Blackwell returns to lead Catholic football

Aubrey Blackwell, who spent five years as the head coach of Catholic before leaving, is returning to lead the program in 2026. (File Photo)

By TIM GAYLE

Catholic officials wasted no time in landing a new football coach, turning to a familiar face to lead the Knights.

Aubrey Blackwell, who resurrected a dormant Catholic program and turned it into one of the state’s best, will return to lead the program after Jonathan Chandler announced on Wednesday he was leaving for Opelika.

“Aubrey Blackwell is not just a familiar face and a tremendous football coach, but he is also the man responsible for launching the program he returns to lead,” said school president Justin Castanza. “This is a beautiful homecoming in every way. Aubrey and his family will come home to Montgomery Catholic and continue what he and (athletic director) Daniel Veres started. Championship play became a Montgomery Catholic standard under his leadership, and that is exactly what we are excited to continue.”

Blackwell spent the last eight months as the offensive coordinator at Spanish Fort and the decision to leave the Toros was a difficult one for him -- and his family -- to make.

“I am so excited to be coming back to Montgomery Catholic, a place that values my family as much as it does my work,” he said. “When everyone is valued, excellence becomes inevitable. That's why this opportunity matters so much to me.”

A former Robert E. Lee quarterback in the 1990s, Blackwell got his start as an assistant coach for Jimmy Perry at St. Paul’s Episcopal in 2010 and 2011 and later joined Perry at St. James as the offensive coordinator in 2013.

He got his first head coaching position at Catholic in 2015. The Knights had 14 losing seasons over the 16 years prior to Blackwell’s arrival and after a 4-6 season in 2015, he guided Catholic to an 8-3 record and the state playoffs in 2016, marking just the third trip to the postseason in 22 years.

In 2017, he coached the Knights to a 10-2 season and a region championship. By 2020, the Knights reached the state finals and Blackwell decided to accept a new challenge at Benjamin Russell. After a 3-7 season, he went to Jackson (Miss.) Academy and led the Raiders to a 17-9 record and two playoff appearances before returning to Montgomery to coach at St. James in 2024.

After a 6-5 season and a berth in the playoffs, he left in May to become the offensive coordinator at Spanish Fort.

“I am sure people will question some of my coaching decisions that I have made over the last few years,” Blackwell said, “decisions that affected my family, my friends, and the other schools that invested in me. Each school has been a crucial step that has helped me grow as a coach, father, and husband and I am grateful for each of them. Ultimately this all led to being guided to have my family back home at Montgomery Catholic.”