East Mississippi Community College fired head coach Buddy Stephens after 18 seasons, following public comments where he criticized conference leadership over schedule and playoff changes. Associate head coach Preston Rice takes over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season, effective immediately, as the program moves past its Last Chance U era.
East Mississippi Community College has dismissed longtime head football coach Buddy Stephens, ending an 18-season tenure that brought five national championships and global recognition through the Netflix documentary series Last Chance U. The school announced the leadership change on Monday, naming associate head coach and offensive coordinator Preston Rice as interim head coach for the rest of the season. Wilkerson made the decision to fire Stephens and promote Rice, EMCC said.
Public Criticisms Spark Immediate Dismissal at EMCC
The firing arrived days after Stephens unloaded a scathing critique of athletic leadership in an interview published by the Columbus (Miss.) Dispatch on Thursday. Stephens directed his anger at EMCC and Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference leaders over recent structural decisions, specifically an expanded regular season and a revised playoff format restricting postseason bids strictly to division champions.
They’re idiots,
Stephens told the paper.
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,
Stephens told the newspaper, referring to the MACCC’s adding one game to the regular-season schedule to give each team five home and away games, and changing the playoff format to have only the top two seeds from each division play for the state championship rather than the top two teams from each division.
College Leadership Condemns Personal Attacks
EMCC president Scott Alsobrooks issued a swift response in a statement posted to EMCC’s Facebook page on Monday, stating that 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,” Alsobrooks said in the statement.
According to reporting from The Dispatch, an EMCC Athletics representative would not confirm whether Stephens remains employed by the school in another capacity. Stephens did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
Preston Rice Steps In as Interim Head Coach
The coaching change lands while the Lions are 1–0, following a 14–6 victory over Southwest Mississippi on Thursday. A source tells FootballScoop that Stephens did not coach the game. Interim coach Preston Rice steps into the role after a winding coaching path: he spent the 2025 season as EMCC’s quarterbacks coach and took the offensive coordinator job at Shorter, a Division II school in Georgia, after the season, but returned to Scooba, Miss., in June after offensive coordinator Cade Wilkerson was promoted to athletics director.
Stephens leaves behind a statistical legacy in junior college football. Taking over EMCC in December 2007, he compiled a 155–31 record, winning national championships in 2011, 2013-14, and 2017-18. He led the Lions to nine conference championships and was inducted into the NJCAA Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2024. Stephens rose to national prominence as the centerpiece of the first two seasons of Netflix’s Last Chance U, which followed the Lions’ 2015 and ’16 seasons. His program became a destination for talented players seeking another opportunity to reach major college football, with future NFL players passing through EMCC during his tenure including defensive linemen Jarran Reed and Za’Darius Smith, and linebacker Dakota Allen.
The Lions play their home opener Thursday against Hinds as Rice navigates the remainder of the season. As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest for coaching news and information.
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