Farragut football: How Eddie Courtney revived his own program to become contenders again

Farragut football was riding a wave of success after making five consecutive playoff quarterfinal appearances from 2005 to 2009.

Then came the unexpected speed bump.

After going 27-27 over a five-year period that culminated with a disappointing 4-6 season in 2014, longtime Admirals coach Eddie Courtney had seen enough.

“I was frustrated,” said Courtney, whose Admirals (9-2) travel to Maryville (10-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in the second round of the state Class 6A playoffs.

“I felt there were things we really needed to look at. I took a couple of months just to research everything we were doing and talk to other people.”

Those changes turned out to be more about addressing the culture of football at Farragut rather than adjusting the X's and O's.

“The biggest thing was just trying to understand about dealing with the kids today,” said Courtney.

“Really how to connect with kids today, how you to get them to understand about the work ethic, the blue-collar attitude and how you get them to play unselfish. That’s where I started it.”

Courtney said it was a total self evaluation of the program, starting with him.

“It was going back and seeing how we could do some things better … how I did things, how the staff did things and how it filtered down to the players. The term used today is ‘culture.’ Where we build a culture that works well for our school, the kind of kids we have, our program and what it stands for.

“It really helped us get things going. And now our kids understand every day what’s expected of them. And that’s the key to it.”

As the culture changed, the victories returned.

Farragut is 33-5 over the last three years, and the Admirals won the 5A state championship a year ago.

Courtney, who is 161-92 in 22 seasons at Farragut, said winning cures a lot of ills.

It has also helped restore the concept that playing football at Farragut is cool again, he said.

“Everybody wants to be around a winner. That’s a key with today’s kids. They want things done instantly. They want instant gratification. The big challenge today is to get kids to buy into the team concept. Everybody out there in the world tells them it’s all about you.

“But you have to understand there’s a process to doing things. They realized the importance of doing all the little things and the other thing (wins) will come back. You can’t cut corners. We try and reinforce that every day.”

Standout tight end Jacob Warren said there has been a tangible shift in the program since he was a freshman in 2014.

“There was a big turnaround — a 180,” said Warren.

“The biggest thing is our guys are closer. As we started to play together we began to enjoy each other. That helps you get through the hard times.”

Beyond wins and losses, Warren said the Farragut players now feel a strong sense of stewardship with the program and its brand.

“It’s important for us to leave our mark on the field,” he said.

“What do we want our opponents to think of us when the final whistle is over?”

During the self-evaluation process, Courtney said he solicited advice from every successful program he could contact, starting with Maryville.

“I reached out. I talked to (former Maryville coach) George Quarles, I talked to (Alcoa coach) Gary Rankin, I talked to different guys in and out of state. What it boils down to is we’re all still facing the same thing. How do you get the most out of today’s kids?”

Mike Blackerby is a freelance contributor