Luverne fans will soon see a familiar face back on the sidelines on Friday night as the Crenshaw County Board of Education hired Mike Dubose at Monday night’s meeting.

Luverne principal Greg Pittman then made the announcement that Dubose would be the Tigers’ new head football coach.

Pittman thanked those who helped in the search for a head coach.

“This was such an important hire, and I’m thankful they did a lot of homework,” he said. “We had a lot of applicants, and I was surprised at some of the applicants we had.”

Pittman also said that “the future is bright.”

Dubose is a native of Opp and has been the defensive line coach at Chattanooga, Southern Miss, Alabama and for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He was the head coach of the University of Alabama from 1997 to 2000.

Dubose also coached a stint at Luverne High School in 2003 and 2004, leading the Tigers to 20-7 regular season record, 5-2 playoff record and 13-1 region record.

Luverne was the Class 2A state runner-up in 2003.

Crenshaw County BOE president Charles Tompkins said he felt like the hire was a good one.

“I feel like Coach Dubose was not only well-received in Luverne, but also down in the south end of the county too,” he said. “I think he’ll be good for the community and the entire county.”