Pine Belt Sports has confirmed that Petal is bringing back Marcus Boyles as its head coach football.
After a two-year hiatus, Boyles came out of retirement this past year after being hired as Meridian’s head football coach, where he led the Wildcats to a 6-7 overall record and a second-round appearance in the Class 7A playoffs.
The Petal School District Board of Trustees approved the hiring at a special-called meeting on Tuesday morning.
Boyles replaces Allen Glenn, who chose to step down after three years. In his three years, Glenn held a 12-20 overall record and missed the playoffs the last seasons.
Prior to taking the Meridian job, Boyles spent his two years out of coaching as a sales representative for BSN Sports.
Boyles led the Petal program for nine years as the head coach and athletic director. In his tenure, he went 80-39 overall and guided the Panthers to the 2015 MHSAA Class 6A State Championship. He is tied with Nevil Barr as the winningest coach in the school’s history.
“When it comes to Mississippi High School football coaches, Marcus Boyles is in a league of his own,” said Petal Athletics and Activities director Wendy Hogue in a statement in a later press release. “Not only has he been a proven winner for 28 years, more specifically, he’s proven he can win here in Petal. I could not be more excited for our players, coaches, district and the entire Petal community,” Hogue said.
Before Petal, Boyles led Wayne County for 11 years where he went 127-21 and guided the War Eagles to three state championships and two other state title appearances. Boyles also coached at Pearl in 1998 and 1999, where he held a 20-7 record. Boyles' first job was at Taylorsville, where he led the Tartars to back-to-back state championships in 1994 and 1995.
“My wife and I are really excited about coming back to Petal High School where we spent nine great years coaching and teaching,” said Boyles in the release. “I know the pride and tradition of Petal football, and I am looking forward to working with the administration, teachers and players to make this program the best it can possibly be.”
Follow @PineBeltSPORTS on Twitter and Facebook.
