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REIDSVILLE -- Three days after leading Reidsville to its second consecutive 2-AA state championship, head football coach Jimmy Teague announced he's leaving the Rams at the end of the semester.

"I don't have anything lined up now, but I'm ready to start a new job doing something. It may still be in coaching," said the 50-year-old Teague, who went 198-40 in 17 seasons at the school. "The Lord opened this door for me to come to Reidsville 17 years ago, and I trust the Lord will open the door to me in the next direction.

"I'm not ready to retire," he said on Monday, then added with a laugh, "If you hear of anything, let me know."

Teague said he made the decision before the season but told only his family, coaches and administration, not wanting to create a distraction as his team worked to defend its title. He told his players of the decision at a team meeting Monday afternoon.

"There are a lot of mixed feelings because I had such good time," he said. "I raised my boys (Kelly and Erik) here, I coached them here. ... This has become a home for me."

There were points throughout the year when Teague reconsidered his decision -- his final home game two weeks ago was tough -- but the path was clear.

"There are always thoughts -- there were thoughts this morning, and there will probably be thoughts tomorrow," Teague said. "But I've pretty much made my mind up and discussed it with my family, and for me right now this is the best thing to do."

Still, contemplating a future without football is a strange proposition for a man who wore a helmet to bed as a child and has been either a player or coach since he was in ninth grade.

"It's all I've ever known," he said. "If a door opens that was not part of coaching somewhere, it would be an adjustment."

Teague, who grew up in Snow Camp, took over at Reidsville in 1992 after stints at Fayetteville Pine Forest, Burlington Cummings, Eastern Alamance and Charlotte Garinger.

He brought a pass-centered offense to the Rams and found immediate success, going 9-3 in his first season. He won at least seven games every year and took his 2002 and 2003 teams all the way to the state title. The Rams lost to Shelby in the 2005 championship game, but they capped an undefeated 2007 season by beating Shelby 28-20 for the title, then ran the table again this year. Their current 32-game win streak is the longest in the state.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my last 32 games as a head football coach would all be wins," Teague said. "It's a dream come true to be part of."

There certainly could not be a better way to go out. The Rams' 24-7 win over East Lincoln on Saturday gave the school its 14th NCHSAA state title, and Teague said he found himself getting caught up in the moment as the clock wound down.

"Some of my close friends have said that I showed more emotion at the end of that game than I ever have," he said. "Maybe that's because I knew it was the end of something special."

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com