Warning: Contains SPOILERS for All American season 5, episode 11!Taye Diggs' exit from All American season 5 created plenty of questions about what happens after Billy Baker's death. Killing off one of the show's main characters midway through the season is easily the biggest surprise in the history of All American to this point. Viewers and the show's characters were left in a state of shock by the end of All American season 5, episode 11 when Billy Butcher died after a bus crash. The abrupt exit for Taye Diggs' character comes despite the prominent role he continued to play in the series and many of the existing storylines that were heavily featured in the current season.
Understandably, Billy Baker's death in All American season 5 completely changes the way the series will operate moving forward. Not only is the series going to need to lean even more on Spencer, Olivia, Jordan, and Layla for its main stories, but it also leaves a lot of questions about how certain storylines will develop. Despite knowing that the show was going to kill Billy during this season, the writers continued to make him increasingly involved in the main story. Instead of that being done to help solve problems about how he fits into the series, there are now five significant All American questions left by Billy Baker's death.
Did Billy Baker Save Jabari From The Bus On All American?
Even though the series based on Spencer Paysinger's true story did not explicitly state or show the events of Billy's death, the setup for his accident did create one All American question. Billy died after getting back in the school bus to save Jabari, who he heard stuck in the vehicle. All American season 5, episode 11 confirmed that Billy died after making this heroic effort, but there was no confirmation about Jabari's fate. The show will certainly answer if Billy managed to save Jabari from the bus crash before he died.
It should be expected that All American's question about Jabari's fate will be answered with the confirmation that he is alive. This would mean that Billy Baker died saving one of the young boys that he helped turn his life around. Having Jabari become another dead All American character in the aftermath of the crash makes Billy's death even more tragic, while him living allows South Crenshaw's coach to make the ultimate heroic sacrifice. It could also then be used to make Jabari a bigger character in season 5 and beyond.
Who Will Become GAU's Next Coach After All American's Billy Baker's Death?
Another question that comes after Billy Baker's death in All American season 5 is what becomes of the GAU head coach vacancy. The series spent a lot of time with Olivia investigating Coach Garrett and exposing his bountygate program to injure opposing players. It all appeared to be a way for All American to create a path for Billy Baker to become GAU's next head coach, and those suspicions were confirmed when he was offered, and momentarily accepted, the job. Billy dying in All American season 5 means that the university is going to have to restart its coaching search.
It is quite unclear what direction the show will go to answer this All American question after Billy Baker's death. Spencer originally pushed for Coach Kenny to get the head coaching job, but the university was hesitant to hire him due to his association with Garrett's program. There is also Coastal's head coach Mr. Montes, but him switching to GAU would be a surprise considering his current football program is not involved in an NCAA investigation. It is also possible that All American introduces a new character to become GAU's head coach and fill that void left by Billy.
Who Will Replace All American's Billy Baker As Crenshaw's Principal & Football Coach?
All American is also left in a position of needing to replace Billy Baker as Crenshaw's principal and football coach. He took the principal job during season 4, but he was still preparing to be the head coach for the football program when the next season kicked off. This could be a more difficult spot for the show when it comes to utilizing existing characters to fill these jobs. The only believable candidate to be Crenshaw's next principal is Grace James, but she is moving away to marry the school's former principal. Preach has only just become a full-time teacher, so he cannot be the principal next.
As for the South Crenshaw football coach, there is the possibility that Coach Elena Montes will decide to take over the program. She noticeably returned for the first time in season 5 during episode 11 and shared scenes with Billy talking about why she loves working with high school kids. Even though she has had plenty of success at Beverly Hills High School, she could decide to move to South Crenshaw to help keep the program Billy built afloat. It would not even be the first time she took the coaching job Billy left vacant.
Will Spencer or Jordan Stop Playing Football On All American After Billy's Death?
There are a lot of questions about how the All American characters will move forward after Billy Baker's death, but the football futures of Spencer and Jordan is one of the more pressing options. Even though Billy decided that he was not going to coach GAU before his death, he was still an influential figure in their careers. Spencer and Jordan will need time to grieve and process the devastating loss. This could include deciding that they need to step away from football to focus on themselves. Of course, they might also decide to keep playing at GAU because they know that is what Billy would want them to do.
Even if Spencer and Jordan do not stop playing football after Billy Baker's death in All American season 5, it could influence their decisions in other ways. They had both decided to stay at GAU and help build the program back up after Coach Garrett's bountygate scandal. However, Billy dying could be an event that makes them believe they cannot wait at the school and be part of a program that could hurt their dreams of playing in the NFL. That could mean they both enter the transfer portal and Spencer and Jordan wind up at Coastal.
Will All American Leave High School Football Behind Now?
Billy Baker's death in All American season 5 also creates a question about if the show will finally leave high school and high school football behind. He was the only main character of the series who still had a connection to high school since season 4 saw all the main cast graduate and go to college. The show does still have characters like Preach who are connected to South Crenshaw, but the majority of the All American cast and characters have moved past high school and Crenshaw in general.
As unfortunate as it might be, Billy's death could be a chance for All American to shift its focus to college fully and leave everything in Crenshaw behind. The show has slowly moved most of its main characters out of Crenshaw, with all the kids going to college or living in the Baker house. Laura will certainly move out of Billy's father's house in Crenshaw now, while Spencer's family is even leaving the town. All American could move past some of the show's original sets and locations by leaving Crenshaw, but there is no guarantee this shift will be made so quickly after Billy Baker's death.