The most successful high school baseball coach in Columbus area history has returned to coaching here after being fired from his position in Florida.
Bobby Howard, who led the Columbus High School baseball program to 12 state championships , has been hired as an assistant coach for baseball and football at Brookstone School .
“I’ve been really impressed with their school culture and the expectations they have,” Howard told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Why was Bobby Howard fired in Florida?
Brian Bullock, principal of Mosley High School in Lynn Haven, a suburb of Panama City, announced Howard’s dismissal in an email to multiple news outlets in April.
“We appreciate Coach Howard’s service as Head Baseball Coach but, at this time, we’ve made the decision to go in a different direction with our program and our expectations,” Bullock said in the written statement, according to the Panama City News Herald .
No specific reason for Howard’s firing was given in the email, and none of the media reporting the news suggested one, other than noting Mosley’s record was 7-10 and on a three-game losing streak then. The previous season, Howard’s first at Mosley, the team went 19-10 and reached the second round (final 16) of the state playoffs.
Bullock didn’t return the Ledger-Enquirer’s messages seeking more details in April. Howard didn’t specify the issue, but he said Wednesday that his departure resulted from a disagreement with the administration and being “at opposite ends” about the direction of the program.
Now, after returning to the Chattahoochee Valley and having the chance to continue his coaching career, Howard said he is grateful to Brookstone.
“It really feels good to be wanted,” he said. “I appreciate being part of their team. I think it’s a win-win. There’s respect and honor on both sides.”
Why does Bobby Howard still want to coach?
At 73, Howard still cherishes the connections he makes with students and staff through coaching.
“Number one, it’s the relationships,” he said. “But it’s also about adding value to your people, and it’s reciprocal because they keep me young.”
With his record of success, Howard would rather be fired than compromise on his tough standards for his players to perform and behave well on and off the field.
“They’re not baseball players or football players; they’re young men,” he said. “We’re just trying to get them to be a better person, a better student. … Athletic techniques and philosophy may change, but the fundamentals never change. The core principles that you live by and raise your kids by, that’s the way I coach. Sometimes those demands are tougher than some parents want, but that’s what I do.”
Why did Brookstone hire Bobby Howard?
Brookstone head baseball coach Greg Mathis welcomes Howard’s approach. He has experienced it.
Howard coached Mathis at Kendrick High School, where Mathis graduated in 1980 and Howard was head baseball coach and an assistant football coach. Mathis also was an assistant coach on Howard’s staff at Columbus High School and Central High School.
No wonder Mathis invited Howard to join his staff at Brookstone when the man he considers his “big brother” became available.
“The No. 1 reason is our relationship,” Mathis told the L-E. “I figured he would be miserable, miserable, miserable without having baseball in his life. I know that he still has a lot to give these young guys, even our coaching staff. … When you’re around Coach Howard, you literally learn something new every day.”
Mathis said he and Howard discussed “some things” about the situation at Mosley, “but I didn’t pry. … I just think he’s ready to sit back a bit, not have to deal with parents and administration, and just coach, just do the things he’s best at, and that’s coaching players and building relationships.
“This guy’s relationships with college coaches, scouts and professional baseball people, I mean, it’s unparalleled in Columbus. So anybody that’s really serious about wanting to play baseball at the next level, I mean, having Bobby Howard in your corner is a win-win for Brookstone.”
Brookstone did mighty well at this level without Howard last season, winning the GIAA Class 4A state championship , the program’s first baseball state title in 43 years, and the school’s football team also reached the state championship game last season.
“Coach Howard brings a tremendous amount of experience,” Brookstone assistant athletics director Beth Leatherwood told the L-E. “We’re just excited to have him on our teams and have him be a Cougar with us.”
Bobby Howard’s coaching record
As a head baseball coach for more than 40 seasons, Howard has won more than 70% of his games. The last team he coached in the Columbus area was Pacelli (2018-2022), where he notched his 1,000th career victory in 2019. He led the Vikings to the Georgia High School Association Class A state quarterfinals in the last two of those seasons before resigning to join Mosley .
Howard coached Columbus High to 12 baseball state titles and seven state runner-up finishes, as well as 29 region championships, in 31 seasons there. He also has coached at Jordan Vocational High School, Chattahoochee Valley Community College, Kendrick High School, Central High School and Middle Georgia College.
An 11-time state coach of the year in Georgia, Howard was honored as the ABCA/Diamond Baseball National Coach of the Year in 2000, the USA Today National Coach of the Year in 2004 and the ESPN High School Coach of the Year in 2012.
Howard also was the head football coach at Columbus High for 10 seasons (1990-99) . The Blue Devils went 36-70 during that period, but they won two region titles (1991 and 1995), and the program hasn’t won one since then .
Howard has been inducted as a coach into the Georgia Dugout Sports Hall of Fame, the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame, the Sunbelt Classic Hall of Fame, the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, National High School Baseball Hall of Fame and the Georgia Coaches Hall of Fame.
As a player, he was inducted into Columbus State University’s Hall of Fame and the Jordan Vocational High School Hall of Fame.
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