Steve Ensminger has landed on his feet.
And he didn’t have to venture too far from home to make it happen, either.
The former Auburn University assistant will take over as the quarterbacks coach at Smiths Station High School, the Opelika-Auburn News has learned.
“Obviously, we’re thrilled to have him,” Smiths Station head coach Mark Rose said. “He’s a great football coach and a great guy. We just felt like he’s coached high school and we feel like he’d be a great fit on our staff.”
Efforts to reach Ensminger on Tuesday night were unsuccessful.
Ensminger, who spent six seasons at Auburn, took over as the Tigers’ offensive play-caller midway through the 2008 season after Tony Franklin was fired. Ensminger teamed with other assistants to reconfigure Auburn’s woeful offense during the stretch, but was largely unsuccessful.
The Tigers went 1-5 and averaged 296.6 total yards of offense over the final six games.
Ensminger, along with the rest of former coach Tommy Tuberville’s staff of assistants, was told to look for a new job when Gene Chizik was hired in early December. Linebackers coach James Willis was the only Tuberville assistant to retain his job.
Rose, who has coached in Alabama for 14 years, said he is close with many of the former assistants and has worked a number of summer camps with them. A four-year letterman under Pat Dye from 1986-89, Rose just wrapped up his first season at Smiths Station.
“I’ve known (Ensminger) for a while,” Rose said. “I thought it was a great opportunity and he was excited about it.”
Rose was unsure if Ensminger pursued any options at the collegiate level. Before he landed with Tuberville in 2003, Ensminger coached at two different Louisiana high schools from 2000-02.
All told, Ensminger has 24 years of coaching experience.
“I’ve got a bunch of great coaches and I think he’ll fit in great with us,” Rose said. “It’s kind of a different set of circumstances coaching high school and college. He definitely knows the difference.“
Rose said Tuesday night he had yet to tell his team about his newest hire, but some of them have “probably heard it through the grapevine.”
Ensminger will also teach P.E. at Smiths Station, Rose said.
agribble@oanow.com | 737-2561
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