Coach Bruce Merchant was a famed championship football coach at Mize, Monticello, Pearl, Collins, and Columbia Academy. A native of Foxworth, Coach Merchant was an All-Apache Conference football and basketball player at Collins from 1966 to 1969. He was a two-year letterman at Jones Junior College from 1969 to 1971 and earned his college degree from Southern Miss in 1973. His 39-year coaching career started in 1973 at Mize. He served as an assistant football coach at Mize, Monticello, and Pearl before taking over the Pearl Pirate football team as head coach, where he guided the Pirates to district titles in 1985 & 1989, and the Class 4A South State Crown in 1985. He arrived at his alma mater at Collins in 1997 and led the Tigers to division, south state, and Class 3A state championships in 2001 and 2002. His football squads compiled a record of 208-111 overall. His Coach of the Year awards included recognition by the MAC, WDAM-TV, National Federation of High Schools, and the Jackson Clarion Ledger. He served twice as an All-Star Coach in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic in 1990 and 2001 and coached in the 1991 Mississippi/Alabama All Star game. He has given clinic presentations over the years at Mississippi State, MAC, Louisville, and the Steve McNair football camps. He is a longtime MAC member who has also served on MHSAA, NFC, and Mississippi Professional Educators committees.