Mountain Brook High Football Assistant Leaves For Alma Mater

VESTAVIA HILLS, AL —Robert Evans, who has been the defensive coordinator for the Mountain Brook High football team since 2018, was named the new football coach at Vestavia Hills High on Thursday. He is a 1999 graduate of the school.

Evans leaves a Mountain Brook program that went 12-2 in 2021 and lost 24-18 to eventual state champion Clay-Chalkville in the Class 6A semifinals of the AHSAA football playoffs. The Spartans had seven shutouts during the season.

At Vestavia Hills, Evans will replace Sean Calhoun, who stepped down after the 2021 season and accepted a job in Colquitt County, Georgia.

The Rebels went 4-6 last season and did not make the playoffs in Calhoun's only season in charge.

Before taking the defensive coordinator job at Mountain Brook, Evans spent eight years as a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Hoover High and he was on the coaching staff at Oak Mountain High, Spanish Fort High and UAB.

Evans was a member of Vestavia Hills' 1998 state championship team, which defeated C.F. Vigor 10-7 in that year's AHSAA 6A State Championship game at Legion Field. He was named Most Valuable Player of that contest. Evans also played high school baseball for former Rebels coach Sammy Dunn.

After high school, Evans was a standout football and baseball player at Samford University, and he was inducted into that school's Baseball Hall of Fame. He later signed a minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox.

According to a press release put out by Vestavia Hills High, Evans said he was thrilled to be returning to his old high school.

"We will look to provide the same core values to our players that have been synonymous with Vestavia Hills football for decades: toughness, discipline and humility," Evans said. "We will play a physical and innovative brand of football that this community can be proud of."

Evans' hiring was celebrated with an emotional video tribute on the Vestavia Hills High Twitter account. After a message with the words "Welcome Home, Coach Robert Evans," A video montage featuring Evans' high school highlights played out accompanied by the Diddy song "Coming Home."

"To say I'm excited about Robert and Anne coming home to Vestavia Hills is an understatement," Vestavia Hills Director of Athletics Myra Miles said in a statement. "He was a phenomenal student-athlete in high school, and today he continues to be a man of high character and a fantastic coach. This is a great day for Vestavia Hills football."