The Rush Propst saga unfolded as the Spain Park mafia and Auburn crybabies wanted—with Propst’s resignation as Hoover High School football coach effective at end of the football season.

Propst probably got what he deserved, but there is a part of me that feels sorry for him because of who his enemies were. The scum of the earth—those jealous of a man because he was successful.

However, Propst brought on most of his own problems. His ego was the size of the Galleria. That isn’t anything new for high school coaches; I’ve known and worked with many, and almost all of them are insufferable. Propst had the impudence to actually dominate state football by winning five Class 6A titles.

So, not only did Propst have an ego, he had reason to have one. He dominated all the other arrogant pricks in his business.

Propst was despised by those in and around high school football. He played fast and loose with the rules—but every other coach in high school football does too. Propst (allegedly) recruited. The others do it to from the smaller Class 3A all the way up to Class 6A. Many will deny it, but I’ve seen it in every sport from girls basketball to football.

Don’t be deceived, Propst was despised because Auburn’s coaching staff lost recruits to Alabama. The real crux of the issue boils down to fretful Auburn fans blaming a high school and its coaches for the larger failures of the Auburn regime. Since Tuberville won’t pay players like Pat Dye, and since Alabama no longer was under NCAA sanctions or saddled with incompetent Mike Shula—Auburn can’t dominate recruiting. Querulous Tiger fans in denial try to blame Propst, and made him the scapegoat. But these same fans will soon turn on one another, or Tuberville (like they did following the early season losses.)

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Another reason Propst lost his job was poor handling of the media.

Nobody really cared about Propst’s extra-family. Nobody really cared about him screwing school system employees. Those aren’t crimes—and football fans will accept turpitude provided you win on the field. Alabama fans made that clear with the Mike Dubose fiasco.

But Propst should have admitted his affair, begged forgiveness and been done with it. Just like a contrite politician, he would have been forgiven.

But the Propst saga has dragged on for months. Since the broiling days of the summer. Since the firing of a hard-working reporter on the airwaves. Since the official probe…one thing after another. A new detail leaked. The saga just wouldn’t die. Much like Watergate, it just got worse.

Compare that with the Reagan administration’s handling of Iran-Contra. The Reagan administration laid it all out on the table as soon as possible. It never got worse. It was as bad as possible from Day one.

In the end, the Propst hubris was the the culprit. He was done in by his faith he was invincible. Like Agamemnon, it was arrogance that was his undoing. But Clytemnestra had her part too.

You can see lots of coverage from Fox 6 television in Birmingham:

Video of Propst talking about resignation

PDF file of the settlement agreement

5 thoughts on “Propst out as Hoover coach”

  1. I’m not really too knowledgeable about this whole situation. I see the Spain Park connection to all this, but what besides speculation about recruiting brings the Aubs into it. I’d really like that laid out nice and neat on the table please.

  2. Of all the bizarre conspiracy theories I have heard bandied about on the west side of Hoover, this one really tops it. It’s not just the supposed “Spain Park mafia” — now AUBURN is behind Propst’s ouster? That is freaking NUTS, and really worthy of Propst himself in its attempt to deflect the responsibility for this mess.

    Spain Park didn’t create this problem; Auburn definitely didn’t create this problem. The only “mafia” in evidence is the one that tried to got in Suzy Baker’s face at the board meeting last night and then tried to shout her down when she took her turn to speak. That was one disgusting display.

    The only people to blame in this situation are Propst himself and his boosters and apologists. He is a sociopath who thinks that no rule should be observed. The reason he walked away with virtually no financial settlement in this situation is because he knew his whole world would be blown apart when he actually might have to tell the truth in a court of law. It’s easy to lie to someone when they are interviewing you for a TV show or the Pointer report. But doing it under oath brings the potential for perjury charges. And both of his “wives” would have been involved.

    That whole speech last night was the most self-serving screed I could possibly imagine. All of the Hoover parents I know are just stunned today at the way he tried to dodge accountabililty — especially by throwing his staff under the proverbial bus.

    We still have the rest of the Redneck Mafia to root out of Hoover. Propst is just the Redneck-in-Chief.

  3. Thanks so much for this entertaining, paranoid, unsubstantiated revelation into such a treacherous conspiracy. Am I to understand the auburn coaching staff was able to channel their anger through two Hoover housewives and skillfully orchestrate the firing of this poor, misunderstood, unfairly oppressed, lying, cheating, adulterer? I could laugh at your stupidity were it not for the irresponsibility of your comments about the school board members being scum of the earth. Jealous of Rush Propst’s success, are you kidding me? Do you have any idea where these women live? They both have houses larger than your high school, and are upstanding, conscientious, honest ladies who give their time to make the hoover school system a better place for thousands of kids. It’s time for us, as a society, to demand accountability from all of our coaches, teachers and leaders. If we do not, how can we expect to see it in the generation of students they are responsible for educating? Please stop spreading your biased propaganda and have the courage to view Rush Propst’s actions in the light of respectable, common decency. It has nothing to do with Alabama, Auburn, Hoover or Spain Park. This is all about a man who thought he was above the law and learned he was wrong. Hopefully he will not repeat the same mistakes for the THIRD time. Check his record at Eufala if you’re curious about that one.

  4. I know for a fact Auburn fans..boosters…in and around Hoover were pimping the Propst story. With special emphasis on the grade changes. It was jealosy their coaching staff sucked at recruiting compared to Alabama’s.

    I also know others pimping the Propst story for years were persons around high school athletics who were jealous or resentful of Propst.

    As for the women on the school board? Don’t even get me started. All I can think about was that hilarious photograph of them falling out of their shirts. I don’t care where they live—as if that indicates their or anyone’s worthiness to have an opinion.

    As for Propst, I really don’t care about him. I think he probably got what he deserved; however, it would be nice if all the people throwing stones didn’t have an agenda in doing it.

    Now, for my one other comment on this matter. I think Propst and his cronies that tried to cover-up for him by getting a reporter terminated was bad behavior. If anything, that has to be the an example of the problems in the Hoover community.

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