Red Bay head football coach John Ritter walks on the sideline with his players during this past Friday’s jamboree game with Tishomingo County. Photo by Keith Ledbetter.

By Keith Ledbetter

For the FCT

The Red Bay football program will once again start looking for a new head football coach – a process they know all too well.

Following Friday’s jamboree game, head football coach John Ritter announced that he will be stepping down as coach effective Monday, May 19.

Ritter’s last day at Red Bay will be this Friday, when the school year ends.

He leaves Red Bay to take the defensive coordinator and strength coordinator positions at Deshler.

“It was a great opportunity for me and my family,” Ritter said Friday night.

“I have a little girl on the way and it is a very tough decision for me and my wife, Lauren, but sometimes in life you have to do what’s best for your family. This was just one of those decisions.”

Two years ago Red Bay played the coach shuffle after long-time football coach Dale Jeffreys left to become the head coach at Colbert County.

Red Bay thought they had a coach in line to take Jeffreys’ position after coach Craig Hall verbally accepted the position, but Hall changed his mind just minutes before school board approval.

Red Bay’s second hiring effort was Jamie Easley, who came on board in March of 2012. Easley, from South Panola, completed spring practice and carried the Tigers through their annual spring game. But Easley resigned because of a conflict in finding his wife a job in the school system.

Ritter, who was hired in August of 2012, came just in time to help prepare the Tigers for their jamboree game on August 17, 2012.

As Tiger head coach, Ritter has had two successful years at Red Bay and has taken the Tigers into post-season play both years.

“I honestly believe that in the two years that we’ve been here, the program has went above and beyond the great tradition that was already here,” Ritter said.

This past year, Red Bay finished their regular season with an 8-2 record. They won eight in a row after dropping their first two opening games.

“This is honestly the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life,” Ritter said.

“I love these kids. Over the last two years we’ve gotten very, very close. They’ve worked extremely hard, and in a lot of ways, this is a selfish decision because it’s not based on these kids. If that were true, I’d never leave.

“These kids at Red Bay are the best kids I’ve ever been around.”

Word of Ritter’s leaving started slipping out around Red Bay school last week, so by halftime this past Friday, everyone in the stands knew he was going to officially make the announcement to his players following the game.

Ritter will be working with one of his friends, Jake Linville, at Deshler after Linville was named head coach following the resignation of long-time Deshler coach John Mothershed.

“This is something that has kind of been in the works for a while and I’ve been back and fourth on it,” Ritter said.

“I really didn’t know what to do. You can ask those guys that work with me – this has been something that’s been really heavy on my heart and real heavy on my mind.

“It’s a selfish decision, but I’m going to better my family situation. With a baby on the way, I’m going to be in a position where I can help out a little bit more than I could being a head coach.

“Since this is my first child, I want to be there to experience that with Lauren.”

Ritter added that being a head coach is a very time consuming job, especially at a small school.

He added that he didn’t want to cheat the kids and he didn’t want to cheat himself by staying here and trying to pull double duty.

“I do have a special relationship with these kids, and I love each and everyone of them,” he said.

“I think they’ll understand that my family dynamics are changing. I hope and pray one day when they’re put in this position, they will feel like they can make a strong decision.”

An announcement will be made in the coming weeks concerning the head football position opening at Red Bay.