Robert Evans named Vestavia Hills head football coach

Vestavia Hills, AL – The Vestavia Hills Rebels have landed their next head football coach.  The Rebels named Vestavia alum and current Mountain Brook defensive coordinator Robert Evans the Over the Mountain program’s eighth head football coach Thursday morning. 

Evans takes over for former Vestavia head coach Sean Calhoun who resigned after one season at the helm of the Rebel program to accept the same position at Georgia’s Colquitt County High School.  Vestavia is coming off a 4-6 campaign in 2021.  After dropping their first four contests they finished strong with three victories over Spain Park, Gadsden City and Shades Valley. 

“To say I’m excited about Robert and Anne coming home to Vestavia Hills is an understatement. He was a phenomenal student-athlete in high school, and today he continues to be a man of high character and a fantastic coach.”  Vestavia Hills athletic director Myra Miles said in a statement. “This is a great day for Vestavia Hills football.”

Evans, who stared for Hall of Fame Rebels head coach Buddy Anderson, has spent the last four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Mountain Brook.  During his tenure at Mountain Brook he helped guide the Spartans to a 41-11 record including a pair of region titles, two consecutive Class 6A semifinal appearances and a 7-4 mark in the postseason.  His 2021 Spartans defense held opponents to 120 points through 13 games while pitching seven shutouts.

“We will look to provide the same core values to our players that have been synonymous with Vestavia Hills football for decades: toughness, discipline, and humility. We will play a physical and innovative brand of football that this community can be proud of,” Evans said.

Click here to check out the full 2022 Alabama high school football Coaching Carousel. 

Before joining Chris Yeager’s Spartans staff he spent eight seasons at 7A power Hoover, including five years as the Bucs defensive coordinator.  During his time at Hoover the Bucs brought home five state titles, won five region crowns, posted a 102-13 record and advanced to the AHSAA state title game in each of his eight seasons on staff. 

Earlier in his career he spent time as an assistant at UAB, Spanish Fort and Oak Mountain.  


Evans, who was inducted into the Samford University Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011, spent some time in the Boston Red Sox organization before stepping in to the coaching ranks.  During his time at Samford he was a standout on the gridiron and the baseball diamond.  He finished his football career with the Bulldogs with 269 tackles, including a team best 104 stops as a senior in 2002.   On the diamond, he ranks second in Samford history in career hits with 249 and third in career doubles with 50. Evans also ranks fifth in career games played (211), fifth in career runs scored (140), sixth in career at-bats (738) and eighth in career batting average (.337).

Vestavia won’t be the only Class 7A, Region 3 program with new leadership on the sidelines in 2022.  Hoover is set to name Wade Waldrop their next head coach and Tim Vakakes will begin his first season at Spain Park in the fall.

A meet-and-greet event for Robert and Anne Evans will be held on Monday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. at Vestavia Hills High School. The event will take place in the school’s gymnasium and is open to the public.