Auburn football beat reporter Justin Lee of the Opelika-Auburn News casted doubt on the hiring of notable Alabama high school head coaching figure Rush Propst, who was announced as Pell City’s newest HC on March 31.
Surely this will go differently than the last time, and the time before that, and the time before that, and the time before that, and the time before that https://t.co/hozP0CxTMk
— Justin Lee (@ByJustinLee) March 30, 2023
Propst was previously a coaching staple in the state, having coached at Ashville, Eufaula, Alba, Alma Bryant, and most recently, Coosa Christian School, but his most notable stop was at Hoover, where the Ohatchee native had the Bucs ranked in the nation’s top-25 polls, finishing as the #16 team in the nation in 2003, No. 4 in the nation in 2004, No. 8 in the nation in 2005, and ranked No. 1 entering the 2006 season by Sports Illustrated, USA Today and the National Prep Football Poll. Propst was let go from Hoover, Colquitt (Georgia), and Valdosta (GA) due to being embroiled in various conducts and ethics-related violations.
Pell City’s superintendent James Martin acknowledged Propst’s problematic past in his explanation for the hiring.
“When coach Propst’s name came up, I realize some people may think negatively about it, but you have to look at what someone can do for your school and your community,” Martin said. “Our focus is on where we want to go as a program and as a school. I feel coach Propst is the best in the business to get us where we need to be.”
Auburn football reporters have been against Rush Propst for years
Looking back a few years, Propst has never had the support of the Auburn football beat — with Brian Stultz, then of the Auburn Wire, openly condemning the idea of Propst endorsing recruits to then-Tigers coach Gus Malzahn due to his lack of trustworthiness.
“Yet here is a problem that could arise … well, if he can keep that job long enough to build said program,” Stultz prefaced before saying, “Someday, and it could be soon, Propst will be telling Malzahn and other Auburn coaches what a “great player this wide receiver is” and “how he’s a role model off field as well.” Can you even trust a word out of this guy’s mouth anymore? Do you not take every compliment with a grain of salt? No matter how good the kid is, there will always be a doubt.”
Propst briefly flirted with UAB in 2019, working in a consultant role for the Blazers, but his controversial past will likely keep him at the high school level for as long as his coaching career lasts before scandal takes him out for good.