Tim Hughes is finally back home.

The Vicksburg High alum and longtime former assistant at the school was hired as its next head football coach on Thursday.

Hughes was approved by a 4-0 vote at the monthly meeting of the Vicksburg Warren School District Board of Trustees, with board member Sally Bullard absent.

“It’s storybook. It’s what I’ve always wanted. For it to actually happen is pretty special,” Hughes said. “It’s the only (head coaching) job I’ve gone for in 15 years. I spent 10 years coaching and I wanted it when I was here. I didn’t feel like I was ready, so I moved on to learn and try to expand. In the past seven years it’s the only one I’ve gone for.”

Hughes started his coaching career at Vicksburg High in 2001 and stayed on the staff for a decade, including the last five as defensive coordinator. He left when Alonzo Stevens — now a school board member who voted to hire Hughes on Thursday — retired in 2011 and went to work at American Heritage High School in Florida.

At American Heritage, Hughes worked for another former VHS assistant, Stacy Sizemore. Hughes went to Ganado High School in Texas and spent the past three years there. Hughes was the defensive coordinator at various times in his last two stops, as well as a position coach. This will be his first head coaching job.

Vicksburg Warren School District athletic director Preston Nailor said Hughes’ more recent experience, combined with his familiarity with Vicksburg High, made him a top candidate.

“His experience and exposure to other things, other states, other programs, and how they’ve been run and won championships, we just felt like he was the best candidate,” Nailor said. “But him being a Gator does play a significant role because he does know the culture and the program. He played at Vicksburg High, he was a student at Vicksburg High, and he was a resident. Having him back in the community will build a wonderful program.”

Hughes had also applied after former VHS coach Marcus Rogers resigned in April 2017. The decision was made to maintain continuity within the program and promote Lorenzo Breland from an assistant position to head coach.

Breland was not retained for the 2018 season, which gave Hughes another opportunity to snag the job.

“Other than disappointment at not being able to make it back home, there was no apprehension one way or the other,” Hughes said of being passed over last year. “It sounds cliché, but when my wife and I talked about it we decided it was going to be God’s plan, and for whatever reason it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out. The opportunity came up again, and it was fortunate for me.”

Although he had to wait two years to become the head coach, Hughes won’t wait nearly as long to get started. His first day at the school is Friday.

In addition to coaching football, he will also teach Algebra 3. Being able to contribute to the school’s academic side was another point in Hughes’ favor, Nailor said.

“He’s a great teacher in the building,” Nailor said. “He’s going to teach upper level math, so having somebody in that capacity to help in the academic side was also a deciding factor. You don’t find that too often.”

Nor a coach who wanted a specific job the way Hughes coveted this one. He said the VHS position was a destination job for him that he’s prepared his entire life for.

“When my brothers and I played in elementary school, my dad was the coach and we were the Halls Ferry Gators. We went to middle school and we were the Vicksburg Middle School Gators. I was the first class in seventh grade after consolidation and I’ve never been anything but a Gator,” he said. “It’s not just where I went to high school, it’s been my identity my whole life. When it’s part of your DNA, it’s part of your DNA.”