Buddy Stephens was fired as the college football coach at East Mississippi Community College after 18 years (and one additional game) on Monday night. His former offensive coordinator actually informed him of the decision.
Why?
It sounds like the new athletic director decided to move on because Stephens was critical toward the school and the conference. It did not help that he finished with a mediocre record in each of the last two college football seasons and is notoriously hard to work with.
Buddy Stephens is OUT at East Mississippi Community College.
Even if you are not a college football sicko, you probably know the name Buddy Stephens. He was on the first two seasons of ‘Last Chance U’ on Netflix. The 59-year-old took over at East Mississippi Community College in 2008.
Stephens won five National Junior College Athletic Association national championships, nine conference championships, and 14 division titles over the course of his time in Scooba, Mississippi. That includes four undefeated seasons in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2018.
Notable alumni from his tenure include Chad Kelly, Quinton Dial, D.J. Jones, Bo Wallace, Jarran Reed, Za’Darius Smith, Denico Autry, C.J. Reavis, John Franklin III, Dakota Allen and Chauncey Rivers, among others. EMCC put hundreds of players back into the higher ranks of college football (ie: FBS, FCS, D2, D3). Quite a few of them went on to play in the NFL.
However, the school announced on Monday night that Stephens will no longer serve as the head coach. Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Preston Rice will take over as the interim. The decision is effective immediately. It was a surprising move.
Buddy Stephens finished his tenure with the Lions at 156-31. That includes a season-opening win over Southwest Mississippi Community College on Thursday. As good as that might sound, East Mississippi finished at 5-4 in 2024, 7-3 in 2025 and barely won its first game of 2026 by a final score of 14-6. Things have been trending downward. Gone are the days of glory.
Why did he get fired?
The goal at EMCC is to win a national championship every year. Or, at the very least, be in the mix. Buddy Stephens helped to set that standard. There are very few junior college programs with more resources at their disposal and/or higher expectations. That is in large part because of the success of ‘Last Chance U’ on Netflix.
First and foremost, Stephens was not meeting that bar. His team only played in the national championship game (and lost) one time in the last six seasons. The last two years were especially disappointing. An eight-point win over a bad Southwest Mississippi team was another concern.
To make matters worse, Stephens was critical of EMCC and the Mississippi Association of Community College Conference in the Columbus Dispatch last Thursday, the same day the Lions barely squeaked out a win over an inferior opponent. He put the school and the conference on blast for making the jump to 10 regular season games and reducing the number of teams that make the playoffs. Only division champions will qualify.
“They’re idiots. It was really ‘junkified,’ the way they decided they were going to do it and there wasn’t a lot of real thought. I was very surprised at how it came out because there were actual people who have doctorates that came up with this.”
East Mississippi president Scott Alsobrooks released a statement on Monday morning.
“[The school] strongly disavows the remarks published in a recent article. These comments are inconsistent with the college’s core values and standards of professionalism, respect, and civility and do not reflect the views, mission, or expectations of EMCC. While the college supports open and constructive dialogue, personal attacks have no place in that discourse and are contrary to the standards we uphold within our college community. EMCC sincerely apologizes for the concerns raised by these comments and remains committed to fostering a respectful, professional, and collegial environment for all.”
And then Stephens got the boot on Monday night. His former offensive coordinator informed him of the decision. Cade Wilkerson took over as athletics director in June after 11 seasons on the coaching staff. Wilkerson fired Stephens. Wilkerson’s successor at offensive coordinator took over as the interim.
Lets put the pieces together. Stephens already was not winning enough. Plus, new athletic director knows first-hand how difficult he can be to work with. The comments in the paper was a reason to cut ties. It was a perfect storm.