After one wildly successful season in charge of the football program at his high school alma mater, Tommy Bunch has resigned as Meigs County's head coach.
Bunch informed the school's administration and met with the team Thursday to announce he was stepping down and will accept an offer to take over the program at Sweetwater.
"I've been at Meigs for a long time, and I love the kids, the school and the community," said Bunch, who was introduced as Sweetwater's new coach Friday morning. "Meigs will always be home, but when this opportunity came up, it just made sense for me to take it and see what I can do outside of my comfort zone, to grow as a coach and as a person.
"This was one of the most difficult decisions of my life, and that's because of my feelings for the kids and the program, but this is the best decision for me and my family."
Bunch guided the Tigers to a 12-1 finish in 2023, when they won the TSSAA Region 3-3A title with a 5-0 league record in the program's first season competing in a higher classification after playing in 2A for numerous years. Meigs advanced to the state quarterfinals before falling to Giles County.
"This season was awesome," Bunch said. "I give the players all the credit because they deserve it. To start my head coaching career with that much success was incredible. Now I want to see if I can have that same success somewhere besides home.
"There's no hard feelings. I have only positive memories of Meigs as a player, an assistant and head coach, and I wish them the best."
Bunch takes over a Sweetwater program that also competes in Region 3-3A and is coming off a drama-filled season. Caleb Slover, who was in his first year as head coach of the Wildcats, was suspended midway through the schedule amid accusations by parents and community members that specific players were not given fair opportunities for playing time.
Slover, who had guided the team to a 2-3 start before the suspension, resigned one week later. The Wildcats, who in 2022 had gone 10-3 while winning the region title and reaching the quarterfinals, lost all five of their remaining games with David Staff as the interim coach.
Bunch, a 2009 Meigs County graduate who played offensive line, was a longtime Tigers assistant with the program and took over for Jason Fitzgerald after he stepped down last February to take over at Sale Creek. Bunch was defensive coordinator for the two seasons prior to taking over as head coach, and he was co-defensive coordinator when the team finished as Class 2A state runners-up in 2019 and 2020.
During his 11-year tenure as an assistant, he also coached a variety of positions: defensive line, linebackers, defensive backs, running backs, receivers and special teams.
"We hate to see Coach Bunch go," said Clint Baker, superintendent of Meigs County Schools. "He started here at the middle school and worked his way up. He does a great job and is an excellent leader of young men.
"He did a fantastic job of assembling a staff and being a leader of that group, which did a phenomenal job last season. We're reeling a little bit, but we've got to move forward and find our next head coach."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.