Brad Conley steps down as Gibbs football coach

Brad Conley stepped down as football coach at Gibbs on Tuesday. He had been the head coach for 10 years and assistant for nine before that, with some time off between as an assistant principal.

Conley is retiring as a coach, but will stay on as a teacher at Gibbs. He teaches history and social studies, including AP World History, AP Geography and AP Human Geography.

"He just decided it was time," athletic director Jeff Thomas said. "He likes teaching and the coursework he does is demanding."

"He changed the culture here. They might have had a year here or there, but they didn't have any consistency. He put in place some fine traditions that matter."

Thomas credited Conley, a Gibbs alumnus, with taking the program from one that played mostly rural schools to one that he said could go toe-to-toe with any school in Knoxville. The Eagles had their first Power 5 signee under Conley: offensive lineman Ollie Lane just enrolled early at Tennessee.

Thomas also stressed how Conley did things the right way. He turned Gibbs into a winning program but also made a point that winning wasn't everything. He wanted more than that.

Gibbs is looking for a new coach immediately and will take "whatever amount of time it takes to get it right." Thomas wants to find the right person to maintain the culture Conley installed, balancing teaching and coaching. Ideally, they'll have someone in place in time to run spring football.

"I don't know which of our staff will apply," Thomas said. "Hiring high school coaches is not like hiring a college coach. We can't just go out and get whoever from wherever."

The new coach doesn't have to be a teacher at Gibbs, but Thomas isn't sure they'd want to bring in someone who doesn't teach nearby and would have trouble getting to the school easily.