Tuscaloosa County High School head football coach Miles Holcomb has resigned after one season leading the Wildcats.

According to a news release from the school, Holcomb announced his resignation at a team meeting at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

Holcomb said he has a chance to teach and coach in northeast Alabama, closer to his hometown of Crossville and his wife’s family in Georgia. He was not at liberty to announce his expected new position yet, he said.

“I didn’t really expect it, but I got an opportunity to get back closer to home,” the coach said. “I have family in Guntersville and my wife’s family is in Georgia. We’ve been a long way from both of them.

“This is a good chance to get back closer to family and to get back to where my son has all of his friends,” Holcomb said. “He’s in the fifth grade and I wanted him to have a high school experience similar to mine. I had one of the better experiences in high school that you could have. He misses the people he grew up with.”

Holcomb, 37, was head coach at his alma mater for two seasons and was an assistant coach at Hoover High School from 2018-19 before working for a year as offensive coordinator at Alpharetta, Ga., for Jason Kervin – who had been Hoover’s offensive coordinator. Holcomb left Alpharetta for the head job at Southside-Gadsden, where he coached from 2021-23, before he took the Tuscaloosa County position. Holcomb has a 27-37 record in six years as a head coach, according to research by the Alabama High School Football Historical Society.

“Coach Holcomb has dedicated his time, energy and leadership to the development of our student-athletes, both on and off the field,” the school’s release said. “We respect his decision and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.

“The administration will be working closely with the football staff to ensure a smooth transition and to continue building on the foundation laid by coach Holcomb.”

Tuscaloosa County finished 1-9 in Holcomb’s only season, snapping a nine-game losing streak with a 42-8 win over Paul Bryant in the season finale. Playing in Class 7A’s rugged Region 3 with playoff teams Hoover, Thompson, Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills, the Wildcats were winless in seven region games.

The Wildcats reached the playoffs once as a 7A team in 2014, the first season the class existed, with a 6-6 record. Since becoming a 7A school Tuscaloosa County has a 31-81 record with two .500 finishes and one winning season, Adam Winegarden’s 6-4 mark in 2022.

Tuscaloosa County is the 24th largest school in the 32-team Class 7A in the AHSAA’s latest reclassification based on enrollment. Three of the top nine largest schools are in Region 3 – Hoover at No. 2, Vestavia Hills at No. 7 and Thompson at No. 9. Hewitt-Trussville and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, in its first year in Region 3, are the two schools in the region that are smaller than Tuscaloosa County. Hewitt is No. 26 and Hillcrest has the second-smallest enrollment in 7A.

Holcomb replaced Winegarden who was 12-18 in three seasons at the Northport school. Winegarden, who had taken Auburn to the state championship game in 2020 before taking over at Tuscaloosa County, went 1-9, 6-4 and 5-5. He left in January to become the Director of Leadership/High School Relations at Troy University.

Tuscaloosa County High’s statement said, “We remain committed to the growth and success of our football program and will support our players during this transition as we look toward the future.”