CULLMAN, Ala. – After four seasons on the sidelines at his alma mater, Cullman High School Head Football Coach Oscar Glasscock has decided to retire. Glasscock led the Bearcats to four straight playoff appearances after taking over in 2019, compiling a record of 28-17.
“For me, it really just came down to a gut feel. It’s time. It really is as simple as that. It just feels like the right time and this season was so much fun. This senior class especially was great, and it was a real player-led team. They just played so hard on Friday nights, and they practiced the same way,” Glasscock said. “They’re such good people and we had a lot of fun. The coaching room was awesome, and those guys did everything they could to help those guys achieve. It was just such a great year as far as being enjoyable and I know from coaching for 30 years that it doesn’t really get any better than what we had this year.”
Glasscock is happy to be stepping down in a positive situation but admits he’ll miss coaching this group for another year. The Bearcats collected some big wins during Glasscock’s tenure but what he’ll remember the most about his time at Cullman is the relationships with his players.
“The culture is fantastic and the only reason I would’ve thought about staying longer is because the junior class is just as good a bunch of kids. It was really difficult to tell them I wasn’t going to be their coach next year. You’re always going to leave good kids, but they are really a very special group. The only thoughts I had about staying another year were because of them and the kind of kids they are,” Glasscock said. “The best thing to do is leave when its really positive. We had a great year and I’m going to have super memories, not just from this year but all the years, especially because of this group we had. The seniors, juniors and sophomores in this group just made it so enjoyable for me and that’s what I’m going to remember about my experience at Cullman High School.”
One of the things Glasscock is most proud of is the growth of the city school system’s strength program. The program has helped local athletes develop physically but in addition to that, Glasscock has seen it help develop more unity across all sports.
“I think establishing the system-wide strength program has been a huge deal. That was something that wouldn’t have been possible without the leadership of Dr. (Susan) Patterson, Kim Hall and Mark Britton,” Glasscock said. “They really spearheaded that and when they were recruiting me to take this job that was something I thought was non-negotiable. I asked them to trust me on it that it would build a lot of unity among the different sports and that’s exactly what’s happened. So, I’m extremely proud of the strength program here and I’m extremely proud of the unity we have amongst the coaching staffs of all the sports. I think it’s a real tribute to those three leaders.”
Having played their way into the postseason in each of Glasscock’s four years, the Bearcats took care of business on the field more often than not. But the win Glasscock is most proud of came off the field.
“Our big thing this year was that none of this matters if we’re not good people and I think the kids really bought into that. They understood that everything is related. You can’t be a champion on the field but be a suspect character in the classroom or in how you treat other people and I think this group as much as any other really understood that and embraced it. That’s going to serve them well in their lives,” Glasscock said. “I had great kids all four seasons and I think the majority are going to be proud that they played in this program and learned life lessons from it. Establishing a culture takes time and there’s no quick fix to it. That’s why it took this long to kind of get it to where we felt really good about it so those are the biggest accomplishments. Our kids are tough, they’re smart and we have a great culture.”
From Cullman City Schools –
Cullman City Schools is ramping up the search for its next head football coach, fresh off the retirement of head coach Oscar Glasscock, who has led the Bearcats varsity program for the past four seasons.
Cullman High made four playoff appearances and notched its first post-season win as a Class 6A program under Glasscock’s leadership. He retires with a 28-17 overall record at CHS.
“We appreciate everything Coach Glasscock has done for Cullman football and Cullman High School,” Cullman City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said. “In the time I’ve worked with him, I’ve been impressed with the relationships he has with his players, but more importantly his focus on character building with student athletes. On behalf of the Board of Education, we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”
Cullman City Schools Athletic Director Mark Stephens added that Glasscock’s tenure “bridged the gap” to carry the program to where it is now: “Our football program needed his leadership and calm and stable demeanor.”
Looking ahead, Cullman City Schools will post the opening for its head varsity football coach and anticipates a statewide search for the role.
“We anticipate a great amount of interest. Cullman is an attractive job for head football coaches because of the great student athletes, premiere facilities, administrative and board support and tremendous community support,” Kallhoff said. “Up next we’ll gather input from some of our stakeholders to discuss the future direction of the comprehensive football program in Cullman City Schools and keep this in mind as we interview for and hire the next head football coach at Cullman High.” The board hopes to approve its next football coach in January, giving Glassock’s successor plenty of time to hit the ground running for the 2023 season.
