Stoneman Douglas football coach Willis May resigns, citing 2018 school shooting as main motivation

A little more than a year after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting that left 17 people dead, including assistant football coach Aaron Feis and athletic director Chris Hixon, Eagles football coach Willis May has resigned, May told the Sun Sentinel on Wednesday.

“It’s been hard to come to work with everything that’s went on,” May said. “I miss Aaron Feis every day, and I miss Chris Hixon every day. It’s been really hard, and I just needed a change. I needed a change for my soul.”

“I will always be grateful for the love and affection the community showed my family,” he added. “I will always wish nothing but the best for the whole community, Parkland, and definitely Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Want only the best for them.”

May said the shooting was the primary motivating factor for his decision to leave, and he said his players understood that.