"-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Brian Campbell is accustomed to winning.

In his 12 seasons as an assistant coach with the Daphne Trojans, Campbell has seen

his teams compile an impressive 101-19 regular season record.












During those 12 seasons, the Trojans have never failed to make the playoffs,

competing for five state titles while compiling a 29-10 postseason record. In five

attempts, Daphne took home the big blue trophy twice with perfect 15-0 seasons in

2001 and 2010.

Last season, as offensive coordinator, Campbell helped the Trojans to a 10-2 overall












record, finishing the regular season ranked No. 3 in the state, falling to

Prattville in the second round of the playoffs, a record that earned him the state’s

“Assistant Coach of the Year Award,” by the Alabama High School Athletic

Association.

As its new head football coach and athletic director, Campbell hopes to bring that












winning tradition to the Robertsdale Golden Bears, a team that has not had a winning

record since 2001, compiling a 28-82 regular season record over the last 11 seasons.

Since falling in the third round of the 5A state playoffs in 2001, the Bears have

made the playoffs only once, in 2004, which incidentally was Campbell’s only year

over that period out of a Trojan uniform. That season, he was the offensive












coordinator at Robertsdale.

“My ultimate goal (at Robertsdale) is to establish ourselves as a playoff

contender,” he said, “a team that is expected to make the playoffs year in and year

out.”

While the Bears might have far to climb to reach that goal, Campbell said, the team












is well on its way.

The school held a rally on Thursday, Jan. 26, introducing the new head coach and

honoring all athletic programs at RHS and, Campbell said, judging by Thursday’s pep

rally, the school already has one key element in place for success, community

support.












“I am really pleased that the community came out and supported our athletes in all

sports, not just football,” he said. “It shows that we are headed in the right

direction.”

A 1986 graduate of Baldwin County High School where he served as a kicker and wide

receiver for the Tigers, Campbell went on to earn a business degree from Auburn












University in 1990 and spent several years in the advertising and marketing fields

before deciding to return to pursue a teaching degree.

“I wanted to change majors while I was in college, but my dad said I had changed

majors enough and I needed to stick with it,” he said. “After six or seven years in

business, I was traveling a lot. My wife and I were looking to start a family and I












decided I wanted to pursue my first love, which was football.”

So Campbell went back to school, got his teaching degree and got his first job under

Coach Rodney Miller at Central Baldwin Middle School in 1994. After a pair of

seasons at CBMS, Campbell spent three seasons under Coach Fred Riley at RHS before

going to work under Coach Steve Savarese at Daphne in 1999.












He spent a year under Coach Jay Koziol back at RHS in 2004 before returning to serve

as offensive coordinator under Trojan Coach Glenn Vickery, where he has been the

last seven seasons.

As for his family, Campbell will celebrate his 20th anniversary with his wife Audra

in June. They have three daughters, Meredith, 16, who will stay at Daphne for her












senior year next year; Maddy, 13, a seventh grader at CBMS; and McClelland, 8, a

third grader at Robertsdale Elementary.

Campbell said his first step at Robertsdale will be to build numbers, while building

on the team’s strength and speed.

“We already have a good conditioning program in place here,” he said, “and I’m












confident we can build on that.”

The team will begin after-school workouts for those not participating in other

spring sports in February, with plans to start full spring practices in May.

“That’s the way I’m used to doing it,” he said. “It will allow us more time to get

our staff in place and allow players participating in other spring sports to












participate. We have a lot of work to do to get our system in place and the more

time I have to do it, the better.”

As an offensive coordinator for the past eight seasons, Campbell said he has a good

idea of what he wants to implement offensively.

“The system I have in place is one I feel we can implement no matter what,” he said.












“Defense will depend more on the personnel we have. I would like to implement a

three-man front, but we might have to go with a four-man front depending on

personnel.”

One area he will be looking at closely defensively is to develop team speed.

“It’s all about being able to get to the ball quickly and make a play,” he said. “I












believe developing team speed will be a key element for us defensively.”

As far as hiring new coaches, Campbell said, it will depend on having teaching slots

available for them.

“My goal right now is to be able to at least hire and offensive and a defensive

coordinator,” he said. “It will certainly depend on having openings available, but












I’m confident that there will be openings available for them. Beyond that, we will

have to see.”

No matter what changes he makes in coaching personnel, one key is to have everyone

on the same page.

Over the next few weeks Campbell plans to meet with coaches at every level, from the












area’s youth programs on up. He also plans to re-establish the team’s freshman

program.

“I want establish our program from the ground up,” he said. “Our goal right now is

just to get better each week. Then once we’ve established ourselves, we can keep

aiming higher.”