By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CEDAR BLUFF – There’s no doubt Garrett Crane has given a lot to the Cedar Bluff athletic programs, as a football player to coach on both the football and softball fields.
That made Cedar Bluff Principal Torey McDaniel’s decision to turn the Tiger football program over to someone else prior to Christmas break all the more difficult.
Crane compiled an 11-20 overall record with the Tigers in three seasons as head football coach. Cedar Bluff posted 3-7 records the past two seasons, both in Class 2A.
The Tigers went 5-6 in Crane’s initial year as head coach in 2023 in Class 1A, which included a playoff appearance.
“It was something we had talked about and kind of geared toward. It’s not something that completely caught me by surprise or anything,” Crane said. “I’m just really fortunate for the three years that I had (as head coach) and really for the past 15 years at Cedar Bluff. The last three years has truly been a phenomenal experience, and it’s been a blessing to have the opportunity to be part of young men’s lives.”
A 2010 graduate of Cedar Bluff, Crane played for and coached with longtime Tiger head coach Jonathan McWhorter. He also coached alongside McDaniel on McWhorter’s staff.
“You’re not going to find a better man than Garrett Crane, but there are certain things that are expected of being the head coach of a football program,” McDaniel said. “I think Garrett understands that. He’s an alumni and he loves Cedar Bluff as much as anybody.
“This decision really had nothing to do with if I felt Garrett doesn’t put the time in, or doesn’t care about or love Cedar Bluff. It’s not a decision made with malice. Coach Crane and I have talked multiple times, and I think he understands. We’ll move forward, but at the same time, still respect and appreciate everything that he has done and has given to Cedar Bluff football.”
Prior to becoming the Tigers’ head football coach, Crane was an assistant on the football staff for several years in a variety of duties, including offensive coordinator for two years under former head coach Alan Beckett (2021-22).
Crane was hired as head football coach of the Tigers in May of 2023 after a successful five-year stint as the school’s softball coach, which included three straight area championships.
“It’s totally different head coaching a different sport, like making the transition from softball to football. It was a totally different transition from what I thought it was,” Crane admits.
But that doesn’t mean Crane’s coaching days are done – even at Cedar Bluff.
Although he says it’s “hard to say what the foreseeable future is,” he’s still “in a great relationship” with Cedar Bluff.
“I’ve enjoyed the role of being an assistant. There’s a little less with it, but that’s really dependent upon who the next guy is,” he said. “I would enjoy doing that. That’s something I’ve done 15 years total, 14 being at Cedar Bluff, but I don’t know what type of environment or situation that creates for someone else. I’m just thinking of it from a perspective of a recent head coach being on the staff with someone that’s coming in. I don’t know if that would be a conflict of interest, but it would be an interesting dynamic.”
Regardless of whom the next head coach at Cedar Bluff will be, they’ll be tasked with putting the Tigers back on a consistent winning track.
Since going 13-2 with a Class 1A state runner-up in 2015, Cedar Bluff has posted just one season with eight wins (2016) and hasn’t had a winning record since a 6-5 mark in 2021. Four of those seasons have been in Class 2A, including the last two.
The Tigers currently await their next classification. The Alabama High School Athletic Association is scheduled to announce its biennial reclassification on Friday, Jan. 23.
“We will start looking immediately,” McDaniel said of the Tigers’ coaching search. “Me and Coach Crane have talked extensively through the holidays. We’ve talked a few times about going forward, what the weight room is going to look like, how we’re going to finish up as we start our coaching search. You just can’t stop in the weight room. You can’t stop doing what needs to be done from January through May. We are still going to be working, but I’ll probably start the interview process as soon as possible.”
