[Spud6]

The only word needed to describe Coach Haywood..

LEGEND

[Bull got out!]

I hate to hear this. Prayers for a lot of folks at this time. Especially his family.

[Khalisimo]

his name is spelled philip if a mod could fix that
unfortunately the only other disagreement i have is narrowing his legacy to football legend....... he was a legend in all aspects of life

[BlackcatAlum]

This is awful.

Mountain football and Kentucky football lost one of the best men and coaches ever today.

May God be with his family and the Belfry community!

RIP Coach Haywood

[Spud6]

his name is spelled philip if a mod could fix that
unfortunately the only other disagreement i have is narrowing his legacy to football legend....... he was a legend in all aspects of life

I've read 3 books in my life and his was one of them.  

Never met him but I know his was a Godly man and great person who was a great speaker.

[Khalisimo]

his name is spelled philip if a mod could fix that
unfortunately the only other disagreement i have is narrowing his legacy to football legend....... he was a legend in all aspects of life

I've read 3 books in my life and his was one of them.  

Never met him but I know his was a Godly man and great person who was a great speaker.

have you read the second one?????

[Spud6]

his name is spelled philip if a mod could fix that
unfortunately the only other disagreement i have is narrowing his legacy to football legend....... he was a legend in all aspects of life

I've read 3 books in my life and his was one of them.  

Never met him but I know his was a Godly man and great person who was a great speaker.

have you read the second one?????

Negative

[Micro-Brew]

That man will be missed. Rest in Peace Coach. I’m not sure anyone has had a bigger impact on the Belfry community in my lifetime. Godspeed

[Khalisimo]

8 state titles 491 wins most in kentucky history 5th most wins in history nationally....... how lucky were we in eastern kentucky to have a man like coach haywood

[Granny Bear]

Not just the Belfry community, which I'm sure is heavily impacted. But the kind of life Coach Haywood led, and his integrity, this has impacted a huge portion of southeastern Kentucky!

I'm so sorry he passed. Last I heard he was making improvements.

Prayers for Haywood's family and the Pond Creek nation.

[Old School Hound]

50 years of his life he shared his knowledge about football and about life to the young men he taught and coached. Will go down as one of the best to ever do it in this state. Sad, sad day in Kentucky.

[King Kong]

Thoughts and Prayers

[hawg laig]

A part of my soul is gone. Besides my parents, this man shaped the course of my life. Over fifty years ago running pass patterns on the front yard of his parents home so he could improve his timing for high school games. Being the worst player on a great baseball team coached by him. Playing football for him. Laughing, crying, and learning continuously both me and him. His mind was only exceeded by his faith and the love he had for those around him. The last time I saw him we were at a funeral. As I was leaving he chased me down just to tell me he loved me. I told him the same. I love you coach.

[Patriot1]

Great coach and great person along with all pond creek nation I will miss him a lot there is no words to hardly describe the man and what he meant to football in so many areas prayers for the family and all the young men and women he has touched in his life

[truebluefan89]

Sorry to read this news.
A great leader for sure that shaped many young men’s lives.
A coach that taught lessons that shaped people’s lives both on and off the field.

Those old school coaches like that are few and far between.

Prayers to his family and the rest of the Belfry community.

[smoke1015]

Prayers for Belfry, and Eastern Ky football, and just football people in general. Mostly prayers for his family, which with the amount of players he's had his family extends to 1000's at this point. Truly hate to hear.

[EKUAlum05]

We lost a rare gem today.

My heart breaks for his family, his friends, his staff, his players, and his community. Haywood was an icon in the State. Probably less than .1% of KY residents could pinpoint within a 100 miles on a map where Belfry would be if Haywood never existed, but because of his giant legacy people know where an unincorporated town in rural Appalachia is not only in the Bluegrass but throughout the country.

As a football coach his legacy will be achieving monumental heights with so very little. Rural county schools in Appalachia are not meant to be sustainable powerhouses, Haywood won 8 titles and reached Semi-Finals and State Finals that are too many to count despite isolation, unstable mining economies, and a sprawling School District that used to take nearly an hour to get from some edges to the other on winding one lane roads.

491 wins… most in KY history.. among the most in America… 491 wins. Yet the most impressive stat is that for each of those wins you can probably double it with people he brought to Jesus. For each of those wins you can multiple it by five or six times the number of players he made better men with his coaching and life lessons. For each of those wins you can multiply it by 10 or 12 times the people he impacted positively. Coaches he helped, parents he guided, leaders he developed, strangers he made welcome.

