Greenwood football coach Chris Seabolt talks to his players during their Sept. 22 loss to Bowling Green at Greenwood. Seabolt announced his resignation as the Gators’ head coach on Thursday after five seasons.

Chris Seabolt has resigned after five seasons as head football coach at Greenwood High School.

Seabolt said Thursday that he “needed a change” and that coaching in any capacity remains an option in 2018.

Seabolt went 29-29 in five seasons with the Gators, making him the school’s second-winningest coach behind Mark Nelson (41 wins).

“I just felt like I needed a change at this point for me and my family,” Seabolt said. “I don’t know what that means. I don’t have any plans as of right now with any schools at all, but I don’t know to be honest with you. I guess I just needed a change. I’m grateful for the opportunity that (Principal Greg) Dunn and Greenwood High School gave me. I feel like my coaching staff and I accomplished several of the things that we set out to accomplish. Ultimately, I needed a change.”

Under Seabolt, Greenwood posted back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2015-16 and the current senior class will exit as the winningest class in the school’s 28 years of football. Greenwood advanced to the second round of the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.

The Gators went 4-8 this season and lost to Bowling Green in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. With expectations of maintaining that winning record with a talented senior class led by quarterback Jackson Adams, Greenwood was plagued with the loss of seven starters between injuries or player dismissals.

Seabolt said the decision to resign was not a direct result of this season.

“This is something that’s been coming for a while,” he said. “I had an opportunity last year, I’m not going to say where at, and I entertained that thought last year and we decided to come back for a couple of reasons. It’s not something that’s just come up or a result of the season we had this past year. None of that factored in. Head coaching football is a tough job no matter where you are and I just need a change.”

Before becoming head coach at Greenwood, Seabolt was an assistant coach at Bowling Green. He brought the veer offense to the Gators and set new offensive records behind Adams, a three-year starter.

Adams owns individual records for most rushing yards in a single game (301), season (1,736, 2017) and career (5,404).

For the first time in school history, the Gators had two 1,000-yard rushers this year between Adams and Triston Wilson (1,132).

“I hope to be coaching football,” Seabolt said. “As bad as this probably sounds to some educators out there, I’m doing what I’m doing because of football. I hope to be coaching football somewhere next season. What capacity that is, I don’t know. I’m open to just about anything in this point in time.”{&end}