Rumors that Royce Young’s tenure as head coach and athletic director at Escambia County High School had ended, received confirmation Wednesday when the job vacancy was posted on the county school board’s website.
The BOE posting did not indicate whether Young resigned his position or was fired by the school board.
Young was hired in 2014 to try and turn the floundering ECHS football program around. Over three years his Blue Devils teams went 4-26, including a 2-8 record during the recently completed season. The team had gone 2-8 under Lev Holly the season prior to Young’s hiring.
Young has been a head coach at seven different high schools in Alabama over a 27-year career. Prior to taking the ECHS job, his Carbon Hill Bulldogs teams recorded a 4-26 record from 2010-2012.
His longest and most successful coaching job came at Brilliant High School in Marion County, where he spent 10 years and guided the Tigers to the playoffs three straight years, from 2000-2002. His 2001 team posted an 11-2 record and made the Class 1A quarterfinals.
Local school officials were apparently hoping Young would have the type of success at ECHS as he did at Flomaton High, when his teams improved from 1-9 in 1991, to 5-6 in 1992 to 7-4 in 1993.
Young was out of town Thursday afternoon and was unavailable for comment.