A month ago, a man drove out to Bill Clark's home and dug a small hole near the mailbox for a sign. Carefully pack up the valuables, clear out the personal effects, and remove too many signs of life are some of the things Bill and Jen went through when they moved up the driveway.
This wouldn't be the same as the dozens of moves that preceded it. It had the air of finality, coming a few weeks after Clark shocked the college football world when he announced he was stepping down at UAB due to a chronic back condition. Despite being only 53 years old, Clark was able to rebuild the football program into something better than it had ever been before.
He was told that he wouldn't go crazy without a football team. He was unsure if she was right. If he wasn't on the road recruiting, what would he do? If he wasn't holed up in a dark room at night looking at tapes, what would he do?
He didn't know he was going to do this. He went out of his way to avoid this exact moment until he realized he had to.
Two years ago, they purchased the house. It wasn't perfect because it was less than 10 miles from the football offices. They paid through the nose for a massive renovation, removing any trace of the 1960s wood cabin vibe inside and creating the ideal setup for a future of football in the fall and summers with the grandkids. They bought a big-screen TV and comfy theater seats in the basement. They added a state-of-the-art sound system, a lush grass yard, and a swingset to the back of the house.
Clark is proud of the yard. It will be difficult to leave.
As he sits in the living room waiting for a call from his real estate agent to say the home is officially under contract, the only sign of his children is an empty diaper box. As he tries to explain to a reporter why he left as the program was hitting its stride, his voice echoes off the bare walls.
It was hard to tell players the news. He said he felt like he was letting them down. Why didn't he do it? Why don't you give everything up?
His favorite memories as a kid were being in his dad's office to watch 16-millimeter film and playing football. He liked the strategy and the competition. He knew at a young age that he wanted to be a coach, but he only had one way to do it.
Dad warned him that he was going to burn out. He was correct.
"If they tell you this isn't true, they're lying: August till January, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, is too much." It's all right. I'm not interested in how much you love it.
He was told by his body to stop blowing the whistle. It took him a while to catch up.
There is always more to be told.
It's a cruel twist of fate that Clark's coaching career started with a jump-start.
During his freshman and sophomore years at Piedmont High School in East Alabama, Clark was trying to bulk up for football season in the weight room when he injured his back. He was a tough kid and the son of a football coach. He went to a not-yet-famous local doctor named James Andrews because of the pain.
Andrews examined Clark's back and told him he was done. Football is over. He had injured his spine and surgery was not as advanced as it is now. Clark said no and pushed ahead.
It took a long time to realize it. Clark had always wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and so he got a head start. He became the offensive line coach at the age of 22.
For 17 years, he worked his way up the high school ranks, eventually becoming head coach at one of the state's top high schools, where they won back-to-back state titles. His back wasn't going to stop hurting. He had to stand up on the bus for the whole ride home from a camp at the University of Florida where he overdid it. It was too much to sit.
He fell flat on his face when the pain came and went and hit him like a bolt of lightning. He couldn't leave for surgery and rehabilitation because he was on the coaching carousel. He became the defensive coach at the University of South Alabama. He took over as Jacksonville State's head coach after five years.
He became an FBS coach after they went 11-4 that first year. At the end of the year, the rug was pulled out from under him after he went 6-6). The program was shut down due to the financial strain on the university.
After an uproar from alumni and boosters, the program was restored. There was damage done. Most of the players and coaches had left. They wouldn't compete for a third season. Clark was the only one who stayed.
He and his staff worked out of a single-story cinder block building to rebuild a program that was not very good to begin with. The team has only three winning seasons and no bowl wins.
High school players wouldn't give junior college castoffs the time of day, so Clark recruited them. It worked at some point. A team that had been snuffed out, a team that had absolutely no business competing at the highest level, went 8-5 and made it to the Bahamas Bowl in their first season.
A group of people, including Clark, got a new football facility built after the hell hole was torn down. They played their first game in the new stadium in 2021, after finishing first in the Conference USA West division.
Clark's dream became a reality when the stadium was his baby. He wanted to play in it so badly that he didn't want to deal with his back problems anymore.
Clark remembers the Independence Bowl win over the 13th ranked team in the country. It was a kind of confirmation. We're able to do this.
I can concentrate on myself.
The Blazers took the lead late in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard passing touchdown by DylanHopkins.
He finally made time for the conversations he'd been avoiding, like the visit with his doctors, the calls to surgeons, to trainers, to former patients, to anyone he could think of with some familiarity with what he was going through. He spoke to a doctor in two states. He called the doctor. He referred to Manning as well.
"They said to a man," Clark said.
He felt like a receiver getting clotheslined by a defender over the middle when he heard the word fusion. Clark had been calling for someone to tell him fusion wasn't necessary and that the repercussions wouldn't be as serious as he thought.
It was necessary. He was forced to walk with limp after they fused his spine and dug out his nerve. It would take a long time for physical activity to heal.
Clark said he would have a surgery on June 1.
He decided to cancel.
He says he wasn't prepared. I knew I was going to make it through. I am unable to. It became "How do I leave [UAB] in the best shape?"
Clark said that he was stepping down. That isn't the only thing. BryantVincent was named the interim head coach by Clark. With the season a month away, how do you conduct a search for a new coach?
He was in the room when the program ended. He came back to the team in the middle of theShutdown.
"This is something I care about," he says. I've been here in the lows and the highs, and the bowl wins. To be able to lead this team and to be a part of the history and tradition of this program is a big deal and I'm ready for it.
Three weeks after his surgery, Clark is walking. The last time he answered the front door of his home, he wore a small back brace and threw it away.
He feels great and expects a full recovery.
He only changed his phone number after a former player reminded him that he was the coach. The player said it was strange.
Clark would like to be a resource for the rest of the staff.
He says that he is not looking at film right now. I might keep an eye out for a bit here and there. They're their team.
I will keep going." I made a promise to them.
Is he really retired? His recovery will take a while, but it isn't permanent. Wouldn't it be better to take a sabbatical instead of leaving?
Clark is careful about what he says. He wants to support Children's Harbor and help build up the city ofBirmingham. He might do some consulting work on the side if he runs an annual coaches clinic.
He isn't closing the door on a return to coaching even though he used the word "retirement" deliberately.
Clark says it's new territory. How do I feel when jobs start being talked about? That's why the door is open. I'm not sure.
The program was restarted by Clark and the University of Alabama. The new stadium and football facility is what they need. The program will be moving from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference next year. In the era of NIL, stepping up in a way that runs contrary to the past is what it takes to succeed in a more competitive conference. In the University of Alabama system, athletic support hasn't always flowed in the direction of the city ofBirmingham. There's a joke among ardent UAB supporters that if you sliced open school administrators an elephant would come running out.
Clark doesn't rule out a return to coaching one day, but that doesn't include a return to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.
He says he's done what he needs to do. I want our guys there to have a good year. I want that to stay in the family.
I don't want our fans to feel bad, but I don't think so. I'm not sure if I'll coach again.
He had Power 5 offers in the past that he cut off before the offer stage, but he was not ready to leave. He is open minded now that he has turned the page and will have some time off to think about what he wants.
Maybe given the right alignment with a school president and athletic director and the right commitment in terms of resources.
Maybe not.
He might sell his house and move to the lake full time to get his fix of football. He might be content in his mid-50s knowing that he made a difference, that he accomplished something extraordinary, and that he went out on a high note.
Clark said he would have to see. I'm leaving it open because I'm going to be the first to say never. I plan to be healed. I did this because I wanted to work out.
I plan on being happy.
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