Tim Nickens confirmed Wednesday morning he has resigned as football coach at Caledonia High School.
Nickens, who spent the 2017 football season as defensive coordinator for head coach Kris Pickle at New Hope High, was approved to replace Ricky Kendrick as football coach at Caledonia High at the March 9 meeting of the Lowndes County School District. Nickens also was to work as a History teacher at Caledonia High. His hiring date was effective Aug. 1, 2018.
Nickens had been working with the Caledonia High football program in spring practice since the middle of last month. It is unclear why Nickens resigned Tuesday. Nickens declined to comment about his decision. He referred all questions to Caledonia High Principal Andy Stevens. Neither Stevens nor Lowndes County School District Superintendent Lynn Wright was available for comment. Messages were left with both men.
Nickens, who also worked as a coach at Senatobia High, said in April he was excited to have 70-80 players set to take the field for the start of spring practice. The Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) allows 20 practice days. It is unclear who will lead the team through the completion of spring practice or how the school will move forward.
This past season, Caledonia finished 0-10 with Kendrick in his second stint as head coach of the program.
In April, Nickens talked about being reunited with his family in the summer. His wife — a longtime teacher at Northwest Mississippi Community College — and oldest daughter remained in Senatobia this past year so she could graduate with her friends. A second daughter will be a sophomore in the 2018-19 school year.
“It will be exciting to have everybody back together,” Nickens said in April. “This is a good position for me. The response by the kids has been tremendous. They want to win and they want to work hard to have a chance to do that. If you can get the hard work from everybody, that’s half the battle.”
Caledonia has had four men — two for two stints — lead the football program in the last 11 seasons. The 2018 season will mark the third-straight year Caledonia will have a new coach. Nickens’ replacement will be the sixth person to lead the program since David Boykin was the head coach in 2007.
The last time Caledonia had a winning season was 2004, when it went 6-5 under Jack Hankins. The Confederates finished 5-5 in 2015 and 6-6 in 2014.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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