Tuscaloosa County (Alabama) hires 4th head football coach in 3 years

Cris Bell replaces Brian Niedermeyer, who resigned after 3 months to work for the Denver Broncos

A fumbled kickoff gets kicked around between Central High's Christian Bishop (1) and Tuscaloosa County defensive back Kel Heard (2) at Tuscaloosa County High to kick off the 2024 high school football season. / © Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tuscaloosa County High School has a new head coach, and it’s a familiar name to Alabama high school football fans.

The Wildcats named Cris Bell as their new head coach.

Bell replaces Brian Niedermeyer, who resigned after three months to work for the Denver Broncos.

This is the fourth coach in three seasons for the Wildcats and 27th overall.

Before taking this position, Bell was the head football coach at Robertsdale High School. 

Bell finished last season with 2-8 record, and he resigned March 31 after just one season.

Bell began his coaching career at Oak Mountain in 2012. He spent nine years with the Eagles, going 47-49 with four playoff appearances.

He then spent three years at Scottsboro, going 18-15 with back-to-back playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023.

Bell’s overall record is 67-72 with six playoff appearances.

The Wildcats haven’t made the playoffs in over a decade.

Tuscaloosa County is a 7A school, the largest classification in the state of Alabama, competing against football powerhouses such as Hoover and Thompson.

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