EMCC parts ways with Buddy Stephens; Preston Rice named interim football coach

East Mississippi Community College has parted ways with longtime football coach Buddy Stephens after 18 seasons, with associate head coach and offensive coordinator Preston Rice named interim head coach for the rest of the season. EMCC did not disclose a reason, but the move followed Stephens’s public criticism of MACCC leadership over changes to the league’s schedule and playoff format. Stephens posted a 155-31 record with five NJCAA national titles (2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018) and helped bring EMCC into the spotlight via Netflix’s Last Chance U; Rice, who is in his second season at EMCC, will lead a team that opened the season 1-0. The college declined to confirm Stephens’s current employment status elsewhere.