Bobby Sirmon

Great coaches have a way of knowing what to say – and what not to say – at just the right time.

In his final season at Dothan High School, Bobby Sirmon had a couple of those moments as the Tigers reached the 1974 state championship game.

In the seventh game of that season, Dothan found itself on the wrong end of a 22-16 score late against visiting Robert E. Lee. Facing a fourth-and-4 around the 40, quarterback Steadman Shealy called timeout and headed to the Dothan sideline.

“ I said, ‘Oh, my goodness, he’s gonna want to know something,’” Sirmon recalled with a smile. “I tried to hide from him. Not really. He said, ‘What are we going to do?’