Wofford Oran "Buddy" Stephens Jr. is an American junior college football coach. He is the head football coach at East Mississippi Community College, where he has won five NJCAA National Football Championships and coached future National Football League (NFL) players such as Chad Kelly, Jarran Reed and Dakota Allen.

Stephens is known as the head coach from the first two seasons of the Netflix series Last Chance U. He has won more games at EMCC than any other coach in history.

Stephens played college football for Pearl River and Delta State, both as a center and guard. After serving as an assistant football and girls' soccer coach at Central High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he was hired at Pearl River in 2001.

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffsNJCAA#
East Mississippi Lions (Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges / Community Colleges Conference) (2008–present)
2008East Mississippi8–26–01st (North)
2009East Mississippi11–16–01st (North)W Mississippi Bowl4
2010East Mississippi5–54–22nd (North)
2011East Mississippi12–06–01st (North)W El Toro Bowl1
2012East Mississippi8–25–11st (North)15
2013East Mississippi12–06–01st (North)W Mississippi Bowl1
2014East Mississippi12–06–01st (North)W Mississippi Bowl1
2015East Mississippi8–16–01st (North)7
2016East Mississippi11–16–01st (North)W Mississippi Bowl2
2017East Mississippi11–18–11st (North)W Mississippi Bowl1
2018East Mississippi12–06–01st (North)W NJCAA Championship Game1
2019East Mississippi6–44–2T–1st (North)14
2020–21No team—COVID-19
2021East Mississippi9–16–01st (North)6
2022East Mississippi8–34–22nd (North)6
2023East Mississippi10–36–01st (North)L NJCAA Division I Championship Game2
2024East Mississippi5–44–2T–2nd (North)14
2025East Mississippi7–35–1T–1st (North)12
East Mississippi:155–3194–11
Total:155–31
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth
#Rankings from NJCAA poll.

External links