East Mississippi Community College head football coach Buddy Stephens became a household name in the sports world and beyond as the centerpiece of the Netflix documentary series Last Chance U. But his own last chance has come and gone as the school has decided to part ways with their longtime coach after publicly criticizing his own administration.
Last week, Stephens shared vocal criticism of his conference’s new ten-game schedule that would complicate matters for teams that were hoping to play in the National Junior College Athletic Association playoffs. East Mississippi Community College has won five national championships during Stephens’ 18-year tenure.
Stephens called administrators who made the change “idiots” and said that the reasoning was because the school presidents did not want to pay for travel expenses for the national playoffs via The Commercial Dispatch of Columbus, Mississippi. He also called the thought process behind the switch “junkified.”
“Some of the presidents in the state didn’t want to have to go to the national playoffs because they didn’t want to travel the first week,” Stephens said. “This is what really happened. If you really want to write something, write the truth – and this is what happened. The presidents decided they didn’t want to have to spend a lot of money to travel, so they did our system, our playoffs and our yearly schedule in order for them to be able to back out of the (NJCAA) playoffs if they wanted to and stay in our playoffs. But if they were going to be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed and they were going to get to host and they didn’t have to travel, then they’d get out of our playoffs and opt into the national playoffs so they can host.”
Apparently, that quote was enough for EMCC to take drastic action. The school announced on Monday that Stephens would be removed from his position and replaced by offensive coordinator Preston Rice immediately. According to Football Scoop, Stephens did not coach EMCC’s season-opening victory over Southwest Mississippi on Thursday.
Last Chance U. featured Eastern Mississippi Community College for its first two seasons in 2015 and 2016. Stephens’ program and the documentary itself provided an incredible window into a world where the school wasn’t just competing for a national championship, but where players were trying to prove they could do what it takes on and off the field to get a chance at the D-I level. It was raw, captivating, and unfiltered in a way that sports documentaries today just aren’t.
While the series moved on to other schools for its final seasons, the story of Buddy Stephens and EMCC set the tone for the foundation of Last Chance U. And it will be fascinating to see where he goes next and what stories may come if he gets another chance to build a new program.
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