Veteran football coach Jeff Foshee is leaving Autauga Academy after health issues

After a few episodes in which he sought the opinion of doctors, Autauga Academy head coach Jeff Foshee resigned on September 24th. Principal Jeremy Carter, the school’s former two-term head coach and stints at Billingsley and Prattville Christian, has taken the reins for the remainder of the season — and possibly beyond.

“I had a little bit of anxiety and chest pain,” Foshee said Monday. “I have since been examined and everything is fine. But it’s not worth my health, so I let it be.

“The biggest thing about leaving is the relationship with the players. I had several that transferred to me that I had already trained. What you miss are the relationships you build with children every day. I’m going to miss that part of it.”

Foshee said both his grandfather and father had open-heart surgery. “My heart was good and clear, thank God,” he said. “I just had a few panic attacks. I don’t know. It just wasn’t worth continuing with it. They (Autauga Academy) were in good hands, so I gave up.”

According to research from the Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Foshee has a 111-93 record in 19 years as head coach at Stanhope Elmore, Curry and Autauga Academy. He spent 16 years at Stanhope – his alma mater, where he played for his father, Jimmy, who was 212-81-1 in 25 years leading the Mustangs. The younger Foshee was 105-72 in 16 years at Stanhope Elmore.

Carter told the Elmore Autauga News that he may stay on as head coach. “Maybe you’ll see me on the sidelines from now on,” he said. “I love football, it was good for me, and these kids love football too. I don’t understand why I can’t do both.”

Carter led the Generals to a 30-6 record from 2005 to 2007, including a runner-up finish in the Alabama Independent School Association in his first season. He coached Billingsley for one season and Prattville Christian for two seasons before taking the job at Autauga Academy for the 2023 season when previous coach Trey Dunbar left on the first day of fall practice to take an assistant job at Wetumpka High. In 2023, Carter led the Generals to the state semifinals in their final season in the AISA before joining the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Foshee, who retired from the public school system after 25 years, said his good health record kept him looking for work and hadn’t ruled out a return to the sidelines. “If the right thing comes along,” he said, he would probably be interested. “We’ll see. You get stressed about things, but when you get checked and the doctor says your heart is fine, you feel much better.

“I might see who needs a little help,” said Foshee, who started as an assistant at Autauga Academy in 2023. “I have to find something to do. I can’t sit around the house.”