The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
George Pugh Named Assistant Football Coach At UAB
2/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 11, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- George Pugh, who has more than 20 years experience in the collegiate coaching ranks, has rejoined the UAB football coaching staff, according to an announcement Friday by Blazers' head coach Watson Brown.
For Pugh, it will be his second stint as a member of the UAB coaching staff. He was an assistant coach with the Blazers from 1995-2000, working with running backs, tight ends, defensive ends and wide receivers during that time. His first season at UAB was also Brown's initial year in Birmingham as the Blazers' head coach.
Pugh will coach on the defensive side of the ball and work with the Blazer "nickel" backs and outside linebackers.
"We're excited to have George coming back to UAB as a member of our coaching staff," said Brown. "While he was here before, he did a fantastic job as a recruiter, as a football coach and as a communicator with our players."
Pugh was involved in the recruitment of several Blazers who have just completed their senior seasons, but he also was the primary recruiter of rising senior and All-Conference USA quarterback Darrell Hackney out of Atlanta's Douglass High School.
Pugh will be coming back to UAB after spending the past two years as the head coach at Meadowcreek High School in metro-Atlanta. Prior to that stint, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach on the staff at Arkansas.
"I am truly honored and excited to have this opportunity," said Pugh. "Watson and I have a great relationship, and I have been on the staff with several of their coaches. I am looking forward to working with them and helping UAB get to that next level. I feel like I am coming back to finish something we started. For me, it's like a homecoming and something I am definitely looking forward to."
Pugh has extensive experience in the collegiate ranks. He was an assistant at Texas A&M from 1982-88) and served on the staff as an assistant at Pittsburgh in 1981. During his time with the Aggies, A&M won three Southwest Conference titles and made three Cotton Bowl appearances. While at Pitt, the Panthers captured the Big East championship and played in the Sugar Bowl. Pugh was the head coach at Alabama A&M for three seasons (1989-91), leading the Bulldogs to a 19-10 record and a berth in the 1991 NCAA Division II playoffs.
Prior to going to UAB in 1995, Pugh earned distinction in the high school ranks. He was the head football coach and athletic director at Selma (Ala.) High School for two years (1992-93) before taking over offensive coordinator duties at Luverne (Ala.) High School in 1994. Pugh got his start in coaching in 1976 as an assistant coach at Columbia (Ga.) High School. Two years later, he was the head coach at Columbia, leading the program to a 7-3 record, a district championship and the regional playoffs.
His first collegiate coaching experience came at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (1979-80). During his two seasons, the Moccasins were 20-2 and won two Southern Conference titles. He also spent one season as an assistant coach at New Mexico (1979) before joining Sherrill at Pittsburgh.
Pugh was a standout in college football long before taking up the coaching profession. He was a four-year starter at tight end and a four-time letterwinner for legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant at the University of Alabama (1972-75). During his four years as a player, the Crimson Tide posted a 43-5 record, made four postseason bowl appearances, earned three SEC crowns and won a national championship in 1973.