A lot of people are hurting right now, but what is so beautiful about the life Philip Haywood led is that all those people hurting know that the legacy he left has impacted generations and he would not rather be anywhere more than the place he is now. There is no pain there, but there is a crowd gathered ready to greet him.

Thank you Philip Haywood for being who you were!

[64SUR]

Prayers for the Haywood family and Pond creek nation family.

[GoldenEagle60]

So sorry to hear this. Prayers for his family and friends.

[TheTruth!]

Damn sure lost a good one! Prayers for his family and the belfry area.

[Big Five-0-]

When our daughter was a Junior in High School, she babysit for Phillip Haywood and his wife Linda. Even today she still mentions what a quality person he was. He was the type of man that left a positive impact on anyone he came in contact with. Prayers for his family continuing.

[RAM-A-DEVIL]

Unbelievable loss. Still trying to process this. Life is fragile. One of the best ever on and off the field. Scrimmage them every year and he always comes down after to talk to our kids and coaches and spread cheer and wisdom. Prayers for his family and the belfry community

[Old School 18]

This is horrible. I hate to hear this. Best Kentucky high school football coach of all time in my opinion.

[bucslover68]

I am still at a loss for words and have been deeply hurt by the loss of our great coach. As the radio voice of BHS football, these 20 years behind the mic have flown by, but they have been glorious memories. Many of those memories involve Coach and his Faith, Family, and Football mentality. His favorite phrase was, "Its' not about me, It's not about you, It's about us". What he did for BHS and the community of Belfry cannot be measured in earthly terms. HIs blue collar style of play "has been passed by" but he would just grin and line up and most of the time beat you anyway. 50 years, 491 wins and thousands of lives impacted. I love you Coach. I can imagine that the Lord himself took the time to greet him when he made it home. Well done thy good and faithful servant. BTW, can you teach me the veer and for your golden stadium do you prefer grass or turf. RIP GOAT!!!

[-STAT-]

Didn't know Mr Haywood on a personal level, but did get to speak with him a few times over the years, albeit brief conversations but those small interactions he made me feel like we'd known each other for years. No denying he is the greatest high school football coach of all time, especially in this state, but you couldn't find a better human being if you tried. Just a genuine, caring and loving person, a true class act. Football lost a giant here in the state, but life in general lost a giant of a man as well. My thoughts, prayers, and condolences are with the Haywood family, all the players & coaches he has made an indelible impact on, and the entire Belfry community.

RIP Phillip Haywood.

[jellyfam k1]

prayers

[Red and Black]

Greatest HS football coach in history. Not just Kentucky football history, but American football history, as well.

He was part of an old breed of men that are few and far between nowadays. A man of honor and sincerity. A man of love and respect. We were lucky to have had him for the time that we did. I feel lucky and blessed that he was born and raised in Prestonsburg, so all of us Pburg kids got to hear the stories about him when we were growing up both as a player and as a coach here. The common theme was always that his teammates loved him and his players loved him. He helped restore Pburg football to what it used to be in the 40's and 50's both when he played for some good teams in the late 60's and then coached some very good teams in the mid 70's and early 80's. Without him, who knows what would've happened to Pburg football? As someone who bleeds red and black, I'm very thankful for that. I feel very lucky and blessed that I got to play against him all 4 years that I was in HS (even though we only beat him once or twice out of about 7 or 8 tries, even though some were absolute barn-burners). I feel lucky and blessed that a coach of his caliber chose to stay in the mountains instead of moving on to more lucrative opportunities, which I'm sure were offered to him. Overall, just lucky and blessed to have had somebody like that that everyone who ever came in contact with him or heard his name can look up to. After my last game in 2004 (the last HS game ever played at Vipperman) I'll never forget him coming over to me and some of my brothers standing on the field after the handshake. We were all thinking about what we were going to do without the thing that we had dedicated our lives to for 4 years, we had just played our last game, and he said "don't hang your heads, boys. You've got nothing to be ashamed of". And it sounds like (and was) a very cliche thing to say, and coming from anybody else it probably would've just felt like hollow words. Like empty platitudes. But when I looked at him as he said it I could tell that he truly meant it, and his heart went out to us, and I loved him for it.

God speed, coach! Looking forward to talking about that game the next time I see you! Congrats on a race well run!

[Redneck]

My thoughts and prayers are with Coach Haywood, his family, the Belfry football program and community.

No offense to any other 2A team, but I’ll be cheering extra hard for the Pirates next year. I hope they run the table and bring home another title in his honor.

[Khalisimo]

Will any local media outlets cover coachs services? I work out of town and can not get home

[Tailback44]

Sure hated to hear this news. Prayers for coaches family and friends. RIP Coach. Definitely the goat of KY football.