Thompson is being remembered today as a man of passion.

The former head football coach at Calera has passed away after a heart attack. Thompson spent three seasons at the school and went 28-9. He took a job in Georgia as head coach at Cook High School last February.

Calera principal Richard Bishop said Thompson leaves behind a wife, Regina, and four sons. Bishop approximated his age at "38 or 39" years

"What transpired came through phone calls late last night through family and friendships he left behind in Calera," Bishop said. "I've been told that he passed out at work and was taken to a local hospital. Not a major hospital but a small one. The hospital ran a battery of tests and he was stabilized. But later in the evening around 10:30 at night he had a massive heart attack and they couldn't revive him. That's the story that was given to me and the story that I have shared with our faculty."

Thompson was also an assistant coach at Hoover and an offensive coordinator at Pelham. He was on the staff of former head coach Rush Propst at Hoover.

"It's a sad time," Propst said while on his way to make a 20-minute drive from his current coaching post in Georgia at Colquitt County to visit the family. "I feel very strongly about that man and his family."

Bishop said the school has set up grief counselors and has a youth minister on campus to help grieving students deal with the loss of their former coach and senior government teacher.

"He left a big impact on our school," Bishop said. "The best word I can use to describe him is passionate. He was passionate in everything he did and he put his best foot forward into everything he did. He was a very dedicated man that left an imprint behind in this community."

Calera athletic director Robert Burdette said there are still two classes of students on campus that knew Thompson well.

"I guess any time a man passes when age wise he is 38 or 39 years old it is something," Burdette said. "But combine that with the fact that this was a man who had an impact on your community and the feeling is just shock and disbelief. We just have a lot of sorrow here for a man that leaves behind a wife and four kids at that age. It's just tragic."

Thompson was a deacon at Concord Baptist Church in Calera during his time at the school. Bishop said his sons are all at "eighth grade level and below."

His team went 7-6 during his first season at Cook in 2009.