Bayshore Christian Coach Jacy Todd Home After Grueling Gallbladder Surgery, Hopes to Coach Friday

DAPHNE, Ala. — Bayshore Christian head football coach Jacy Todd is resting at his Daphne home after a week-long hospital stay in Birmingham, where he underwent a gallbladder surgery that his doctor said was the longest of its kind she has ever performed.

Todd, 44, had his gallbladder removed on Thursday, Oct. 15, after suffering from gallstones for nearly two weeks. The procedure normally takes less than an hour. For Todd, who has been paralyzed from the chest down since an auto accident 14 years ago, it lasted almost six.

Despite the ordeal, Todd hopes to be back on the sideline in his wheelchair when Bayshore Christian closes its season Friday night against Mobile Christian at Trione Park in Daphne.

“We are just thankful to be going through this because that means we have another day together,” said his wife, Dyeatra Todd. “I know that opportunity could have been taken from us 14 years ago. We are so thankful for that time. We know whenever Jesus does call, Jacy is going to a place where pain will be gone forever. We have taught our children that everyday together is a good day because none are guaranteed.”

A surgery that took more than five and a half hours

Todd had been dealing with pain for several weeks but tried to push through so he could coach the Eagles through their final two games before having surgery. That plan changed during practice on Tuesday, Oct. 13, when he left the team in severe pain.

Dyeatra drove him to UAB in Birmingham that night. The next day, doctors placed stents in his bile duct and pancreatic duct and told her that her husband had stones not only in his gallbladder but also in the ducts. Todd is scheduled to return in six weeks to have those stents removed.

The gallbladder surgery followed on Thursday, and it proved far more difficult than a typical case.

“The doctor told us that Jacy made them work even harder than expected,” Dyeatra said. “The gallbladder was larger than a tennis ball when they pulled it out. She said the stones were a little smaller than golf balls. The doctor said it was the longest gallbladder surgery she has ever done at 5 hours and 32 minutes.”

Todd’s recovery was complicated over the weekend, when he developed pneumonia, among other complications. He and Dyeatra returned home to Daphne on Tuesday night, Oct. 20.

Eagles rolled in his absence

While Todd was in the hospital, his team played one of its best games of the season. With assistant coach Justin Chappell leading the Eagles, Bayshore Christian beat Northside Methodist 40-7 on homecoming night on Friday, Oct. 16, at Trione Park. The Eagles built a 26-0 halftime lead, never punted and never turned the ball over, finishing with 480 yards of total offense.

The players made it clear afterward who they were playing for.

“We did all this for him,” senior Henry Rainer said following the game. “He was gone tonight, but he was still with us when we were out there playing. We used the discipline he taught us out there on that field, and we thought of him every play.”

The victory, which Rainer said was the program’s first homecoming win, improved Bayshore Christian to 3-5 overall. The Eagles now finish the regular season against a Mobile Christian team that is headed to the postseason in Private Class A.

Bayshore athletic director Jeff Hauge said Todd’s determination to be with his players, even while ill, has left a lasting impression on the school.

“Even though he is dealing with these health issues, he is tough as nails,” Hauge said. “Despite the struggles he has had physically, he’s been trying to get out here to be with these young men. I think seeing how tough he is teaches the kids to get through hard times as well.”

The 2012 accident that changed his life

Todd’s perspective on hardship was shaped by the crash that paralyzed him. On Aug. 1, 2012, he was driving on Alabama 181 on his way to Daphne High School, where he was an assistant coach under Glenn Vickery, when he was thrown from his vehicle.

He spent nearly a month fighting for his life at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, then three more months working to regain mobility at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, a hospital that specializes in spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation.

Even so, Todd has long described the accident as one of the best things that ever happened to him.

“It helped me understand that your faith is first and foremost and then your family after that,” he said when he retired from Baker High School. “We, as coaches, spend so many hours at the field house, trying to game plan and put kids in position to be successful. Sometimes you can get consumed by that. The accident helped me prioritize that. It obviously gives you great perspective when everything is taken from you.

“You see what is most important in life.”

From defensive coordinator to Bayshore’s head coach

Todd returned to coaching the year after his accident. He went on to serve as defensive coordinator at Fairhope, Auburn, Northridge and Baker high schools before retiring from public school coaching in 2022.

He did not expect to come back. But in May 2025, he took over the young Bayshore Christian program, succeeding Phil Lazenby to become only the second head coach in the program’s history.

“When I retired, I certainly had no ambitions of getting back into coaching,” Todd said at the time. “But, with this school and what it represents and with these young men, it’s a great opportunity to not only coach football but to hopefully help these young men develop in Christ.”

Hauge said Todd remains the right fit for a football program that is growing but still young.

“No. 1, he does such a wonderful job mentoring these young men,” Hauge said. “It’s not just the football part of it, but also how he disciples these young men in Christ. I know what he has been through the last few weeks has been tough on him and the players, but they’ve been able to rally around the game of football and play these games – not just for Christ – but for Jacy at the same time.”

Respect from rivals and colleagues

Todd’s influence extends beyond his own locker room. St. Luke’s, one of Bayshore’s rivals in the new Single-A private school league, is coached by Rick Cauley, who said he has developed both a friendship with and admiration for Todd.

“Coach Todd is awesome,” Cauley said. “He is super positive all the time. We are kind of in the same boat being smaller schools trying to compete against some of the competition we are having to play. You have to be super positive, and he is built for it. The kids at Bayshore are lucky to have him.

“He’s been through a ton, and he doesn’t have to be out there right now, but he is doing this for the kids. He has certainly earned the right to do what is best for him and his family at this point. Personally, I hope that means he continues to coach because high school football is better with him coaching.”

Bayshore Christian Upper School principal Ty Hensley said he continues to be amazed by Todd’s attitude, both through his recovery from the wreck and through his latest health battle.

“Jacy sees the wreck, the surgery and a lot of times even the pain as a way to grow closer to the Lord and the people he loves,” Hensley said. “He doesn’t want to be the center of attention. He is one of the most humble people I’ve met in my life. You can tell sometimes he is just in agony, but no one else really knows what he is going through.

“He’s really an extraordinary person in how he selflessly puts everyone ahead of himself — sometimes to his own detriment physically. Jacy Todd is the epitome of what I want to be like, what I think we want our faculty and kids here at Bayshore to be like. Life is hard, but God is good. I think that’s Jacy’s message, and he lives it every single day.”

What’s next

Bayshore Christian hosts Mobile Christian on Friday, Oct. 23, at Trione Park in Daphne in the Eagles’ final game of the season. Todd hopes to be on the sideline in his wheelchair for the finale.

He is scheduled to return to UAB in about six weeks to have the stents in his bile and pancreatic ducts removed.