The search for Swansea’s next football coach is over. 

Former Wagener-Salley head coach Willie Fox will take the keys of the Tigers football program, Lexington County School District 4 announced in a press release Tuesday. Fox is replacing Brent Wilder, who was with the program for five seasons. 

“I could not be more excited to have the opportunity to coach at Swansea!” Fox said in the release. “The tradition and the community support are amazing, and I can’t wait to meet the players and get started! We are going to do everything we can to work to build a program upon the foundation of team, accountability, competition and toughness. My family and I are excited to be Tigers!” 

Fox is returning to Lexington County after getting his start in coaching at his alma mater Pelion, where he served as an assistant varsity and head JV coach. 

In nine seasons with Wagener-Salley, Fox’s teams went a combined 69-31, winning three region titles and making it to the playoffs every year under his command. The War Eagles went 7-4 in 2023 under Fox and lost in the second round of the playoffs to Blackville-Hilda. 

Fox won the Class A Upper State Coach of the Year award in 2019 and is a three-time region coach of the year, including during back-to-back years from 2018 and 2019. He also serves as the Class A Upper State Director for the South Carolina Football Coaches Association. 

At Wagener-Salley, Fox was also the school’s athletic director, a role he will not be taking over at Swansea.

Swansea’s football program has struggled in recent years and finished the 2023 season 0-10. Fox will look to bring the Tigers back to its glory days from the early ‘90s when the school won three consecutive championships from 1992-94. Swansea has a total of six state football championships but has failed to win one since 1994. 

“We are extremely excited about bringing Coach Fox into the Swansea football family,” school athletic director Preston Deaver said. “He has a solid plan built on a foundation of toughness and accountability. (I’m) looking forward to working with him.”