Tuscaloosa County football coach Adam Winegarden will be leaving to take a job with the Troy University football program, it was announced in a press release from Troy University.

Winegarden met with the Tuscaloosa County coaching staff and team Thursday morning to inform them of his decision. He will be the director of leadership and high school relations on head coach Gerad Parker's staff at Troy.

“I want to thank our superintendent Dr. Keri Johnson and our principal Mr. Darrell Williams for giving me the opportunity to work at Tuscaloosa County High School," Winegarden said in a statement to The Tuscaloosa News. "This has been a community effort to improve and develop this program. We have great teachers, kids, parents, and community members that are making this place better every day. I will be forever grateful for the people of Northport and the relationships that have been built. This program is on an upward trajectory and has many things in place to ensure future success. This has been a lifelong goal to work at the collegiate level, and am grateful for the opportunity at Troy University. I look forward to watching Tuscaloosa County continue to grow, but also the opportunity to serve Coach Parker and Troy Football.”

The news comes after Winegarden finished his third season at the helm of the Wildcats program, where he led them to a 5-5 record. During his three years at TCHS, Winegarden accumulated a 12-18 record.

Prior to his time at TCHS, Winegarden spent six seasons coaching at Auburn where they went 56-19 along with a state championship appearance in 2020. He also spent time coaching at Fairhope, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa and Dalton (Ga.). Overall, he has a 131-55 record across 17 seasons of coaching.

"Along with the administration of Tuscaloosa County High School, I would like to thank Coach Adam Winegarden for the job he has done leading our program," TCHS Athletic Director Dominic Ingram said in a statement to The Tuscaloosa News. "Over the last three years, Coach Winegarden has done a tremendous job elevating the facilities and football program. Additionally, Coach Winegarden significantly improved the culture and developed our student-athletes leadership skills at Tuscaloosa County High School. We wish him the best of luck in his new role at Troy University. The attention of the administration and athletic department now turns to finding our next head coach to continue to elevate our program."

NICK SABAN COMMEMORATIVE BOOK: Relive Nick Saban’s epic Alabama football coaching career with our special book! Preorder here.

TCHS BASKETBALL: The Wildcat Way: How a young Tuscaloosa County boys basketball team is finding success

Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com. Follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @annaesnyder2

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Adam Winegarden to leave TCHS football for a job with Troy