BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

BELFRY — Longtime Belfry High School football coach Philip Haywood died Wednesday from injuries sustained in a car wreck.

Haywood was 73.

News of the legendary coach’s death hit former players, students and friends hard. For many, Haywood was more than a football coach. He also served as a guidance counselor at the school, helping countless students pursue college opportunities. As a man of faith, he led Christian youth groups throughout his life, further shaping the lives of those he mentored.

Hundreds of social media posts flooded the internet following the announcement of his passing.

“His commitment to excellence was matched only by his dedication to shaping young men of character, both on and off the field,” Pike County Schools Superintendent Freddie Bowling wrote on Facebook. “He will be greatly missed, but his impact will continue to inspire future generations.”

Haywood, the all-time winningest football coach in Kentucky high school history, amassed 491 career wins as a head coach.

After coaching for nine seasons at his alma mater, Prestonsburg High School, he took over the Belfry program in 1984. Under his leadership, Belfry won eight state titles (2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021) and achieved six runner-up finishes. Most recently, the team concluded a Class 3A state final appearance season in 2024.

In 2013, USA Today named Haywood the Best High School Football Coach in America. The KHSAA Hall of Fame inducted him in 2016 and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association honored him as Football Coach of the Year in 2017.

Haywood’s single-vehicle accident happened Jan. 18 near his home in Forest Hills. Authorities reported that his vehicle hit a patch of black ice on the roadway and slid into a creek.

Emergency services transported him to the University of Kentucky Medical Center, where he died.