How sad for the school, community, and most importantly his family.

If this is indeed true, it's a sad day for his family, church family, students, players, the community, and Kentucky high school football. Rest in peace sir!

Local news down there is reporting his passing too.  

Per the article, he hit some black ice, ran off the road, and hit a tree stump.

Thoughts and prayers to his family and the entire community.

Giant of a man/ ? coach. 491 wins. Incredible.

Coach Haywood's top priority was how many people he could lead to Jesus Christ. That number was most important to him. 

2:Timothy 4:7-8

What a loss of an absolute giant in the entire state's collective high school football history.

May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

This is an enormous loss, for his family, his church, the Community of Pond Creek, the students of Belfry High School, and for Kentucky High School football, but High School football across the country. Rest in peace coach, I can only imagine, the Jesus said, when he arrived at the pearly gates, "Well done, Coach, well done!"

Kentucky lost a true giant in the game. The impact that Coach had so many countless lives, the impact he had on the game, the impact he had on the state of Kentucky. So sorry to hear this, and love and prayers to Coach’s family during this time. 

This has been a really hard day on Pond Creek.  There is no way to quantify what Philip Haywood meant to Belfry, Kentucky and to Belfry High School.  And to High School Football in this state.  He was a great man and I am proud to have called him a friend and mentor.  Thanks for any prayers you may offer up for his family especially and for our community.  There are a lot of heartbroken people here tonight.

This is a good report from WYMT, especially the parts at the end where he talks about how he wanted to be remembered.  

https://www.wymt.com/2025/01/22/legendary-football-coach-dies-injuries-sustained-crash/

51 minutes ago, ChiefSmoke said:

Giant of a man/ ? coach. 491 wins. Incredible.

Coach Haywood's top priority was how many people he could lead to Jesus Christ. That number was most important to him. 

2:Timothy 4:7-8

Absolutely 100% true.  

 

From Belfry Pirates on Facebook.

We lost a rare gem today.

My heart breaks for his family, his friends, his staff, his players, and his community. Haywood was an icon in the State. Probably less than .1% of KY residents could pinpoint within a 100 miles on a map where Belfry would be if Haywood never existed, but because of his giant legacy people know where an unincorporated town in rural Appalachia is not only in the Bluegrass but throughout the country.

As a football coach his legacy will be achieving monumental heights with so very little. Rural county schools in Appalachia are not meant to be sustainable powerhouses, Haywood won 8 titles and reached Semi-Finals and State Finals that are too many to count despite isolation, unstable mining economies, and a sprawling School District that used to take nearly an hour to get from some edges to the other on winding one lane roads.

491 wins… most in KY history.. among the most in America… 491 wins. Yet the most impressive stat is that for each of those wins you can probably double it with people he brought to Jesus. For each of those wins you can multiple it by five or six times the number of players he made better men with his coaching and life lessons. For each of those wins you can multiply it by 10 or 12 times the people he impacted positively. Coaches he helped, parents he guided, leaders he developed, strangers he made welcome.

A lot of people are hurting right now, but what is so beautiful about the life Philip Haywood led is that all those people hurting know that the legacy he left has impacted generations and he would not rather be anywhere more than the place he is now. There is no pain there, but there is a crowd gathered ready to greet him.

Thank you Philip Haywood for being who you were!

 

I also have to smile thinking about Jim Matney, Ty Scroggins, and Ivan McGlone asking him what took so long and that they have been waiting to get a pickup game started to match wits with him again!

RIP Coach Haywood. Prayers to his family and the Belfry community! ???