Ranking The 9 Highest-Paid High School Football Coaches In Alabama

The great state of Alabama is on the short list of states that care more about high school football than most things in life. And the high school football head coaches across the state who bring state championships to small towns are paid handsomely for their craft.

Here we break down the 9 highest-paid high school football coaches in the state of Alabama. This comes after we recently ranked the highest paid high school coaches in Texas and Georgia. Now it is time to dive into Alabama’s best.

Ranking the 9 Highest-Paid High School Football Coaches in Alabama

The data below comes from an AL.com report at the end of last year. Since that was published there have been some changes with coaches retiring or changing jobs, so the lists are not apples to apples. But it gives us a pretty clear picture of who the highest-paid high school football coaches in Alabama are.

1. Mark Freeman: Thompson High School (7A)

Mark Freeman was named head coach of 7A Thompson High School, part of the Alabaster City Schools, back in December, 2014 and has gone on to become the highest-paid high school football coach in Alabama according to a report from AL.com in November 2024.

Freeman was the 2023 National High School Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year to the proud program that was a perfect 14-0 in 1982, their first perfect season. They have won the Alabama State Playoff Championships in 1982, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024. If you’re thinking back to that 2014 promotion, that is 5 state championships with Mark Freeman as the head coach of Thompson High School. This season they are 4-1 and ranked 19th (at the moment) according to MaxPreps.

In the 2024-25 season, Mark Freeman had a base salary of $84,323.55 and a supplement of 77,731.06 for a total compensation package of $162,054.61, making him the highest-paid high school football coach in Alabama.

2. Patrick Nix: Central High School (7A)

Central High School head coach Patrick Nix is the second-highest paid high school football coach in Alabama. In the 2024-25 season, he had a base salary of $62,568 and coaching supplement of $92,532 for a grand total of $155,100.

The former Auburn University QB (1992-95) is also the father of Bo Nix. They won the 7A state title in 2023 and Central HS has a game this week against IMG Academy here in SW Florida about 30 miles away… Should I go?

3. Josh Floyd: Hewitt-Trussville High School (7A)

Hewitt-Trussville High School head coach Josh Floyd is the third-highest paid high school football coach in the state of Alabama. He has 12 seasons under his belt at Hewitt-Trussville and 21 seasons in total coaching HSFB. With total annual compensation of $151,207.36 according to AL.com’s annual report, Josh Floyd is raking it in.

Hewitt-Trussville High School is currently ranked #3 in Alabama according to the MaxPreps rankings and they are 5-0 this season. Class of 2026 WR Dylan Cope has offers from Georgia, Ole Miss, and others. Running back Delvecchio “Deuce” Alston II has offers from Kentucky, Minnesota, UVA, and more. They are STACKED.

4. Keith Etheredge: Auburn High School (7A)

7A Auburn High School head coach Keith Etheredge is the 4th highest paid high school football coach in Alabama with $148,588.70 in total annual compensation ($104,755.70 base salary+ coaching supplement).

Keith Etheredge was the Oxford High coach for two years, won a Class 6A title in 2019, went 25-3 over two seasons, then left for Auburn High School. Auburn HS has yet to win a 7A state championship in the school’s history but has 9 regional championships, including one in 2024. They are currently 4-1 this season and leading the Region 2 standings.

5. Robert Evans: Vestavia Hills High School (7A)

Vestavia Hills High School head coach Robert Evans is the 5th highest-paid high school football coach in Alabama with $145,341 in annual compensation ($97,841 base salary).

He was previously the Mountain Brook DC and hired in 2022 as the head coach. Evans was also part of the school’s 1998 Class 6A state championship team so he has plenty of history at Vestavia Hills HS. Vestavia was a perfect 15-0 in that 1998 season with head coach Robert Evans as a DB on the squad. 1998 was the school’s last state championship and their only other one came in 1980.

6. Bryan Moore: Opelika High School (7A)

Opelika High School (7A) head coach Bryan Moore is the 6th highest-paid high school football head coach in Alabama with total annual compensation of $141,279 ($71,812 base salary). The Opelika Bulldogs are 4-1 so far this season with their only loss so far being a 17-10 loss to Auburn High School.

Moore was hired as Opelika’s head coach in December 2023 after seeing considerable success at Hartselle. Opelika has yet to win a state title. They have had a 13 win season (2016) and 18 regional championships. But they are looking to their well-compensate head coach Bryan Moore to bring them their first 7A state championship.

7. Ben Blackmon: Enterprise High School (7A)

Enterprise High School (7A) head coach Ben Blackmon earned $139,957.32 in the 2024-25 season which made him the 7th highest-paid HSFB coach in Alabama. He has previoulsy coached at Gulf Shores and Spanish Fort.

It has been a LONG time since Enterprise HS won a state championship. They have two, 1982 and 1979, and are hoping Coach Blackmon is the guy to turn things around. He received a ~$3K bump in base salary from 2023-24 to 2024-25, and is clearly valued by the program. October 10th against Opelika will be a true test for the Enterprise Wildcats.

8. Shane McComb: Oak Mountain High School (7A)

7A Oak Mountain High School head coach Shane McComb ranks 8th among Alabama HS football coaches with $136,365.22 in earnings over the 2024-25 season. Prior to taking over the helm at Oak Mountain HS, he was head coach at Palm Desert HS in California near Palm Springs and led that team to six straight district championships so they like what they see in their coach that was hired in 2023.

Oak Mountain needs help. They have never made the Alabama Playoffs Finals. Their only semi-finals appearance was a loss. They are 1-4 in the 2nd round. This season they are 4-2 with a 41-0 loss to Thompson and 27-6 loss to Prattville High.

9. Kelvis White: Bob Jones High School (7A)

After James Clemens HS head coach Christoher Chad McGehee retired last year (previously ranked #10), that opened the door for a new 10th highest-paid coach in the state: Bob Jones High School head coach Kelvis White who earned $117,222.79 in total compensation ($77,311 base salary) in 2024-25.

This season, Bob Jones HS is 4-1 overall and historically they have 13 district championships. The Patriots have produced 2 NFL players including linebacker Reggie Ragland who won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs.