SETH PARKER: Bob Jones’ new head football coach is living his dream with his return to Madison and his high school alma mater
Seth Parker is living not one, but two dreams as an educator and husband-father. While growing up in Madison as a young boy, he watched his father, Robby Parker, step through the ranks of a becoming a successful high school coach at Bob Jones and advance his career into administration of the Madison City Schools even becoming the school’s Superintendent. The young Parker also looked for the girl of his dreams, one who he would marry and have a family with all awhile to secure his quest to follow his father’s footsteps and one day become the head coach of what would be his high school alma mater of Bob Jones.
“When I was five years old watching my dad coach here at Bob Jones in my heart I knew I wanted to do this and taking this job is a dream come true,” said Parker, 30, after being named the newest of 12 head coaches in the history of the school’s football program. “My mother (Anita) and father raised me with passion for athletics and I bleed Patriots’ red, white and blue. What an honor it is to coach my favorite team.”
While walking the halls of Bob Jones High in 2011 as a student and multi-sport athlete, including starting quarterback for the Patriots’ football team, he laid his eyes on what was his dream girl who just happened to be one of the most attractive young female students and was a member of the school’s cheer squad. He was smitten by the young beauty as he met her after one of his football games on a Friday night while at Wing Shak located on County Line Road. In between chowing down on wings and hanging out with his friends, Parker said, “It was love at first sight.” He approached her about a date, which led to an intense and emotional high school romance that followed each of them to college. As students at the University of Alabama, Sutton was a member of the Alabama cheer squad, while Parker assisted the Crimson Tide’s famed football program as quarterback equipment manager, first as a volunteer for the 2015 season where the Tide won the National Championship, then in a fulltime position in seasons 2016 and 2017 earning SEC Championship rings and was the 2016 National Championship runner-up losing to Clemson in the title game.
“My time with the Alabama football program was awesome as I became the most hands-on staff member during practices day-in and day-out where being part of practices was very intense,” said Parker, who graduated from the university with a degree in Secondary Education Social Studies which led him to be a history teacher, as well as, a football coach, not to mention a husband to Sutton as the couple has three children, daughter, Cooper, age two and a half, and 16-month old twin sons Thompson and Harrison.
Participation in every sport he could get his hands on or have time for was Parker’s forte as a rambunctious boy who grew up five years behind his older brother, Tyson. The two now coach together, though it be on a part-time basis, as Tyson, 35, assist Parker during games as a spotter from the press box. It’s that type of family bonding Parker has had all of his life and continues to do so with his own family. Similar to how his parents did for him and his brother, as they attended Madison Freewill Baptist Church, Parker and his wife keep the Parker family strong in faith as they attend Lindsey Lane Baptist Church of Athens.
After two seasons as head coach at Priceville High, Parker saw the Bob Jones position become available and quickly took the steps necessary to apply and be a formidable applicant for the dream job he had always wanted. Like a wonderful Christmas gift he always asked for, he was soon hired to guide the program to what most hope will be a long tenure as head Patriot.
His position at the school may be new, but Parker is no stranger around campus. After working as an assistant at Athens High under head coach Cody Gross, Parker took as assistant position with Bob Jones under then head coach Kevin Rose. He worked the assistant position 2019-2024 and was an offensive coordinator, which was a good fit for him after being the team’s quarterback in his playing days in high school. In January of 2024, he accepted the head coach job at Priceville located just a mile off Interstate 65 not far from the Tennessee River east of Decatur. In his two seasons with the Bulldogs, his teams went 10-12 including 8-4 in his second season where he helped the program to its first playoff appearance and win in school history and was named Region 7 Co-Coach of the Year.
“There are two perspectives I coach under. One is I want to impact the kids to grow and develop as not only players, but as well-rounded people,” said Parker. “I don’t take that for granted as I truly believe the Lord called me to do this type of work. The second perspective is I’m competitive. I love to win. The game itself brings me so much joy as I’m an ultra-competitive person. As a coach, I want to build confidence within them and I want to turn my kids into winners. My ultimate goal as a coach is grow these kids into great fathers and people.”
Parker feels his personality of being competitive and consistent makes him the perfect person for the position he has taken as his philosophy is, “when we lose, its 100-percent my fault, but when we win, it’s 100-percent the players’ glory.”
One of the ways Parker feels his new scheme of coaching will be heavy on discussions and getting the message across to his staff and players of a team effort. The message will be to the point and stress both hard work and discipline will make those changes from day one.
“We will have a chance to win here at Bob Jones as I’ve been there and seen it first-hand within,” said Parker, as Bob Jones has enjoyed just one winning season in the last seven years. “We have to be detailed oriented and competitive from the football standpoint as a lot of the elite programs across Alabama are exactly that way. We’ve got to be committed to doing the correct things every day. For me, every rep at practice will win a game.”
Parker has already made it clear to anyone associated with the program that “we will attack the weight room and build the strength I think the team lacks.” With 85 returners on the roster for spring practice, Parker is pushing the weight room and has stated his team will be run oriented as he is a true believer the game is won in the trenches. When he was assistant coach with the program he always felt the line is where winning is located and doing so is where the weight program comes into play and will be the program’s top priority. He added, “The best programs in the state crush the weight room as it will be the life blood to our program’s success.”
His coaching style resembles many of those he looked up to through the years including Nick Saban, Lane Kiffin, Kevin Rose and, of course, his father. Parker likes to coach hard, but always positive. He teaches man-to-man tough lessons, but each time makes his player look at him and without hesitation lets them know he is in their corner and that tough coaching is not personal. Although he makes his relationships with his player personal.
“I cry with my players,” said Parker. “On many occasions I’ve had closed-door conversations with players and sometimes they become very emotional conversations. I treat my players the same way as I do my family. These players are my people who are close with my family and is the greatest joy of my life. Sutton is the absolute best and is very much into my coaching and wants to win as badly as I do.”
The 2026 fall season is just around the corner and Parker feels he’s ready for his new venture in a familiar atmosphere. He said, “Yes, I’m absolutely ready for this as my entire life I have prepared to be the head coach of Bob Jones. I can’t wait for the season to be here.”
Similar to the theme song from the 1970-1980’s hit TV show “Laverne & Shirley,” those song lyrics fit Parker perfectly: “Give us a chance, we’ll take it; We’re gonna make our dreams come true; Doing it our way!”
