Dadeville High School football coach Roger McDonald is stepping down.
After four trips to the playoffs in four years, including one region championship and one undefeated season, McDonald is stepping away from the Tiger football program effective immediately.
McDonald will serve in his role as athletic director until the end of the school year.
“We know as coaches when it is time,” McDonald said. “I have loved my time here. I have had great support from the community, the administration. But I do feel like, to be fair to the kids, they deserve someone with a lot of energy and is all in. If I am not sure I can do that, then I am not the right fit anymore.”
McDonald took over the Dadeville football team in 2020 and led the team to the playoffs every year at the helm. Dadeville was McDonald’s fifth coaching stop, and he’s taken every program he coached to the playoffs at least twice.
Both of McDonald’s daughters were cheerleaders for his playoff teams, including his daughter Jamey cheering for the undefeated region champion team in 2022.
“Both my daughters have had the opportunity to cheer for undefeated teams and region champions,” McDonald said. “I will always have those fond memories.”
While still maintaining his role as athletic director, McDonald will assist the school in making the transition as seamless as possible. Hiring a new coach will be a bit of uncharted territory for the school, as the school has only had two coaches including McDonald since 2000.
“I will do everything I have always done,” McDonald said. “I will do everything I can to make this an easy transition. Once a new coach is hired, I will need to remove myself from the players at time. But other than that, whatever they need to make this easy, I am all for it.”
McDonald officially addressed the football team Monday about the news. While he leaves behind a team that is returning plenty of talent, playing football at Dadeville isn’t about him. It is about the name on the front of the jersey.
“A lot of times kids assume that they will have the same coach all the way through, but that is just not the way it is,” McDonald said. “The biggest thing is that they are not here to play for me but to play for Dadeville and to play for your teammates. That is the most important thing.”
Looking ahead, McDonald doesn’t think the program will suffer any sort of drop off in 2024.
“Dadeville has always had good football and they will continue to have it after I am gone,” McDonald said.
The Tigers added Elmore County to its schedule recently, hosting the Panthers in Week 0. The two programs have not met since 2021, but with former Dadeville football star Kyle Caldwell coaching the Panthers, it was high time to return the rivalry.
“With our schedule, it looks like it is a tough non-region schedule,” McDonald said. “We wanted to keep things within a 50 mile radius and make some money. Hopefully that will alleviate some of that. Playing Elmore County, that will be good and make a lot of money.”
Coaching is still in the future plans for McDonald, though where has yet to be decided. The veteran coach boasts a career Alabama high school coaching record of 114-75.
“I don’t know if I will definitely retire,” McDonald said. “I still love coaching. I have 25 years of coaching. But I will definitely be coaching. Change is necessary, it re-energizes us. It comes with this type of job.”
In four years with the Tigers, McDonald went 26-14 and 1-4 in the playoffs. By far the highlight of his tenure was the undefeated regular season in 2022, capped by a region championship and playoff win. After this season’s playoff run however, McDonald realized it was time to move on.
“I have really enjoyed my stay,” McDonald said. “But it's time to move on. It just happens.”