When Cody McCain leaves Pleasant Home on April 11 to take his new job as the head football coach at Clements High School, he’ll do so knowing that there have been several good moments throughout his almost four-year stint at the small school.

McCain accepted his new position at CHS recently. His hire still needs to be approved by the Limestone County Board of Education.

Being closer to family and getting back to his roots are the main reasons McCain is leaving PHS.

“When we first came to Andalusia and even to Monroeville, there were two of us and one child,” he said. “That was easy to deal with. We’ve had a couple more kids since then, and it’s gotten more difficult being that far away from family. My parents are getting older and (Samantha’s) parents are getting older.”

McCain said he was looking for the right opportunity to move back closer to home.

“We weren’t looking for any opportunity,” he said. “More or less, what I felt was that this was the right time and situation to go into.”

McCain leaves a Pleasant Home football program better than when he joined the staff as an assistant in June 2010.

The Eagles made the playoffs three years in a row starting in 2010. PHS made it as far as the second round in 2011.

As a head coach, McCain led PHS to a playoff berth in 2012 and he finishes with a 6-14 record at the school.

What attracted McCain to coach at a Class 3A school was the opportunity to help take a CHS team and build it back to where it has been in the past. The Colts have finished 1-9 for four years in a row.

Additionally, McCain said CHS is improving its facilities on the entire campus and are making a “long-term” commitment to the program.

McCain said while it was “fun” to watch the program grow at PHS.

“It was really fun to watch the football program and watch it grow,” he said. “After the first team went to the playoffs, it was good for the kids to see them get that reward for putting in more work.

“The next year, we went a step further making it to the second round. That was a huge moment for us,” he said.

McCain said he’s thankful for all of those who have helped him throughout his years at PHS.

“My time there prepared me to be a better coach,” McCain said. “I’ll always cherish the relationships I’ve had between assistant coaches, former coaches, administrators and even opposing coaches. A lot of those guys are good guys. I think that it’s definitely been a good experience for me.”

McCain has a wife, Samantha; and three children, Dominic, Lilly and Connor.