Eddie Creech has stepped down after six seasons as coach of the Harlan County High School football program. He announced the decision Monday afternoon in a meeting with players.
“It’s been a great ride and I’ve had ultimate support here from everybody. We’ve had some great kids come through here. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction,” Creech said. “It’s something I’ve been praying about for a couple of years now. They always tell you that you will know when it’s time, and it was my time to step away.”
Creech said the determining factor in his decision was the desire to spend more time with his children — Trey, 9, and Natalie, 8.
“That’s the basis of this whole decision,” Creech said. “To run a program of this magnitude and do it right it takes a lot of time and effort and energy. the Bible says to count the cost and counting the cost moving forward, it just didn’t weigh out in favor of me staying versus the amount of time I would sacrifice in seeing my kids grow up.”
Creech was a star quarterback at Cumberland High School in the early 2000s and has what is believed to be the county record in passing yardage with 7,995 yards in his four-year career. Creech was also a guard on the Cumberland basketball team and led the Redskins to the Sweet Sixteen as a senior in 2003, winning the only 13th Region title in school history.
After finishing college, Creech spent one season as an assistant football coach at Cumberland High School before It closed, then spent seven seasons on Tom Larkey’s coaching staff at HCHS before taking over as head coach before the 2015 season.
Creech led the Bears to a 31-37 mark overall, including an 8-6 record in 2017 when Harlan County won its third regional title and fell to Madison Southern in the 5A state semifinals. The Bears won a district title in 2018, then finished 8-4 in 2019 before falling to eventual 4A state champ Johnson Central in the second round of the playoffs. The Bears finished 3-6 last year and were again eliminated in the playoffs by Johnson Central.
Future coaching plans are uncertain, according to Creech.
“I want to enjoy being a dad and a husband for a while,” said Creech, who is also the pastor of the Poor Fork Old Regular Baptist Church. “I’m not going to rush into anything else. I enjoy watch my kids grow up and watching them play athletics. I look forward to kicking back in the bleachers and eating some popcorn. I’m about spent mentally, and it wouldn’t be fair to the football program or the players to have a coach who doesn’t have his full heart in it anymore.”