Mississippi Delta Community College head football coach Jeff Tatum has resigned from his position to accept the athletic director position at Garden City (Kan.) Community College. The move was announced on Friday by MDCC athletic director Dan Rives.
Tatum, a former MDCC quarterback in the early 1980s, has been in charge of the program since 2013 after also serving as an assistant coach in Moorhead from 1987 to 1997. He was a member of the coaching staff under James “Wooky” Gray that led Mississippi Delta to an undefeated 1993 season, one in which the Trojans won the North division, state and national championships.
Rives has appointed defensive coordinator Michael Turner to serve as the interim head coach.
“On behalf of our athletic department, I would like to thank Coach Tatum for all of his hard work and contributions over the years," said Rives. "He played here, was here as an assistant for a decade and then served here as the head coach for eight years. We wish him and his family well as they return to Garden City."
Mississippi Delta president Dr. Tyrone Jackson echoed the thoughts of Rives. “As Coach Tatum and his family return to Garden City, we wish them all the best,” said Jackson. “He spent a large portion of his professional career here in Moorhead, and we are certainly appreciative of all of his efforts.”
Tatum has a long history with GCCC, spending the 1999 season there for a Broncobusters team that won the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) state championship and finished No. 5 nationally. After a decade-long stint at Georgia Military College, he returned to Garden City in 2010, this time as the head coach.
During his two years as the head coach, Tatum led GCCC to a win in the Mississippi Bowl in 2012 and became the only team outside of the state to do so. The Broncobusters finished No. 20 nationally, and during this two-year period, he coached the likes of NFL standout Tyreek Hill and former Auburn University standout Nick Marshall.
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