{"id":73331,"date":"2025-07-18T18:33:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T18:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/73331\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T18:33:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T18:33:10","slug":"nfl-veteran-alabama-football-alum-ready-for-challenge-at-hbcu-champ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/73331\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL veteran, Alabama football alum ready for challenge at HBCU champ"},"content":{"rendered":"

MACON, GA \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0As a former Alabama football backup who fought his way into the NFL, Chris Goode is no stranger to uphill battles. Now, he\u2019s taking on a new one as head coach at Miles College.<\/p>\n

From Historic Season to Roster Reset<\/p>\n

Goode steps into a program fresh off a 10-3 season, an SIAC championship, and a rare NCAA Division II playoff win. But the team he inherits looks very different.<\/p>\n

Former head coach Sam Shade<\/a>, another Alabama football alum, left to lead Alabama A&M. He took a significant portion of the roster with him, leaving Goode to rebuild.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a brand new team,\u201d\u00a0Goode admitted at SIAC Media Day. \u201cWe had a lot of guys that were seniors that left, got a lot of guys that went in the transfer portal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lessons from Alabama and the NFL<\/p>\n

Despite the turnover, Goode remains confident. He draws strength from his own football journey \u2014 one that began in Tuscaloosa and led to the pros.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only started one game, but I ended up getting drafted, Goode said. \u201d In the NFL, I went in and we had drafted 4 or 5 DBS. I was the last DB.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goode\u2019s dream never wavered, even when the depth chart said otherwise.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSecond year I was the only one left., he continued. \u201d So to me it\u2019s always a challenge for me no matter what. It doesn\u2019t bother me at all. So I think I\u2019m built for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did just that, playing in the NFL from 1987 to 1991.<\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/p>\n

Building a New Culture<\/p>\n

That same determination now drives his vision for Miles. Goode has assembled a coaching staff full of championship experience and is focused on creating a culture of resilience.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not just replacing players. He\u2019s reestablishing a foundation for long-term success at one of the strongest HBCU programs in Division II. He says he plans to use his relationships to keep Miles in contention in the SIAC. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always about your friend base,\u201d Goode said. \u201cWe call it multiple other things but it\u2019s a lot of my friends that are in the know (about) a lot of guys as you know getting released from D1, D2 or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Target on Miles\u2019 Back<\/p>\n

Despite the roster overhaul, SIAC Commissioner Dr. Anthony Holloman reminded everyone that Miles remains the team to beat.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiles College went undefeated last season in SIAC play. Then they went on to eliminate Carson Newman in the first round of the NCAA playoffs,\u201d\u00a0Holloman told the crowd. \u201cSo the championship runs through Fairfield (AL).\u201d<\/p>\n

That kind of pressure could rattle some. But Goode embraces it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter where you start,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u201cIt\u2019s about what you do when you get your shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alabama Toughness, NFL Mindset<\/p>\n

Miles College is betting that Goode can bring that Alabama football grit and NFL toughness to a team with championship expectations.<\/p>\n

With a new roster and a storied past, the road back to the top won\u2019t be easy. But if anyone knows how to make the most of an opportunity, it\u2019s Michael Goode.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MACON, GA \u2014\u00a0As a former Alabama football backup who fought his way into the NFL, Chris Goode is…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":73332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1322,1318,51271,1317,1315,1316,51272,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-73331","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-featured","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-hbcu-sports","11":"tag-ncaa","12":"tag-ncaa-football","13":"tag-ncaafootball","14":"tag-siac","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114875675674237253","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}