Keith Etheredge named Oxford head coach

Oxford, AL – Three weeks after Ryan Herring stepped down as the Oxford High head coach the Yellow Jackets have landed their next leader on the gridiron. PrepsNet’s Kwynten Gage has learned that the 6A program has hired T.R. Miller’s Keith Etheredge the program’s 25th head football coach.

The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 10-3 season that included a trip to the AHSAA 6A quarterfinals. The Jackets have compiled a 32-4 record, including a 16-2 mark in region play, over the last three seasons.

Etheredge began his coaching career at Leeds, where he built his alma mater into a football powerhouse. Over 10 seasons he lead the Green Wave to a combined 107-34 record including a pair of undefeated seasons, six region titles and four state championships including back-to-back rings in his final two seasons at LHS.

Etheredge after winning his fourth state title at Leeds High. Brant Berry | PrepsNet

Following the 2015 season he stepped from 4A into the 6A ranks moving 15 miles east to take over the Pell City Panthers football program. He lead the Panthers to consecutive 6-5 seasons and a pair of playoff births before accepting the top job at south Alabama power T.R. Miller in 2018. During his lone season in Brewton he guided the Tigers to a 6-5 mark and a trip to the 3A post season.

After graduating from Jacksonville State University the Leeds native began his career as a basketball coach at Center Point’s Erwin High. Following three years leading the Eagles hoops program he returned to his alma mater, spending two seasons as an assistant before being elevated to head football coach prior to the 2006 season. During a decade at the helm of the Leeds program he transformed a program that had managed only four winning seasons in the previous 10 years into a central Alabama power.

Etheredge’s career record currently stands at 125-49. He has claimed four state titles, six region crowns and has reached the AHSAA postseason in each of his 14 years as a head coach.

Etheredge with former Leeds quarterback TaDarryl Marshall. Brant Berry | PrepsNet

The Oxford head coaching job has a history of launching successful head coaches into nationally prominent high school and college head coaching positions. Current Hoover head coach Josh Niblett spent three seasons roaming the Lamar Field sidelines before taking over the Bucs program. Niblett handed the reigns to John Grass who spent five seasons in Oxford before moving to Jacksonville State University. Grass just completed his fifth season leading the Gamecocks on Burgess-Snow Field – named for former JSU head coach Bill Burgess. Burgess served as Oxford’s head coach from 1971 to 1984, he is currently the winningest coach in Yellow Jackets history.