Miller, Youngblood resign after disappointing seasons

By Justin Graves The Cullman Times

ADDISON — At least two area schools will have new head football coaches roaming the sidelines next season.

The positions officially opened up when the Cullman County Board of Education approved the resignations of Holly Pond High’s Steve Miller and Cold Springs High’s Tommy Youngblood during its monthly school board meeting Thursday night.

Both coaches resigned after disappointing seasons. Holly Pond finished with a 3-7 overall record, while Cold Springs went 0-10. The Eagles were outscored 313-47 by opposing teams, getting shut out six times.

Youngblood took over the Cold Springs program after former Eagles coach Alex Stephenson was asked to resign by the school’s administration during the first week of fall practice. This was Youngblood’s third stint as Eagles coach.

Youngblood is leaving football with a 48-86 overall record. He went 30-54 during his three stints at Cold Springs. He led the Eagles to their best season ever in 1993, reaching the Class 2A quarterfinals with a 9-4 record.

Cold Springs’ football program has struggled for years, with its last winning season coming under former coach Rod Elliott in 2004. The Eagles went 7-4 that season, reaching the Class 2A playoffs with a 4-3 region record.

Elliott went 22-20 in four seasons at Cold Springs, leading the program to two of its six all-time postseason appearances. Youngblood was the coach of three of the Eagles’ playoff teams in the 1990s, and Jeff Scott is the only other coach to lead Cold Springs into the postseason.

It’s been downhill since then. Cold Springs has compiled a 9-41 overall record during the previous five seasons, going 3-27 since 2007.

Cold Springs currently has one of the longest losing skids in the state, losing the last 15 games. The Eagles haven’t won since the fifth week the 2008 season, beating Hanceville 29-15.

A replacement has not been officially named, but current Cold Springs assistant coach Mark Freeman has been rumored as a strong possibility.

Miller took over as Holly Pond’s head coach in 2007, replacing current Vinemont coach Chris Smothers — who served as the Broncos’ head coach for one season.

In three seasons, Miller led Holly Pond to a 12-19 overall record and a postseason appearance in 2007. That playoff team went 6-5 and finished fourth in Class 3A, Region 7 behind All-State running back Taylor Baker.

Miller’s teams were plagued with injuries in his final two seasons, which prevented the Broncos from contending for a playoff berth in Class 3A, Region 6.

Miller is retiring from football with a 40-46 overall record. He compiled a 27-18 record at Hatton, making the playoffs four times. He also went 1-9 in one season at Hanceville in 2003.

A replacement for the Holly Pond job has not been named.

Justin Graves can be reached by phone at 734-2131, ext. 257 or by e-mail at jgraves@cullmantimes.com.