The Union County football coaching staff took a stand on Monday.

Following the firing of head coach Andrew Thomas last Thursday, five assistant coaches who were on staff last fall resigned.

This past Saturday, Thomas released a statement via his personal Facebook account after he was relieved of his duties as both athletics director and head football coach.

On Monday, others followed suit.

“Every assistant from last fall has resigned,” assistant coach Scott McDaniel confirmed via text on Monday night.

McDaniel and other coaches made it public on social media in support of their former head coach.

“Effective this morning, I have resigned my position as an assistant coach for the Union County Football Team,” McDaniel wrote on Facebook. “I am unwilling to support a decision by county administrators that I felt was unwarranted and unfair. My passion for coaching and my desire to help guide the young men in this program made this the most gut-wrenching decision of my career. My heart hurts, but wrong is wrong.”

He joins assistant coaches Riley Reed, Travis Smith, Craig Slocum and Kyle Presnick as those who announced their decision to leave.

“Before rumors get spread, I decided to step away from coaching football at Union County next year,” Slocum wrote on Facebook. “I didn’t like the way things were done and feel like things could have been handled differently. I love Union County and always will.”

Reed wrote on Facebook that he poured his heart and soul into the community for five years.

“Today, with a heavy heart as a staff, we decided to take a stand for what is right and wrong and step aside from coaching football at UCHS,” he said. “Once a Tiger, always a Tiger.”

However, Slocum had a change of heart and returned to the staff on Wednesday.

“I realize and embrace my role in the lives of these young men which is far greater than anything I may have recently experienced,” he said via Facebook.

Others showed their appreciation on his post, including Union County Football Booster Club President Aaron Dukes.

“Thank you to Coach Craig Slocum for keeping the wheels from falling off the Union County Football program,” Dukes said. “Without Coach Craig, it is very possible that Union County High School would not have retained enough kids to even have a team in 2025.”

Lamar Waters, who was on the Union County football staff this past spring, will serve as the interim football coach and athletics director.

“Coach Waters has been a part of multiple successful programs and has previously served as Athletic Director in other districts,” said Union County Superintendent Mike Ripplinger.

Waters, who was the AD at Williston and an assistant coach for the Red Devils football team this past fall, was also the AD at Bradford (Starke) after serving three seasons as head baseball coach at Union County (2015-17).

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the return of Craig Slocum to the coaching staff on Wednesday.