Lyle Darnell

Coach Lyle Darnell has been a winner on the football field from Arab in 1950 to Boaz in 2003. The volunteer assistant coach directed the offense of the 2003 Boaz Pirates to the greatest statistics in school history and the first 11-game winning team in Marshall County history. Darnell retired from head coaching in 1990 but has remained close to his favorite sport by volunteering with youth, junior high and high school teams.

Lyle Kenneth Darnell served as a head coach for 28 years, during which time he amassed a career record of 204-86-4. As a player at Arab, he received All-County honors in four sports in both his junior and senior years. He played one year for East Central Junior College in Mississippi before transferring to Jacksonville State in 1954. Darnell played football and baseball for the Gamecocks.

Head coaching stops for Darnell were at Hanceville, Thompson, Glencoe, Scottsboro, Etowah and Pell City. The glory years of his career were at Glencoe with a 97-26-2 record and the following honors: 1973 state and national Coach of the Year following a 13-0 state championship season, 10 Etowah County championships in 12 seasons, six Etowah County Coach of the Year selections in 12 years and coach of the All-Time Etowah County Team as selected in a 1998 survey of fans by The Gadsden Times.

The Alabama High School Hall of Fame and All-Star coach was named state Coach of the Year in 1980 at Scottsboro and 1986 at Pell City. Darnell has at least 60 former players who went on to play college sports including Ed Lett, an All-American at Jacksonville State; David Gulledge, the 1989 Gulf South Conference Player of the Year at Jacksonville State, and Jeff Davis at Ole Miss. Former players Vince Hall and David Gulledge made it to the National Football League.

Lyle Darnell represents over a half-century of playing and coaching.