East Mississippi Community College fires coach Buddy Stephens after 18 seasons, public criticism of administration

East Mississippi Community College fired head football coach Buddy Stephens on Monday after 18 seasons and five NJCAA national championships, according to reporting by Awful Announcing and CBS Sports. The school replaced him immediately with offensive coordinator Preston Rice.

Stephens' dismissal came after he publicly criticized his conference's new ten-game schedule and the school administrators behind it. Per Awful Announcing, Stephens called the administrators involved "idiots" and said the reasoning for the schedule change was that school presidents did not want to pay for travel expenses for the national playoffs. He also characterized the thought process as "junkified."

In public remarks reported by Awful Announcing, Stephens stated: "Some of the presidents in the state didn't want to have to go to the national playoffs because they didn't want to travel the first week."

Stephens did not coach EMCC's season-opening victory over Southwest Mississippi on Thursday, according to Football Scoop reporting cited by Awful Announcing. Netflix's "Last Chance U" featured East Mississippi Community College during its first two seasons in 2015 and 2016, with Stephens as the centerpiece of the program's on-field and off-field story.

The open questions include the exact date of the Monday announcement, the school's official rationale beyond his public statements, and whether Stephens, Rice, or EMCC administration have issued additional responses to the decision.