On February 17, Brooks High School named Tim Bowens as its new head football coach, replacing Brad Black. The Lauderdale County Board of Education voted unanimously to hire Bowens as the new head coach.

Bowens has previously been head coach at Clark Atlanta University and was the wide receiver assistant coach at several colleges including the University of Alabama. He earned a degree in human environmental sciences from Alabama while also playing as wide receiver from 1996-99.

Bowens began coaching after graduating from UA in 1999, starting as the offensive coordinator at Coffee High School in 2000 and becoming head coach at Tanner High School in 2002. The same year, he was named Limestone County’s Coach of the Year. From there, he returned to the University of Alabama as the Director of High School & NFL Relations and then the Assistant Director of Football Operations until 2006. In 2006, he served as the Wide Receiver Assistant Coach before taking a similar position at University of Alabama-Birmingham the following
year. He also was the Wide Receiver Coach at Samford and South Alabama. For the past two years, Bowens has been the head coach at Clark Atlanta University before assuming the position at his high school alma mater.

The Shoals is home to Bowens. He and his wife Kesha are both North Alabama natives. He grew up in the Killen-Florence area and graduated from Brooks High School in 1996. Mrs. Bowens is from the Decatur area and went to Decatur High School. His brother, Freddie Roach, played football at Brooks and the University of Alabama as well and now acts as UA’s Defensive Line Coach.

Bowens said he chose the Brooks offer because it was the best fit for his family. He has five young children, most of whom are under college age. His wife is an elementary school teacher and he says that the move is best for her career as well. He was offered a college job at the same time he was offered the Brooks job, but chose the latter because it was what was best for his family. Bowens does not care about what looks best, but rather what feels best. Given his past jobs at universities, he said that others were surprised by his decision to return to high school coaching.

“I had peace about this,” Bowens said. “We just wanted to go where we believe the Lord assigned us to be, so that’s what we did.” Being back at his alma mater has brought endless support. The community has welcomed him with open arms. A lot of the young men he now coaches have parents that went to high school with him, so there is always a familiar face. Many have even stopped by to greet him or just to say hello. Bowens made many lifelong friends while playing for Brooks.

“We’re instilling the principles that we learned when we were here from some really good teachers, administrators and principals,” Bowens said. “We want to carry on great things that we have and continue to build on things that we’ve learned along the way. We want to help these young men, young people, young ladies; whoever crosses our path in the classroom or football.”

Being head football coach, Bowens works with both junior high and varsity football teams. He sees the same drive and desire to succeed in both teams. The varsity football team ranked fifth in Alabama’s 4A Division and made it to round three of playoffs for the Fall 2021 season before ultimately losing to Onteona. Until then, Brooks was undefeated for the season. Brooks has also been home to many UNA football players, such as Joe Gurley and Kobe Warden.

Bowens also wants to instill core values in the young men he coaches. To him, the football team represents the school. It is how many people in the community make inferences about the school itself. If one player behaves badly in class, it reflects poorly on the whole team. Bowens wants his students to understand that the little things are everything. He wishes for them to work hard and understand that everything they do is a reflection of what they represent to the community, faculty, and fellow students alike.

“If we can instill those things in them at a young age, it helps them down the road,” Bowens said.

“Those who are able to do the small things early have an easier time with the big things later.” His vision for the team is a disciplined, successful group of boys. “Championship” is not only a title, but something he wants the group to strive for — to be their own champions in whatever they do.

“Number one, I want [the football team] to graduate, get their degree,” Bowens said. “That’s the most important thing. The second thing I want them to do is win championships and the third thing is I want them to have a great time doing it. We want to make sure that these guys leave here as better people.”

Bowens wants his team to make the same lifelong connections he did.

When looking back, he considers the time he spent with his teammates to be the best of his high school years. He also remembers the lasting impression that his coaches Tim Yeager and Mike Willis left on him and wants to leave that same mark on his team. He wants to be a disciplinarian like those before him while also continuing to cultivate the culture that comes with football.