A Madison County program will turn to a former Crimson Tide standout as its next head football coach.
Hazel Green has hired former Alabama football standout and two-time CFL Grey Cup champion Juwan Simpson to lead its football program.
The former Crimson Tide standout will follow Fred Farrier, who spent two seasons as Hazel Green’s head coach.
Simpson, a native of Decatur and Austin High graduate, played for Alabama from 2003 to 2006, where he was named a permanent defensive captain during his final season with the Crimson Tide; he totaled 173 tackles across his final two seasons of college football.
Simpson was also a recipient of the University of Alabama’s Derrick Thomas Community Service Award.
He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers before spending eight seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders.
With the Stampeders, he was named West Division Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 and helped lead the franchise to Grey Cup titles in 2008 and 2014.
Simpson played in 126 games during his CFL career, finishing with 438 tackles, 25 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and three interceptions; he was a three-time West Division All-Star.
Along with spending two seasons as a defensive line coach with the Stampeders, he most recently served as an assistant at East Mississippi Community College under coach Buddy Stephens.
The former Crimson Tide standout has also coached at the high school level at Austin, James Clemens and Westminster Christian.
Hazel Green has never won a playoff game and last made the playoffs in 2022. The program’s last winning season came in 2016, when the Trojans went 6-4.