Robertsdale found its next head football coach in Cris Bell.

The Baldwin County Board of Education approved the hire during its regular meeting on Thursday, Feb. 22, to officially bring Bell to Robertsdale.

Bell is coming off his 12th year as a head coach in Alabama where he led the Scottsboro Wildcats to the postseason the last two years out of a three-year stint. Before that, he spent nine years as the head football coach of the Oak Mountain Eagles and will enter 2024 with a 65-64 overall record and a 3-6 mark in the playoffs.

The Golden Bears will be looking to end a 24-game losing streak and their next contest will come in Class 7A after they were moved up following the biennial reclassification of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. For the next two seasons, Robertsdale will face Region 1 foes from Alma-Bryant, Baker, Daphne, Davidson, Fairhope, Foley and Mary G. Montgomery.

Kyle Stanford was relieved of his duties on Oct. 10, 2023, following Week 7 of the regular season and finished with an 8-37 record in five years at the helm of the Golden Bears.

With the coaching vacancies filled in Orange Beach and now Robertsdale, Baldwin County remained the lone local team without a head football coach entering the 2024 season, however, the Tigers also had a head football coach approved by BCBOE on Thursday. Scott Rials was relieved of his duties after the regular season and finished with a 14-27 mark over four years with the Tigers.