Sheridan football coach and former University of Arkansas defensive back Louis Campbell has retired after a 43-year coaching career.
Campbell's retirement was confirmed Wednesday by Sheridan Athletic Director Matt Scarbrough.
"He's a fantastic man," Scarbrough said. "I wish we could have him for another 100 years. We couldn't love anybody more than we love him.
"He just said it was time for him to go fishing."
Said Campbell: "I've got a vengeance against brown trout in north Arkansas, so I'm going to go get them."
Campbell, 66, was the head coach at Sheridan from 2010-16, finishing with a 24-52 record. The Yellowjackets went 1-9 overall and 0-7 in the 6A-West in 2016, with their only victory coming against defending Class 2A state champion McCrory on Aug. 30.
Before the season, Campbell told Scarbrough that he planned to retire.
"Be it 12-0 or 0-12, I was going to retire after the school year," Campbell said. "We were a lot closer to 0-12 than we were 12-0."
The Hamburg native was a three-year starter at defensive back at Arkansas from 1970-72 and had three interceptions in the 1971 Liberty Bowl.
In 1973, Campbell began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Bear Bryant at Alabama. He spent two years as a graduate assistant and two years as a full-time assistant (1975-76) at Alabama, then became the defensive backs coach at SMU from 1977-79.
Campbell returned to Alabama in 1980 as an assistant, where he spent five seasons until being hired as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Oklahoma State. He was at Oklahoma State from 1985-88, then went to the NFL in 1989 to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In 1990, Campbell came back to his home state and coached the next 18 seasons at Arkansas under Jack Crowe, Joe Kines (interim coach), Danny Ford, Houston Nutt and Reggie Herring (interim coach). Campbell was the director of football operations for the Razorbacks from 1998-2005 and again in 2007. He coached Arkansas' secondary in 2006, when the Razorbacks won the SEC West title.
He was the linebackers coach at Mississippi State from 2008-09, then was hired at Sheridan in 2010.
During his college coaching career, Campbell participated in 20 bowl games. He was on the coaching staffs of all three SEC West championship teams at Arkansas (1995, 2002, 2006).
"You remember the big wins," Campbell said. "You also remember every one of the losses."
Scarbrough said the Yellowjackets' coaching position has been posted on the district's website. He said he has a timetable to hire a new coach, but said he will take his time until he finds the right person.
"I want a great coach," Scarbrough said. "I want someone who is right for our children. Someone who will take our program to the next level. We've got great kids. It's a great school system and a great community."
Family and the future of the Sheridan program were two reasons why Campbell decided to retire. Campbell's daughter, Caroline, gave birth to her first child in June. Campbell also wants to see his son, Shep, coach more often. Shep Campbell is the offensive coordinator at NCAA Division II North Alabama.
"We loved it here," said Campbell, whose wife, Ila, teaches history at Sheridan. "The people have been great and supportive. Even though our records haven't been as good, we enjoyed the relationships we formed here.
"I felt like it was the right time for Sheridan. They needed a new face, new energy and new direction."
Campbell's retirement is effective June 30, as he will continue to work with the Sheridan athletic department.
"If everybody worked as hard as Louis Campbell," Scarbrough said, "we wouldn't have any problems in this world."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story inaccurately stated Campbell coached with Houston Nutt at Mississippi in 2008-09. He coached at Mississippi State during those seasons.
Sports on 11/17/2016