UPDATED: Prattville football looking for new coach after resignation of Wallace
After four seasons, Jason “JB” Wallace has stepped down as the head coach at Prattville High School. (File Photo)
By TIM GAYLE
Prattville High athletic director Blake Boren accepted the resignation of head football coach Jason Wallace on Wednesday morning and announced the Lions would begin the search immediately for a new head coach.
“We want to move as fast as we can, but it’s also important that we ensure we get the right candidate,” Boren said. “Prattville is obviously a high-profile job and, I think, one of the preeminent jobs in the state. So, obviously, we want to be diligent and ensure that we speak with everybody that has made Prattville football great through the years and do a comprehensive search to get the best coach we can.
The job must be officially posted, which likely will delay the selection of a new coach until late November and possibly into December. While speculation may focus on a few likely candidates, Boren said the list that will develop over the next few weeks could feature others as well.
“Every school is unique,” Boren said of the criteria for candidates. “Obviously, there are things that make high school athletics great and every school has its own identity in that. So I think ensuring that we get somebody who fits the criteria of what has built Prattville High School and made it great and understands what we’re about, that has a vision to push the program forward. We’re excited to start that process after Coach Wallace decided he wanted to step aside today.”
Wallace was hired from Marbury after Caleb Ross left the Lions to pursue a college coaching career at Troy University. Wallace had coached the Bulldogs to back-to-back 6-4 seasons in 2019 and 2020 before losing first-round playoff games each time.
At Prattville, he coached the Lions to a 21-20 record over four seasons. His best season was his first as the 7-4 Lions finished third in Region 2 behind Central-Phenix City and Auburn, losing to Hoover as well in the regular season before losing in the first round of the state playoffs
In 2022, Prattville finished fifth in the region after disappointing early losses to Smiths Station and Dothan. At the end of the year, losses to Auburn and Central-Phenix City knocked the Lions out of playoff contention.
In 2023, a 45-19 loss at Foley in the season opener set the tone for a 3-7 season that included an embarrassing loss to Julian as Prattville finished seventh in the nine-team Region 2.
This season, the Lions moved to Region 3 and started off 4-0 before unraveling with five consecutive region losses to miss the state playoffs for the third consecutive year.