To say Will McDaniel is ready to rock and roll would be an understatement.

But now that his new title — Holly Pond head football coach — is official, he can’t wait to get started.

“We’re super excited,” said McDaniel, whose hiring received board approval on Thursday. “Everyone we’ve met out there in the buildup to this … it’s been a dream come true. Everyone is all about Holly Pond and they all pull in the same direction. Obviously, we have a long-term vision for this.”

McDaniel, who replaces Coleman Mason after just one campaign, arrives at Holly Pond after spending his past three years as an assistant at Hanceville under former coach Ryan Brewer. He served as the squad’s defensive coordinator for two seasons and has held the same post at West Limestone, East Lawrence and Jasper as well — an altogether total of 11 years as a varsity coordinator.

He will be the sixth head coach in as many seasons for the Green and White.

Mike Bates stepped down following the 2019 campaign, Chris Moss produced two separate stints atop the program (2020 and 2022) and Mark Cornelius (2021) joined Mason in finishing out a single term with Holly Pond, which moved back to Class 3A following the most recent reclassification.

McDaniel, though, reiterated his long-term plan for the program while also speaking kindly of his previous stop.

“Our kids are going to play hard,” he said. “We’ll be disciplined and prepared. We’re also going to play with a lot of class. That’s going to be the standard at Holly Pond and how it’s going to always be. We’re going to care for those kids. This is all about them. And for me, working for coach Brewer was such a great experience. He’s a great man. Him hiring me is the reason I’m in Cullman County and that’s led to a lot of great things.”

Holly Pond principal Nate Ayers said his decision to go with McDaniel circled back to a familiar word — vision.

“We’ve got a really, really good group of younger kids — all the way down into the developmental grades,” he said. “We needed a long-term vision for how we were going to grab those kids now and get the parents involved and get that group — all the way up to our senior group — on the same page. We’ve had way too much of a gap between our youth kids, our middle school kids and our high school kids. Will’s plan is to get the kids on the same page. He’s a lunch pail guy and our kids respond to those type guys.”

The Broncos also hired Todd Carter to guide their baseball program.

Carter, who has countless years of coaching experience, served as the pitching coach for James Clemens this past season as the Jets reached the semifinals of the Class 7A playoffs.