Rush Propst’s surprising resignation as Pell City High’s head football coach came the same week his wages were set to be garnished in an ongoing legal matter with his former wife, according to court records.

According to their Feb. 26, 2009 divorce document, Propst was to pay $2,000 per month to Tammy Propst until he dies or until his ex-wife “shall die, remarry or live openly, or cohabit, with a member of the opposite sex.”

On April 16, 2024, Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Thomas E. Thrash Sr. ordered Propst to pay $6,540.50 to Tammy Propst as well as $8,000 in legal fees to the plaintiff’s counsel.

The court order also stated Propst owed past due spousal support in the amount of $106,000 “representing no payment whatsoever toward said obligation of 53 months prior to the court filing.” With interest included, the total was stated to be $123,875.

Thrash ordered withholding $2,000 per month of Propst’s income from his employer, Pell City Schools, immediately.

That order was officially filed into state court records May 3 — the same day Propst announced his resignation from Pell City.

In a brief conversation Wednesday night with AL.com, Propst deferred to his attorneys but did adamantly say the timing of his resignation was not related to the garnishment. Efforts to reach his attorney were not immediately successful.

Heather Fann of Gregory Fann Turner represents Tammy Propst.

She wrote in an email she was only authorized to say her “client wishes no ill will toward Mr. Propst and is merely seeking compliance with existing court orders.”

In the April 16 order, the judge threatened to issue a writ of arrest against Rush Propst, ordering him to serve 310 days in jail for contempt of court for failure to pay the spousal support for 53 months.

However, no writ or arrest could be found in court records and no evidence suggests Propst was ever jailed in connection to the case.

The judge wrote that Propst could avoid civil contempt if he paid $35,000. Records do not indicate whether that amount was paid.

A deposition is scheduled for May 14.

It’s been an intriguing three weeks for the controversial Propst.

On April 24, Propst survived an attempt to oust him as the team’s coach after one season when no one on the board made a motion on an action item to non-renew his contract and that of his current wife, Stefnie.

Ten days later, he announced his resignation on social media, saying he had become a distraction.

“It’s not good for our kids,” he said. “I feel like it’s the right thing to do. I’m always going to stand by my players and do the right thing for my players and, at this time, I feel this is the right time.”

Pell City promoted former Alabama player Nick Gentry from defensive coordinator to interim head coach.

Propst said following his resignation that he planned to stay in Pell City for the near future, though he did plan to coach again eventually.

“Right now, I have a son who will be a senior on the football team and a daughter graduating this month,” he said then. “I am going to stay right here and be a parent and a supporter and see what I can do from the outside. I will probably be a member of the booster club, and those kinds of things. I’m going to help our kids anyway I can.”

Propst was officially hired at Pell City on March 31, 2023. He had returned to coaching in Alabama that January when he was hired as the associate head coach at Class 1A Coosa Christian in Gadsden.

Prior to being hired at Coosa, Propst last coached in Alabama in 2007 when he led Hoover to a 6-6 record. He won five Class 6A titles with the Bucs, including four in a row from 2002-2005. He went 110-16 in nine years as head coach at Hoover.

He won a pair of state titles in 11 years as head coach at Colquitt County, Ga., racking up 119 more victories. He’s also been head coach at Ashville (1989-1992), Eufaula (1993-1996), Alba/Alma Bryant (1997-1998) and Valdosta, Ga. (2020). He officially has 296 all-time victories.