Tustin coach Myron Miller is showing celebrating the 2011 CIF-SS Southwest Division championship with his staff.

Myron Miller resigned as Tustin’s football coach Thursday, ending an 18-year tenure.

Miller, 69, was Orange County coach of the year twice — in 2011 when he led the Tillers to the CIF-Southern Section’s Southwest Division championship and in 1997 when he was at Costa Mesa. He also was head coach at Ramona of Riverside.

His record at Tustin is 154-69-1. Miller’s overall record is 185-92-6. During the 18 seasons at Tustin, Miller’s teams qualified for the CIF-SS playoffs 17 times, won 10 league championships, advanced to the CIF-SS semifinals 10 times, reached the finals four times and won last year’s Southwest title.

The Tillers went 12-1 this season and won the Empire League championship with a 6-0 record.

Tustin produced many college and NFL players during Miller’s time, including former UCLA and Carolina Panthers running back DeShaun Foster, and current pros Sam Baker (Atlanta Falcons), Chris Chester (Washington Redskins), Matt McCoy (Seattle Seahawks) and Frostee Rucker (Cleveland Browns).

Miller’s teams, at Tustin and elsewhere, were best known for being high-scoring machines that employed the run-heavy, double-wing offense.

Miller said the cause of his resignation was two-fold.

“Coach John Wooden once said, ‘If you’re not excited about going to practice, then the end is coming,’” Miller said. “The last couple of years, I had to work myself up to get excited about practice.”

And, “I’ve been like the Polish Army against the Blitzkrieg. The kids don’t want to run this offense any more, and they don’t want to come to this school to run this offense. Kids want to pass the ball and catch the ball, so I think maybe I’m standing in the way of progress here at Tustin.”

Miller said Thursday’s announcement was not an impulsive one.

“This is not a decision that was made just this year,” he said. “Kathy and I talked about it last year, that it was time for me to wind it down.”

Kathy Miller, his wife of 31 years, died in July after battling bladder cancer.

Miller said he will coach again, perhaps as an offensive line coach somewhere or in some capacity at Tustin.

“Maybe I’ll run the weight room for all of the athletic programs here,” he said. “Maybe I can help out with the wrestling program. I love coaching.”

Miller also is the Tustin boys athletic director, but he is unsure if he can remain in that capacity.

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