RINGGOLD, Ga. - Tim James resigned Tuesday as head football coach at Heritage High School, making that the second area prep job to come open in two days in northwest Georgia.
Coahulla Creek coach Jared Hamlin was told Monday his coaching contract would not be renewed following the Colts' 2-8 season. James, 14-46 in six seasons as the Generals' only head coach, said the time was right to step down.
"Six seasons and 14 wins is tough, and there was some pressure within the community to get some fresh blood in here to rejuvenate the program," said James, who led the Generals to a 7-3 season in 2011 before going 1-19 the past two seasons. "I've expended a lot of energy into the program, and it's just time to let someone else take over."
Tim JamesHeritage principal Ronnie Bradford said the school does not have a set timetable to hire a new coach and that a group consisting of school administrators, along with former Ringgold coach and current county administrator Dr. Lamar Brown, will make up the search committee. Bradford also praised James for his work.
"I'm grateful to Tim for the job he's done in starting and building a program that we can rally around and enjoy on Friday nights," Bradford said. "It's a very hard job starting a football program from scratch, and I'll always be grateful to Tim for taking on that challenge. He's a very good man and I know good things await him.
"We have a lot of people to talk to before we get to the actual search. It's a big deal hiring a new football coach, and we have some time."
Hamlin also started the Coahulla Creek program from scratch, but after going 8-2 in the school's first year playing a junior varsity schedule, the Colts struggled under the former Virginia Tech player.
Calls to Coahulla Creek athletic director Rhett Parrott were not returned as of late Tuesday.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.