Keon Handley Steps Down After Two Seasons At Fultondale

FULTONDALE, AL – After two seasons at the helm of the Fultondale High School football program, head coach Keon Handley Sr. is stepping aside. 

Handley led the Wildcats to a combined 7-13 record during his two year tenure in North Jefferson County.  The 2024 Wildcats finished at 3-6 after being stripped of key region wins over Fayette County, Hamilton, and Cordova. 

When Handley took over in 2023, the Wildcats were coming ridding a 16-game losing streak and a winless 0-10 season the year before his arrival. 

Announcing his departure, Handley expressed gratitude for his time at Fultondale, saying, “I’m filled with emotions – gratitude, pride, and admittedly, some sadness – as I announce my decision to step down as the head football coach of Fultondale High School. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together. From Friday night victories to watching young men grow into leaders on and off the field, the memories we’ve created will stay with me forever. But more than the wins, it’s the relationships that mean the most. The bonds formed with players, parents, assistant coaches, and everyone who has supported this program are what I’ll truly cherish.” 

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Before taking over the Fultondale program he served as an assistant coach at Pleasant Grove in 2022, contributing to an 11-2 record and a trip to the Class 5A semifinals. 

From 2017 to 2021, he led the Fairfield Tigers to a 22-31 overall record, including three postseason appearances and a 7-4 finish in 2019, the program’s best record since 2016. His first head coaching role was at Selma High in 2016, where the Saints posted a 1-9 record in his lone season at the helm of the program.   

Handley’s coaching career began as a volunteer assistant at Fairfield after earning a degree in mathematics education from Miles College in 2005 and serving in the United States Marine Corps Reserves. He later worked as an assistant coach at Bessemer’s Jess Lanier High from 2004 to 2007, before continuing his coaching career at First Coast and Raines High Schools in Florida. He also served on the staff at St. Stanislaus College in Mississippi and as the quarterbacks coach at Long Beach High School. 

According to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Handley’s career head coaching record stands at 30-53, including four playoff appearances across eight seasons as a head coach.