La Vergne hires former Antioch coach Mike Woodward as football assistant
When Mike Woodward was fired as head football coach at Antioch in early March, he said he would "be teaching and coaching somewhere next year."
It appears that place will be at La Vergne.
Pending school board approval, Woodward has been hired as associate head coach and offensive coordinator at La Vergne.
He will finish the school year teaching at Antioch but hopes to be helping the Wolverines in time for spring practice.
"Worst-case scenario, it will be the summer," said Woodward, a veteran area football coach who is certified to teach math and physical education. "I'm hoping everything is squared away where I can help during spring (practice)."
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Woodward was head coach at Antioch twice, the most recently being the 2016 season when the Bears went 3-8 in his first year back with the program, following a winless campaign the season before. His initial stint with the Bears was from 2006-12.
He has also been head coach at Brentwood (2013-14) and was defensive coordinator at Overton in 2015. He has also been an assistant at Ravenwood and Centennial.
Woodward, who lives in Smyrna, is excited about the opportunity with the Wolverines.
"(Athletic director) Jeremy Moore reached out to me, and I met with he and (principal) Mr. (Dirk) Ash during the girls state (basketball) tournament," Woodward said. "We met again after that."
Woodward will be second in charge to La Vergne head coach Stanton Stevens and will run the team's offense.
"Everything still runs through him," Woodward said. "I'll be working mostly with the offense."
La Vergne went 3-7, 3-4 in Region 5-5A, last season.
Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.