Photo by Erin Nelson.
Vestavia Hills head football coach Buddy Anderson stands at Thompson Reynolds Stadium as the 2020 Rebels have team photos made July 23. Anderson is entering his final season as head coach of the Rebels football program.
Every high school football coach in the state of Alabama has a Buddy Anderson story.
Nearly every one of them has crossed paths with the longtime Vestavia Hills High School head coach at some point over the last 42 years. So many of their stories sound the same.
Almost all of them include examples of Anderson’s class, respect for others, humility, determination and admiration at the vast number of young men he has undoubtedly influenced. None of them include cross words or instances of misconduct on the football field.
“It’s been awesome,” said Homewood head coach Ben Berguson, whose Patriots teams have only triumphed over the Rebels once in six tries. “He calls me periodically to see how I’m doing. He’s been a classy guy.”
Anderson will hang up his whistle following the 2020 season, his 43rd as the head coach of the Rebels. Anderson delivered the news to his team the morning of June 8, the first day the Rebels met for summer workouts.
“It’s something that’s taken a lot of soul-searching and prayer, and searching for what God has planned for me the rest of my life,” he said. “I’m not sure of everything, but I know He has a plan and a purpose. I’m at peace that this is going to be the last year.”
Anderson’s teams have posted a 342-154 overall record in a head coaching career that began in 1978. He was hired as an assistant coach at Vestavia in 1972 before being elevated to head coach in 1978.
“He’s just such a great ambassador,” Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager said. “He’s not just a football coach, he’s a great ambassador for the Vestavia community.”
His 342 wins is the most in Alabama high school history. During his tenure, the Rebels have advanced to the state playoffs 31 times and won state championships in 1980 and 1998.
“Their whole program, the way they play, the way their kids act, I’ve got a lot of respect for that,” Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney said. “I’m glad you get to know it’s his last time.”
Vestavia Hills employs many of the same offensive and defensive philosophies from 40 years ago. That hasn’t made playing the Rebels any easier over the years.
“They’re good at what they do because they know what they’re doing,” Hoover head coach Josh Niblett said.
Opposing coaches describe the Rebels as hard-nosed, disciplined and physical on a weekly and yearly basis.
“All these years, he’s still doing what he believes in, and they give themselves a chance to win every single week. You know what you’re going to get when you play them: hard-nosed, tough and physical,” Hewitt-Trussville head coach Josh Floyd said.
Even though Homewood has only knocked off Vestavia Hills once since 2007, Berguson has never given a second thought to discontinuing the longstanding rivalry, one that has been renewed each year Anderson has been at Vestavia.
“I’m not doing it,” Berguson said. “Our community looks forward to that game every year, it’s such a big game. I didn’t understand that until I got here. Even after losing several years in a row, our kids are excited for that week every year.”
The wins have come often over the years, but his impact on players and coaches has left a more substantial mark.
“I think the world of him,” said Chelsea head coach Dustin Goodwin, who remembers watching the Rebels’ 1998 title team as a kid and coaching alongside his father at Homewood against Anderson. “There’s no telling how many thousands of lives he’s touched. He’s always done it the right way. He’s never compromised character and has been recognized around the state and around the country.”
Cris Bell is entering his ninth season as the head coach at Oak Mountain but knew Anderson through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes while still coaching in Georgia.
“He and Linda [Anderson] mean a lot to [me] and my wife,” Bell said. “It’s fun to compete with friends and against friends. You’re really competing with them. You’re going to miss that aspect of it. I’m looking forward to still being able to have that relationship with him.”
If Anderson indeed calls it a career following this season, the 2021 season will be the first in nearly 50 years without the legendary figure roaming the sidelines at Vestavia Hills.
“When you think of Vestavia Hills football, you think of Buddy Anderson,” Floyd said. “It’s strange to think he’s not going to be coaching for Vestavia on Friday nights anymore,” Goodwin said.
The Birmingham area features many of the top high school football teams in the state each year. A team from the metro area has won a state championship in seven of the last eight years. The passion in the communities is extraordinary, and Yeager contends “somebody had to create that.”
“Guys like me, we’re on the shoulders of guys like Buddy Anderson,” Yeager said. “He basically made football what it is in this area.”
