Sam Adams named Oxford Yellow Jackets head football coach

Oxford, AL – After seven seasons at the helm of the Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa football program Sam Adams is leaving to take the reins of the 6A powerhouse Oxford Yellow Jackets.  

The Corner native was approved as the Jackets 26th head football coach during a special called meeting of the Oxford City School Board Monday.  

Adams takes over for Keith Etheredge who resigned in late February to take the top job at 7A Auburn High School.  Etheredge closed out his two year stint in Oxford with a 25-3 record, a pair of region crowns, an 11-1 region record and the program’s fourth state championship in 2019.  

During Adams’ seven seasons at Hillcrest he lead the Patriots to a combined 56-28 record including a pair of region titles, six postseason appearances, a trip to the 6A semifinals in 2017 and a 32-10 mark in region play.  

Sam Adams was officially introduced as Oxford’s next head football coach Monday afternoon. (Oxford Football)

Before taking over the Hillcrest program in 2014, the Auburn University graduate earned three state championship rings as an assistant.  The first, as the offensive coordinator at Kentucky prep power Trinity in 2005, followed by a pair at Hoover when he helped guide the Bucs to back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.  He was also serving as offensive coordinator on the Spain Park staff when the Jags finished as the class 6A runner-up in 2007.

Earlier in his career he coached wide receivers at Georgia’s North Gwinnett High School where he helped guide the Metro Atlanta program to a 33-4 record in four years, including the school’s first two undefeated regular seasons.

After a three-sport prep career at Corner High School in Jefferson County, Adams played baseball at Bevill State Community College before earning a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and a master’s from the University of Louisville. He was a graduate assistant for Tommy Tuberville at Auburn and on Bobby Petrino’s Louisville Cardinals staff.

Major upgrades are planned for the Yellow Jackets program including the installation of field turf at Lamar Field, an indoor practice facility, new weight room facilities, coaches offices and more.  

Adams joins an impressive list of coaches to lead the Yellow Jacket program including former Jacksonville State coaching legend Bill Burgess (1971-1984), current JSU head coach John Grass (2008-2012), Etheredge (2019-2020) and Hoover’s Josh Niblett (2005-2007).