‘It’s really difficult.’ Coast football coach steps down after 9 years on the job.
Ocean Springs High School football coach Ryan Ross has stepped down from his post after nine seasons on the job, he told the Sun Herald on Tuesday.
Ross leaves the school after compiling a record 61-45.
“It’s really difficult,” Ross said. “I poured my heart and soul into the school district and program. I’m proud of all we did. We had a lot of great young men and ladies.”
Ross previously served as the head coach at Loyd Star, leading that program to a record of 17-14 in three seasons. Less than two months prior to his arrival at Ocean Springs in April of 2011, he had been promoted to head coach at Brookhaven.
It’s unclear why Ross resigned but he said he plans to continue in the coaching profession.
“It’s time for me to go find a new coaching job,” he said. “I’ve been here nine seasons and I think we made the playoffs six out of nine years, hosted three years. That’s all stuff that I’m proud of. There have been a lot of great players and coaches that have come through.
“That’s human nature. You’re somewhere for a lengthy amount of time, sometimes it’s good for both sides to get a fresh start, do something new. It’ll re-energize me and they’ll get excitement back in the program with something new. That’s kind of what they want.”
Ocean Springs athletic director Mark Hubbard said he was appreciative of what Ross brought to the school.
“Ryan has given his heart and soul to the Greyhounds for nine years,” he said. “We are and will always be thankful for that. He’ll be a Greyhound forever.”
At Ocean Springs, Ross believes he got the most out of the situation and put the program in a good position for whoever replaces him. Greyhound Stadium underwent a significant overhaul this season, replacing the visitors bleachers with a new grandstand.
“I think it’s basically been a 6A school with 2A facilities,” he said. “I think it’s been an ongoing project and a drive of mine to make the program as first class as possible. We’ve got a lot of construction and new stuff going on. We have an awesome weight room. There’s constant work going on and we tried to keep the facilities as modern as we can. We raised a lot of money to assist the program.”
Ocean Springs finished 5-7 this season, but reached the playoffs thanks to wins over rivals Biloxi and St. Martin.
“I absolutely loved it every day,” Ross said of coaching the 2019 squad. “It was one of the best groups of young men as far as character that I’ve had. They were truly a joy to coach. We lost a lot of close ball games, but they came to work every week. We achieved a lot this year, overachieved in some people’s eyes. I’m very proud of them that they were able to get in the postseason and go play a great team like Oak Grove. That’s a memory for a lifetime.”
The hardest part for Ross will be leaving behind a community that he and his family had become ingrained in.
“We had so much support for my family here,” he said. “We made a lot of friends, and hopefully lifelong friends. That’s going to be very difficult on all of us. We’re not looking forward to it. I want to thank everybody that always supported us. It’s been fun. I think we did things the right way, and I hope my players appreciate that. I hope they can look back and all this will be a positive memory for them.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 4:12 PM.
