Football has nearly always been a part of Miles Holcomb's life.

The now-Tuscaloosa County head football coach and Crossville, Alabama, native first got around the game when he was in the second grade, serving as an assistant manager to the Crossville team much due to the influence of his then-PE coach. He wanted to play football, but without permission from his father to do so, Holcomb instead served as an assistant manager for the team, which he did up to the seventh grade.

It helped, too, that nearly everyone in Holcomb’s life was in some way or another involved in an aspect of Friday nights. Sam, his father, was a former high school football player at Crossville, while his mother, Rhonda, and aunt, Lana Smith, were involved in the color guard and band at Crossville. Even more, Holcomb’s uncle, Danny Smith, eventually became the defensive coordinator at Crossville, further immersing Holcomb in the game.

"I have always enjoyed every aspect of the Friday night experience," Holcomb told The Tuscaloosa News, "because we were always around it."

In the eighth grade, Holcomb played his first varsity season at Crossville. In addition to football, Holcomb played baseball and basketball in high school, but after graduation in 2005, it was football he continued at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia. Holcomb went to Shorter as a defensive end but ended up playing offensive line. An MCL injury early into the season, though, sidelined Holcomb and caused him to redshirt his freshman year.

Holcomb was able to remain healthy for two seasons, but ultimately was sidelined again with injury — this time his shoulder. After surgery, Holcomb still helped out at practice, serving the role as a student assistant to the team. It was while doing this that one of his coaches suggested he think of becoming a high school football coach, something Holcomb had not thought of before, having entered college as a pre-med major before eventually changing his major to math.

"That was the first time I really thought about pursuing football and being a teacher," Holcomb said. "Looking back, I can't even imagine what my life would be like if I did not have football as a part of it."

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Upon graduating from Shorter, Holcomb returned to his alma mater of Crossville and joined the coaching staff of coach William Smith, where his uncle was still defensive coordinator.

After a few seasons back at Crossville, Holcomb spent time as a part of the staff at North Jackson and Haleyville. It was in 2017 when Holcomb returned to Crossville this time to serve as head coach, which he did for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. During that second season, Holcomb led Crossville to its first playoff bid since 2004 — which was Holcomb's senior year playing at for the Lions.

In 2018, Holcomb joined coach Josh Niblett's staff at Hoover where he served as an assistant for two years before moving to Alpharetta High School in Georgia for a season.

Holcomb made his return to Alabama in 2021, when he was named the new head coach at Southside-Gadsden. Holcomb led the Panthers for three years, most recently coming off of an 8-3 season — their best in recent years, where they reached the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

Holcomb made another change in January of this year, when it was announced he was going to be the next head coach at Tuscaloosa County High School. Holcomb replaces Adam Winegarden, who resigned from the position after getting an off-the-field-role at Troy. Holcomb is taking over a Wildcat program that competes in arguably the toughest region in the state and has failed to reach playoffs over the last nine seasons.

"We endeavored to find a candidate who would continue to mold our young men into leaders within our school and community, build strong relationships with our students and community at large, as well as someone equipped with a strong IQ of the game, and necessary knowledge and work ethic required to compete in the highest classification of Alabama High School football with some of the most well-regarded programs in the state. We believe that we have found our man in Miles Holcomb," Tuscaloosa County Athletic Director Dominic Ingram said in a statement in January regarding the hire of Holcomb.

Holcomb and his wife Kayla met in college, where Kayla was a member of the Shorter women's volleyball team. The two married in 2011 and welcomed their son Kanon in 2012 and their daughter, Charlie, in 2022.

Holcomb officially makes his Tuscaloosa County coaching debut on Aug. 23 when the Wildcats kick off their 2023 season hosting Central at Wildcat Stadium.

"The opportunities that we have here (at Tuscaloosa County) with our administration, our kids and our community," Holcomb said, "is something that we felt like we could build into something that people want to be a part of."

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: New TCHS football coach Miles Holcomb shares his path to coaching