ballcurmudgeon

Eagle Four is right. I could be the only CoachT guy commenting on Rhea County Admin. Maybe I've been a bit narrow in my view. So, let's look at the comments I've read on CoachT about the Rhea County Football coaches and let's all use this opportunity to create a new job description that will please the CoachT Sat AM Quarterbacks and all the Admin Relatives. I'll start. Given the comments made about one football coach's weight and attire, let's add to the job description the following: "Must have BMI of less than 17 percent and wear outfits pre-approved by GQ Magazine." For obvious reasons this requirement will not extend to the Director of Schools.

Sorry, I didn't notice.

It just hit me that we could be missing a great opportunity here on CoachT. Lots of discussions going on about football coaching - offense, defense, talent, blah, blah, blah. I think it might be fun to start discussing principals, school directors, ADs, and school boards. These folks do affect the sports programs at all our schools in a big way, but they don't seem to get the scrutiny we put on coaches and players. We want Steve Spurrier to coach and Peyton Manning to play, but we are satisfied with Barney Fife and his relatives to call the shots in administration. I'm just a poor old country boy, but the expectations for Rhea County coaches seem a bit high to realistically meet while the expectations for school administrators seems to be on the low side. Anybody want to start a new topic?

Ouch!

Just curious. All talk on CoachT about the softball program at Rhea has stopped cold. Any news about a possible new coach?

The track program should probably watch its back on this one. The Rhea County Administration has no problem spending more money to please replacement coaches than it spent on previous long time coaches. The baseball program is a good example.

Amen.

I think Coach Jerry Cook is a fine man. A true Rhea County person who loves Rhea County. A capable coach who could possibly follow Coach Fitzerald. There is one problem. Coach Cook, like Coach Fitzgerald, is too good for the current Rhea County administration. They will eat him alive and throw him to the wolves the first time some No-Nothing Fan complains, or some No-Nothing Parent complains, or some No-Nothing School Board Member complains,or some No-Nothing CoachT Saturday Morning Quarterback complains. If Coach Cook is smart he will stay at Chatt Central and let the No-Nothings keep on running Rhea County athletics. It's working so well so far.

True, but especially appropriate when you look at some of the CoachT suggestions for a football coaching staff. I keep expecting somebody to suggest that Rhea County mount a recruiting campaign to bring back Hammontree despite the obvious problems he created on his last pass through the county. At some point people should objectively look at what a good job Coach Fitzgerald did in good times AND bad times. There is no such thing as a "Football Messiah" to ride in on a white horse to overcome periods when the talent is not as good as other times (no reflection on the kids who play hard no matter)or when the coach is dealing with an administration that is weak, unprofesssional, and not supportive of coaches. There is no "Football Savior." The best a rural county like Rhea can do is hope a knowledgeable coach who likes Rhea County will make a commitment to stay the course through thick and thin. Unfortunately, the Rhea County administration does not reward that sort of thing. The Director of Schools is making decisions based on how many votes he might pick up from the School Board (who should not be involved in athletics or any kind of hiring. The Rhea County High School principal is in the same boat. I hope Rhea County succeeds in all sports, and academics, but there are issues that go beyond coaching philosophies, talent, etc. Get real.

Forget your worries about Rhea County football, or any sport at Rhea County. Hamilton has resigned as AD at UT. Let's recruit him for Assistant Rhea County AD. He would be the perfect fit for the Rhea County administration. Not so good for coaches, or athletes, but a super fit for the Rhea County administration.

All this significant interest makes me think of an old saying, which is "The odds are good, but the goods are odd."

Rodda? Nodda.

I am no ex coach but I detect serious anger about my comments, which suggests to me that you have a connection to somebody. I do agree with a few other posts about it being time to give the Rhea County football coaching issue a rest. Rhea County will hire somebody to coach football and they will replace the other coaches. Then the sports experts on Coach T will have fresh meat to gnaw on and life will go on. I'll say a prayer for the new coaches.

You are right. Sorry to be so late is saying so. I just assumed the man and his friends were busy preparing for the Rapture.

The previous golf coach, Mack Beatty, quit out of frustration with the administration. The softball coach probably saw how they treated the previous coach and bailed out to a better situation as soon as she could. The previous softball coach seemed to be doing a good job but she did not start everybody the administration wanted her to start. As for football, the staff was treated very poorly by the administration. At one point Coach Fitz was asked to step aside to bring back Hammontree,which proved to be a disaster, but Fitz did his part for the school anyway. Another time the administration promised Fitz the AD job to not leave, but then did not give it to him. Instead the school had a Mystery AD until this year. The coaches literally did not know for sure who the AD was. As for baseball, most people in the know understand that was about buying a School Board vote for the new Director of Schools. People need to understand that the administration at Rhea County has created an atmosphere that is not conducive to attracting quality coaches.

I think Coach Cameron has already suffered the maximum allowed abuse - even for Rhea County.

There is one factor overlooked in this discussion and it is not any of the coaches. What many coaches in and out of Rhea County know is that there are problems in the Rhea County administration. Former School Directors made sure that School Board Members stayed out of coaching and hiring decisions. That is no longer the case. Until this year it was hard to tell who was serving as AD. Even coaches had trouble finding out who was in charge of athletics at Rhea County High School. Now take that situation and add in the low pay and you just don't have coaches standing in line to work at Rhea County. The best hope is a local person who loves the county and does not mind abuse.

I can assure you I am no ex coach at Rhea County.

I've beem reading your posts for over a year and finally decided to register myself, thinking somebody else needs to say a few things cause your opinions are not based in fact, and are what many of us would call dangerous. You are about a lot more than having a good time. You have a personal agenda.And it has a mean streak. I think folks will figure that out at some point.

As for your reference to Matthew 7:4, I am having a hard time relating lies about coaches to"specks in the eye." I think our Biblical Scholar should look at the red line sections in the New Testament that reflect what Jesus actually said. I know he stated clearly his beliefs about forgiveness, not judging, caring for the poor, and many other issues that relate to the way humans interact with each other. Instead of preaching to us for protesting about a person who publically trashes educators and public school coaches who make less money than any school systems around these parts, you should preach to UnSilent regarding what Jesus said about tolerance and such. While I know Jesus expects us all to forgive, I do not think Jesus would approve of trashing people with lies. Maybe you should ask UnSilent (and his so called Christian followers) to repent publically and state they lied about several Rhea County coaches. The Bible also speaks against bearing false witness against thy neighbor. Let's go there, then we can address the issue of forgiveness.

Great job of pretending you can't spell, etc. You are just trying to hide, like UnSilent, Rhea County's Gutless Wonder. Wellllll, words do have consequences whether they be in print or online. Words do count. Accusing people of what amounts to crimes online is no diffrent from printin it in the newsssspaper. To respond to your moniker, which is obviously a pitiful attempt designed to fool us, "Them lies do count, 'specially when they affect folkes jobs,lives, and sech." Basically, you are either trying to make up some phony identity to excuse UnSilent's mean mouth or you really do need to go back to school for more work with spelling and grammar. Try Rhea County. They have some great teachers. Some of them even coach.Oh, and they all have degrees.

Sorry, coach t. I put my reply to UnSilent in the wrong box. UnSilent - you say you have "sense" learned you were wrong. Well, it's a too little too late for the coaches you trashed. Your lying words are now on cyberspace forever. These guys you trashed are gone, so why trash them now? Do you even begin to understand that your incorrect statments (lies is a better word) could affect these people's careers? I hope they find out who you are and sue you. By the way, you misspelled the word "sense." The correct spelling is "since." Sleep well if you have no conscience.