As then-athletic director at Quitman, Steve Hampton needed a new football coach after John Douglass left to go to George County.

Hampton didn’t have to look far: He promoted then-defensive coordinator Steve Bynum to head coach prior to the 2012 season. Bynum would go on to coach the Panthers for seven seasons from 2012-18. 

“He loved it,” Hampton recalled. “ He was full of energy, and the kids really responded to him. He had a great work ethic and always made sure things were done right. I felt like he would be a good fit. We were having some success at the time, so I thought it’d be good to keep (the football program) in the same direction we were going.”

Bynum died Thursday, Sept. 23. Following his time at Quitman, Bynum coached at Petal for two seasons and was most recently head football coach and athletic director at Mize. Hampton said he was saddened to hear the news and has fond memories of Bynum during their mutual time at Quitman.

“He was just a good dude,” Hampton said. “Mize lost a good coach and a good person — everybody did. Were lucky to have him at Quitman. He touched a lot of lives at Quitman. He was really outgoing and just a very positive person. He was always going 100 miles per hour. He was fun to be around and always kept you laughing.”

Douglass said that humor would show up often in everyday conversations with Bynum.

“He was a great defensive coordinator for me and a great guy,” Douglass said. “He had some of the funniest sayings like, ‘You seen film on so-and-so? They got some steppin’ Jesses,’ or, ‘That No. 48 is a bad mohekey.’”

Quitman boys basketball coach Chris Coleman was on staff at the school during much of Bynum’s tenure, and he said Bynum’s death was a big loss for the Panther community.

“He was a pillar in our district for years,” Coleman said. “We lost a great man, a great father, a brother, and Stephanie lost a great husband. Mize lost a great coach.”

In 2017, Coleman and Bynum were both going through “administrative boot camp” in the Mississippi Alternative Path to Quality Leadership Program (MAPQSL) and would often carpool together. The two formed a closer bond during time, Coleman said, and they often talked about mutual friends from their alma mater, Wayne County.

“It’s hard not to like Steve Bynum,” Coleman said. “He’s as genuine and authentic a person as I’ve ever met. He’s fun to be around and always had jokes. He welcomed everyone around him and wanted everyone to be a big family.”

Matt Boone, who coached baseball at Quitman for several seasons, said the thing that stood out to him about Bynum was the love he had for so many people.

“He’s a great family man,” Boone said. “He loved his family and talked about them all the time. He was a relentless worker, he loved the kids he coached and he loved his coaching staff.”

Visitation took place Sunday at South Jones High School. To send flowers to Bynum’s family or plant a tree in his memory, visit here.