At the time of his retirement as head coach, with 261 victories, Carl Madison was the second winningest football coach in the state. He won 326 games in his coaching career including his stints in Georgia and Alabama.

Following his graduation from Troy State University, the Alabama native began his career coaching in Florida’s panhandle at Ernest Ward High School in 1957. He spent three seasons at Ernest Ward before taking over at Milton High School. He then moved to Georgia’s Forest Park High for five years where he led his team to a state championship game appearance before returning to Florida’s Tate High. He spent eleven years at Tate and won his first FHSAA State Championship there.

After leaving Tate he spent two years as Pensacola High School’s offensive coordinator before returning as a head coach to his original school, Ernest Ward. After a successful season there Madison took the helm at Pine Forest High School where he led the program to back-to-back FHSAA State Championships in 1987 and 1988 and saw his team crowned as 1988 USA Today National Champions. He moved to Georgia’s Westover High for one year before returning to Pensacola High as head coach and then spending his last nine seasons as a head coach in Florida as head coach of Milton. After sitting out of coaching for two years he made his return at Jackson Academy in Jackson, Alabama. He won two state championships in his three years there before retiring. In Florida Coach Madison won a total of 14 district/conference championships, made 13 State playoff appearances and had an overall record of 261-97-6.

Madison has served as the Florida Athletic Coaches Association’s Vice President and District 1 Representative for several years. He received numerous recognitions including, the FACA Meritorious Service Award, USA Today’s National Coach of the Year, FHSAA All-Century Team, Florida Coach of the Year three times, and Northwest Florida Coach of the Year seven times. Coach Madison is no stranger to Hall of Fame’s as he is a member of the FACA, Pensacola Sports, and Atmore, Alabama Halls of Fame.