State championship coach Stanton Stevens returns to Austin-East football

Austin-East football's newest leader will be a familiar face. Stanton Stevens was hired as coach, athletic director Jeff Black confirmed with Knox News on Thursday.

He replaces Antonio Mays, who resigned in December 2023 after four seasons with the program.

Stevens coached the Roadrunners from 1999 through 2004, compiling a 62-14 record in his first high school football head coaching job. He led Austin-East to its Class 3A state championship in 2001, the third in program history.

"It feels kind of like a homecoming for me," Stevens said. "I've got so many, so many people that mean a lot to me. Going back to Knoxville, Austin-East, I am super excited and looking forward to a new chapter."

Stevens also coached at Oak Ridge from 2005-08, compiling a 30-16 record. The team finished as state runner-up in 2005 and in that season, beat Riverdale in the Class 5A semifinals in hall of fame coach Gary Rankin's final year with the Murfreesboro program.

Stevens said that when he first received the Austin-East coaching job, he felt the program was a "diamond in the rough." He feels the same way now.

"It's still a great landing spot for anybody who wants to coach in a supportive environment," Stevens said. "It's a good environment for everything that you need to be successful running a football program, and I don't know why anybody (wouldn't) see that. For me, it's as clear as the nose on my face that Austin-East is a special place."

Austin-East had a 4-8 record last season and lost in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs to Alcoa. That was the best record the Roadrunners had in Mays' time.

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Stevens last coached at La Vergne from 2010-19, compiling a 29-63 record and reaching the playoffs three times. In his last season, the team went 4-6 and missed the postseason.

After La Vergne, Stevens moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, to become the athletic director at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School. He decided to leave that position because he missed the role he played as a coach.

"There's a part of me that has never gotten over putting that whistle down," Stevens said. "To be quite honest ... I haven't had the same connection with student-athletes as an administrator as I did as a football coach."

The memories of his time leading are too many to count for Stevens. But one feeling is clear.

"The feeling I got, as the Austin-East coach was a feeling of peace," Stevens said. "I felt like I was where I was supposed to be."

The last time Austin-East won at least 10 games was in 2017 under coach Jeff Phillips when it went 10-3 and reached the third round of the Class 2A playoffs.

Toyloy Brown III is a Knox News sports reporter. Email toyloy.brown@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter, @TJ3rd_.