It’s official: Central High has its next head football coach
Central’s football program is used to winning. It’s a good thing its new head coach is too.
Patrick Nix, former Pinson Valley head coach, Auburn quarterback and father of current Tigers starter Bo Nix, was approved unanimously as an educator in a Phenix City Board of Education meeting Tuesday night and named the Red Devils’ new head football coach at a press conference inside Central’s football expansion facility following his approval. His hiring draws an end to a busy seven days at the school, which began with former Red Devils head coach Jamey DuBose retiring from the state of Alabama and taking the Lowndes job.
Nix said he knew Tuesday morning that Central was the right place for him.
“I want to be somewhere where the expectations are extremely high,” Nix said. “They can’t get much higher than what we had at Pinson, and they can’t get much higher than what we have at Central.”
Nix is an offensive guy. He played high school football at Etowah High School. At Auburn, he played quarterback under head coach Terry Bowden, offensive coordinator Tommy Bowden and quarterbacks coach Jimbo Fisher, who currently coaches at Texas A&M.
His son, Auburn starting quarterback Bo Nix, said in August that the offense his father ran at Pinson Valley was “very similar” to Tigers coach Gus Malzahn’s up-tempo attack, which likely eased the freshman’s transition into Auburn’s offense.
Under his father’s coaching, Bo set Alabama state records with more than 12,000 career yards of total offense and 161 touchdowns.
Patrick said he will primarily run the offense, and will employ a defensive coordinator. He’ll also have a “couple of people along with me,” to help run the offense.
For Patrick, the culture won’t need to change much: He won back-to-back Alabama 6A state championships at Pinson Valley in 2017 and 2018, before losing in the playoffs to eventual state champion Oxford this past season. In three seasons at Pinson Valley, he held a 38-4 record and lost just one playoff game. He holds a 66-22 all-time record in AHSAA football, holding a 15-5 combined record in the 5A and 6A playoffs.
“Every year at Pinson, the expectation is a state championship,” Patrick said. “Every year at Central, the expectation is a state championship. That’s just the way it is. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere where the expectations are average. I don’t stomach that very well. I don’t like to settle.”
Nix met with his former team around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday to break the news, according to the Trussville Tribune. His coaching stops before that include Charleston Southern, Miami and Georgia Tech.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 5:12 PM.
