Jeff McMillan retiring as Carter football coach; staff was disciplined
Actions by coaching staff called 'inappropriate and unprofessional'
Carter High School football coach Jeff McMillan is retiring from Knox County Schools as a teacher and coach.
His retirement caps a season in which actions of members of the coaching staff were deemed "inappropriate and unprofessional" by Knox County Schools, a review of his personnel file revealed Monday.
McMillan, a coach of 34 years, submitted his paperwork to the school system on Monday, the same day he told his team the news.
"It’s just time," McMillan said Monday. "After 34 years, it’s just time. Spend some more time with my wife, who retired two years ago. These 12-14 hour days doesn’t leave much time. Retiring as a teacher; thought I should go ahead and retire as coach. Still going to coach track this spring."
McMillan was an assistant coach throughout most of his career, beginning at Lenoir City in 1986. He also coached at South Young (1985-86), Central (1987-2010) and Fulton (2011-13) before being hired at Carter in 2014 for his first head coaching job.
According to a two-page Conference of Concern letter from assistant superintendent Bob Thomas and dated Sept. 13, 2016, coaches were accused of bullying players, asking players who were injured to participate in games or practices, dictating players' social media activity and having a negative culture in the program. Coaches also were accused of publicly confronting a student no longer playing on the team in a public arena.
The coaching staff was required to "participate in a training on the Civility Code, Title VI, and Anti-Bullying and Harrassment," according to the letter.
Related: Letter from Bob Thomas
The letter also was included in the personnel file of Erik Hutchins, who resigned as an assistant coach and teacher on Wednesday. Knox County Schools spokeswoman Carly Harrington told the News Sentinel on Friday that Hutchins "is under investigation by law enforcement."
"The letter was put in the personnel files of all our coaches," said McMillan, who did not miss any games because of the allegations.
McMillan issued a three-page rebuttal to the letter during the season, arguing the bulk of the accusations were made by a former player who quit the team and his mother. McMillan called the allegations of bullying "absolutely false and unfounded," and said no injured athletes were asked or forced to participate in games or practice.
"This allegation has no validity and seems to have come from misinformed parents and freshman players," McMillan wrote. "The specific instances I was made aware of were handled with phone calls or personal conversations with the parents. ... Injured players have never practiced or played in games, prior to being cleared for full activity by a doctor."
McMillan rebutted the letter's claim that multiple coaches confronted a former player at a jamboree on Aug. 11, but did say one coach spoke with the student. The coach later was dismissed.
"(A coach) was the only coach to speak with the student, not multiple coaches as indicated in the letter," McMillan wrote. "(The coach) helped this young man multiple times, even providing a math tutor last Spring semester. Based on the respect and appreciation the students family showed (the coach), I'm sure the last thing they wanted was his dismissal. It is my opinion that his dismissal was unwarranted, and a knee-jerk reaction to this situation."
McMillan defended his program's stance on educating players on proper social media use, stating that he tells them "not to embarrass their family, school, community, or team, and that what they post is out there forever, even if it's deleted."
He also said the notion of a negative culture was not true.
"When the only people who complain are interviewed or spoken with, I suppose they paint that picture," McMillan wrote. "There are many more parents and players that appreciate the positive, respectful, school first, player first culture we have in our program."
The Conference of Concern marked the only blip in McMillan's personnel file, which included more than 100 pages.
"Obviously, it played a part (in my retirement)," McMillan said Monday. "But I don’t want to expound on all that stuff."
Hutchins came to Carter as part of McMillan's staff in 2014. There were no other disciplinary notices in Hutchins' personnel file and his resignation letter was not included.
Both McMillan and Harrington said Monday that the two exits were unrelated.
"We wish Coach McMillan the best in his retirement and extend our thanks for his many years of service in public education," Carter principal Angie Messer said in a statement.
Carter football assistant Erik Hutchins resigns, under investigation
Carter finished 14-19 in McMillan's three seasons, falling to Greeneville in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs in each of them.
"I feel like the program’s in better shape," McMillan said Monday. "More kids in the program, more facility upgrades. Signed a contract with Adidas. So yeah, all things being said, it’s in better shape."
Contact Chris Thomas at chris.thomas@knoxnews.com. Follow him at twitter.com/christhomaskns
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