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Photo by Erin Nelson
Hoover head coach Wade Waldrop talks with the Bucs following a 40-10 loss to Thompson in a Class 7A state semifinal game at the Hoover Met on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover head coach Wade Waldrop talks with the Bucs after defeating James Clemens 42-16 in a Class 7A first-round playoff game at Madison City Schools Stadium in Madison on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover head coach Wade Waldrop talks with the Bucs during a timeout during a Class 7A first-round playoff game against James Clemens at Madison City Schools Stadium in Madison on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Hoover head coach Wade Waldrop prior to a game between Hoover High School and Hewitt-Trussville High School on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at the Hoover Met in Hoover, AL. Photo by Barry Stephenson.
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Hoover head coach Wade Waldrop during a game between Hoover High School and Oak Grove(MS) High School on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Alabama. Photo by Barry Stephenson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
Hoover head coach Wade Waldrop talks with the Bucs following a 40-10 loss to Thompson in a Class 7A state semifinal game at the Hoover Met on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Hoover High School will soon be seeking a new football coach.
Wade Waldrop will not return to the Bucs next fall following a two-year tenure. Waldrop submitted his resignation Tuesday morning, Hoover Athletic Director Harley Lamey confirmed to the Hoover Sun.
“We would like to express our gratitude to Coach Waldrop for his contributions to our football program during the past two years and thank him for investing in our student-athletes. We wish him well in his future endeavors,” Lamey said in a statement. “Following board approval, we will begin the process of finding our next head football coach.”
Hoover posted a 5-7 record in 2023, advancing to the second round of the Class 7A playoffs. In 2022, Waldrop led the Bucs to an 11-2 record, a Region 3 championship and a trip to the semifinals in his first season.
"It was and honor and privilege to serve as head football coach at Hoover High School," Waldrop said. "I would like to thank former Hoover High Principal John Montgomery and former Hoover High Athletics Director Andy Urban for giving me the opportunity to lead the Buccaneer program, its players and staff."
Waldrop expressed gratitude to the parents and supporters of the program as well. He also said of the players, "I am thankful for the effort and dedication you showed over the past two seasons. I am proud to be associated with such a great group of men."
Waldrop has a combined record of 116-84 over 18 years as a head coach. His teams qualified for the playoffs in 13 of those seasons, with previous stops at Chelsea, James Clemens and Florence.
Hoover has won 11 state championships since 2000 but has yet to reach the state championship game since finishing off a second straight state title in 2017. The Bucs advanced to the semifinals in the five successive seasons, each time falling to Thompson, a program that has assumed prominence over the past seven years.
Hoover has had no shortage of success in the past 24 seasons. Rush Propst won five state championships in a six-year span, and Josh Niblett won six state titles in his 14 years. Niblett took over at Gainesville High in Georgia in December 2021 and has taken that program to a combined 26-2 record over his two years there.
Over 14 years, Niblett’s Bucs posted a 171-26 record, winning at least 10 games in 13 of those 14 years and advanced to at least the semifinals of the playoffs every single season.
A Hartselle native, Waldrop played football at UAB before embarking on a coaching career that included a stop at Fayetteville High before he landed at Chelsea in 2003.
