Tustin football coach Myron Miller resigns, but says, at age 75, he still wants to coach

Tustin football coach Myron Miller announced Tuesday he has resigned (File photo: Fernando M. Donado, for OC Sports Zone).

Long-time Tustin football coach Myron Miller, who completed his second stint as the Tillers head coach earlier this month, said Tuesday night he has resigned but will still explore other football coaching jobs after taking some time off.

Miller, 75, was the head coach at Tustin for the last three years. His first stint was from 1995 to 2012. Miller said the decision was “100 percent my decision” and that he made the decision before the beginning of the season.

“I knew this was going to be my last year at Tustin when the season started,” Miller said. “I resigned, I didn’t retire. I really coached so that we could put in that new  system (a pro style offense) and they would have one year under me to put the new system in.”

Tustin finished this past season 4-7 overall and was 3-2 in the Empire League. The Tillers lost to top-seeded South Hills 27-7 in the opening round of the CIF Division 6 playoffs.

“I’m not retiring, I’m just looking for a new challenge,” Miller said. “I’m leaving Tustin and I’m going to weigh my options for a while. I’m going to take some time off and then I might take another job if I can find anybody who will give a 75-year-old coach a chance to coach.

“I still want to coach. I don’t have many hobbies and coaching is all I’ve ever done. It’s just time to do something different. I would like find some school that has a little potential, kind of a diamond-in-the- rough and see if I can do something one more time.”

Miller has many highlights in his 50-year coaching career. He also coached for two years at Ramona where his team won a CIF championship in 1989 and coached for three years at Costa Mesa, leading the team into the CIF finals once.

In 2011, he led the Tillers to the CIF Southwestern Division title and was named Orange County coach of the year.

“And we had a good year in 2012 too,” he said. “We were 12-1 and lost to Edison by one point, 35-34, in the semifinals. That was a pretty good year.”

Miller said he will miss Tustin.

“Most of the coaches played for me,” he said. “The thing I will miss most about Tustin is the kids coming back and seeing the kids who did well and went to college. Pretty often, they come by and see me. I’ll miss that, but you stay in a place for that long, you need a new challenge. I think they needed a fresh face and I need a new challenge. I need a little rest and a new challenge.”

No replacement for Miller has been made but Athletic Director Thomas Giebe said Tuesday an announcement on a replacement could be made soon.

“Myron made a decision earlier in the season that this would be his last year coaching,” Giebe said. “He’s been at Tustin since 1995 and has coached in some capacity for over 50 years. Even at 75 years old Myron defines himself as a coach and I’m sure he’ll still be trying to learn all he can about the game.  I enjoyed my time playing for him, coaching next to him, and working as his AD. He’s one of a kind and will be missed.

“As for a replacement, we’re hoping to make that decision sooner than later and hope to have an announcement after the Thanksgiving holiday.”

Miller isn’t sure about his future.

“We’ll see,” Miller said. “If the right chance comes along, I’ll jump on it; if not I have 11 grand kids and I’ll see if I can become a decent grand-father.”

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com