Embattled former Palmyra football coach tenders resignation at Salem

SALEM, Mo. — The issues that resulted in former Palmyra football coach Kevin Miles tendering his resignation as a teacher March 30 have forced him to resign from his new job.

According to the Salem News, the Salem R-80 Board of Education accepted Miles’ resignation as a teacher, head football coach and assistant athletic director during a special board meeting held Friday. A press release was sent via email from Salem Superintendent Dr. Lynne Reed.

No comments were made by the Salem administration.

In February, Miles was hired as the head football coach and assistant athletic director at Salem, a Class 3 program located southeast of Rolla. The Tigers went 0-10 last season but are just two years removed from back-to-back district championships.

However, since his hiring at Salem, Miles was involved in a review by the Palmyra administration of three years worth of text messages involving four employees on one school-issued cellphone that revealed racial and homophobic comments and disregard and disrespect for students and other teachers.

Miles and the three other school district employees resigned last week after previously being put on administrative leave while the review was ongoing. The other three — assistant principal Marty Smyser and teachers Mark Hoerr and Tyler Krietemeyer — were assistant football coaches under Miles. Krietemeyer had been tabbed as Miles’ replacement as head coach.

Palmyra replaced Krietemeyer with Dalton Hill, a former all-state offensive lineman at Mark Twain who previously had been hired to be the strength and conditioning coach and an assistant football coach at Palmyra.

Miles resigned as Palmyra football coach last November following an 0-10 season in which he served a one-game suspension at the beginning of the season for failure to supervise issues within the Panthers’ locker room. 

At the end of the season, Palmyra was forced to forfeit six games — one of which the Panthers won on the field — due to a self-reported violation of Missouri High School Activities Association bylaws regarding the number of quarters players are allowed to participate in each week.