Cullman has hired Danny Stiff as its new head football coach.

The move officially met with unanimous approval by the Cullman City Board of Education on Tuesday evening.

Stiff, who served as special teams/defensive ends coach at Hoover this past season, assumes the role previously held by Oscar Glasscock, who recently retired after leading the Bearcats to four playoff berths and a 28-17 record in four seasons.

“I’m anxious to get started,” the 36-year-old said. “I’m anxious to get in front of the team and coaches. I’m ready to get in there and get to the work and get to the grind. You’re as excited as you can be. But, once it hits that you’re the guy, you’re ready to go.”

A 2005 graduate of Hoover, Stiff won three state titles (2002-04) as a player under then-head coach Rush Propst.

He served high school stints at Spain Park, Hueytown and Gadsden City — primarily coaching defense and special teams — before moving to the collegiate level at Jacksonville State, where he worked with outside linebackers as well as safeties in helping the Gamecocks corral three conference titles and a national championship game appearance in three seasons (2014-16).

Stiff then moved on to Alabama, where he served as a recruiting and personnel assistant for the Crimson Tide under coach Nick Saban in 2017.

Following that national title campaign, Stiff joined Jeremy Pruitt’s staff at Tennessee — first as assistant director of player personnel (2018-19) and later as director of player personnel (2020).

“I’ve taken something from each of those stops,” Stiff said. “It’s hard to narrow it down. Each of those spots was different, and each of my roles was different. I’ve kind of gotten my hands in everything around football, which I think is part of what’s prepared me to be a head coach. I’ve had to do so many administrative things, coaching things … just being around all that and seeing the complete picture of the game.”

As for what Cullman fans can expect this fall?

Well, according to Stiff, his ultimate goal as he begins his journey leading the Black and Gold is to instill two primary principles inside the locker room.

“Tough and smart,” he said. “If we’re tough and smart, I’ll be happy. That’s kind of what everything builds up to — the intelligence to know what you’re doing and how you’re supposed to do it, knowing what your opponent is going to do, and having the toughness to execute that, be resilient, and do it for four quarters. That takes mental and physical toughness. So, if our team lines up and plays tough and smart … I’ll be happy.”