Tuscaloosa County football has found its new head coach in Southside's Miles Holcomb, Tuscaloosa County confirmed on Tuesday in a press release.

The Gadsden Times confirmed Friday that Holcomb was leaving Southside, but it was not announced until Tuesday that he would be taking the position at Tuscaloosa County.

“Five weeks ago, we began identifying candidates to become the next head football coach at Tuscaloosa County High School," Athletic Director Dominic Ingram said in a statement. "After surveying our student-athletes and stakeholders, 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. We are excited to welcome Coach Holcomb, his wife Kayla, and two children, Kanon and Charlie, to Tuscaloosa County High School and the Northport community.”

Holcomb led the Panthers to one of their best seasons in recent memory going 8-3 as they won the Class 5A-Region 6 title. They fell in the first round to Boaz, the third straight first-round appearance for the Panthers.

He'll take over a Wildcat program that saw head coach Adam Winegarden leave for an off-the-field role with the Troy football team. The Wildcats program is rich in history but has struggled to find success after moving up from Class 6A to Class 7A in 2014. Besides making it to the second round of playoffs in 2014, their first season competing in Class 7A, the Wildcats have failed to make playoffs for the last nine seasons.

The Tuscaloosa County program, though, has showed various signs of improvement in recent years. It went just 1-9 in 2021 but improved to 6-4 in 2022 and most recently it finished the 2023 season going 5-5.

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Holcomb had been the coach of the Panthers since 2021 going 18-15 and 11-7 in region play. Before Southside he was the offensive coordinator at Alpharetta High in Georgia. He was also previously the head coach at Crossville, in 2016 and 17 leading them to their last playoff appearance. Holcomb was the 2023 Etowah County football Coach of the Year.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be the new head football coach at Tuscaloosa County High School," Holcomb said in a statement. "Since I began in this profession, I have always dreamed of having the chance to compete at the highest level. This was a chance to work with some of the best athletes in the state, in one of the toughest regions in the state, with some of the best resources in the state, and a community and administration that’s committed to earning opportunities to compete for championships. I am dedicated to building a program that will focus on consistently chasing our best. I am looking forward to building real relationships with our players, their families, our staff, and the community. I am confident that we can build an environment that is one people will want to be part of. My family and I are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and cannot wait to get started."

What Holcomb brings to Tuscaloosa County

Holcomb will bring a fun, spread offense that can run the ball on opponents when called upon, if his time at Southside was any indication. His quarterback, Gauge Nesmith, threw for more than 5,000 yards before being hurt early on in 2023 but the offense still was able to put up 346 points, equaling the 2022 number. At Hoover the results were even better, scoring 419 points in 2018 and 376 in 2019.

That should be good news for the Wildcats, who haven't scored more than 300 points since moving to Class 7A in 2014 and have scored under 200 points in five of those seasons.

Holcomb will also bring experience in Class 7A, Region 3, from his time at Hoover. It is one of the toughest regions in the state with Hoover, Thompson, the four-time defending champions before losing in 2023, Hewitt Trussville and Tuscaloosa County rival Hillcrest moving up to the region.

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Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports and Jacksonville State athletics for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Tuscaloosa County high football hires Southside's Miles Holcomb