenda item called for the non-renewal of his contract.