Special teams coordinator Al Everest has been to a lot of places during his coaching career, but he returned to where football began for him recently when he was inducted into the Santa Barbara Athletic Hall of Fame.
"It felt really good," said Everest. "The best feeling wasn't so much for me, but for my mom and dad and family and good friends who are still there and flew in and shared it with me. The most important part was to recognize my family and the people who made it happen for me."
Everest played football, baseball and basketball at San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara, California, earning MVP honors in football and baseball. He was also an All-Channel League recipient and played in the first Round Table All-Star Football game after the 1967 season.
Academics were also a key for him, as he was a top-ten academic graduate and earned the highest scholar award in all three sports he played.
"You never think of something like this back then," said Everest. "You take every day as a new day and try to do the best you can. When they called six months ago to ask me to send in what I have been doing, and then they called to say I was being inducted. It's hard to explain. It's a great feeling."
After his high school days he went on to play football at Southern Methodist before embarking on a coaching career that began in 1972 and is still going strong. Everest began that career as a graduate assistant at Southern Methodist in 1972 and North Texas before landing as an assistant at Cameron University. He went on to serve as athletic director and head football coach at American School Foundation in Mexico City from and coached baseball at U.S. International University.
Everest joined his father Andy Everest, on the coaching staff of the Legano Frogs in Italy, with father and son serving as defensive and offensive coordinator respectively.
"It was fun to be able to coach with my dad," said Everest. "Spending the practices and games together was a great experience."
This season will be Everest's 14th in the NFL, beginning with the Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. He was named the NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2007.
Everest was presented by his father, who flew in from Texas with his mother Bonnie for the induction, something that was emotional for him.
"Just to know he was able to make it meant a lot," said Everest. "They have struggled with their health. For him to make that trek was a great deal.
"When they first called me to submit the information I was like it's pretty cool. It's like when you have a child or win a championship. A number of events led to it. It's a mixed bag of emotions. If it happened 20 years ago it would have been about me. At this point in my career it's directly related to my family, players and coaches I have been fortunate to be with. It's all part of that which made this happen.
Everest joins a Hall of Fame list that already included Sam Cunningham, Randall Cummingham, Ernie Zampese and Jamaal Wilkes.
