Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout Mike Alstott stepped down as coach at Northside Christian after 11 seasons.
Alstott made the announcement via Twitter on Tuesday.
During Alstott’s tenure with the Mustangs, the program made the playoffs seven times, including a state semifinal appearance in 2016.
No timetable has been set for his replacement.
Alstott is the second former Buccaneers player who stepped down from high school coaching in the past month, joining Michael Clayton, who decided to leave Plant City after one season.
Alstott, a six-time Pro Bowl selection during his 12-year career with the Bucs, was known for plowing through defenders on knock-down, drag-out runs. He won a Super Bowl with the team during the 2002 season and is in the Bucs’ Ring of Honor.
In 2010, Alstott started coaching in the youth league at Seminole. The following year he moved to the high school ranks as a volunteer assistant at St. Petersburg Catholic, where he worked with Ryan Green, considered one of the nation’s top running back recruits at the time.
In 2012, Northside Christian turned its attention to Alstott, who school administrators knew was certain to draw crowds at games by virtue of his name alone.
Making a winner of the Mustangs was far less certain.
After all, it was the first head coaching job for Alstott. He took over a program that had fewer than 20 players on varsity by the end of the 2011 season and no junior varsity team. Northside had not made the playoffs since 2006.
After going 0-10 his first season and 3-7 the following year, Alstott turned things around with consecutive 8-3 seasons and playoff appearances in 2014-15.
In 2016, the Mustangs made their first and only state semifinal appearance.They also have made the playoffs each of the past four seasons 2019-22. .
