MSURacer

RIP Commish

Seems like a solid hire. He’s been around the program before and has a good reputation as an assistant coach. Also took West Carroll from being an also-ran to playing some pretty good football by the time he left. I think he’ll do well at Henry County. Best of luck to Coach Wolfe.

I don’t mean to divert the topic, but I can’t help but put on my tin foil hat and wonder if the board’s sudden concern for “plateauing ACT scores” is due to this voucher nonsense getting pushed through the legislature, which could soon make grants and state funding a lot more competitive. Someone closer to the education side of things may have a better explanation. I’ve never read up on it, so I’ve been totally unaware of any academic issues with block scheduling, which HCHS has been using for decades at this point.

I’m just saying, it’s weird that out of nowhere, a long time head coach whose father’s name is literally on the side of the field house abruptly leaves after a fairly successful 10 years at the helm, with quite a bit of talent in the pipeline to boot, for his replacement to simply resign after 3 weeks on the job. I mean, it could be nothing but an unfortunate coincidence, but even if there’s no fire, there are definitely some smoke signals with that sequence of events.

Something’s in the water on this one.

It doesn’t make a whole lot of difference what type of offense they run. Henry Co has always been a run-heavy program. Most of their best signal callers have been athletes. I don’t think they have ever had a 2000-yard passer. Will Parrish might have come close in 2018, but that’s pretty much it. Despite that, they’ve had successful QBs in basically every type of offense they’ve run. That will likely continue under the new regime.

So he would leave to go to the pass-friendly offense of, *checks notes*, Huntingdon and their single wing? Im not following.

Only thing I have read so far is that our long-time defensive coordinator, John Harrison, appears to be staying. I actually was wondering if he applied for the head coaching job. I figured he would've been a top candidate. Nonetheless, I am glad he's staying. Haven't heard anything about who Coach Kirby is bringing with him.

I am too. I absolutely love that style of ball. I understand why it has detractors. It's not a popular flavor at the college or pro level (although you still see some concepts of it in many college programs), but there is a lot you can do with it at this level, especially at a program like Henry County that typically has a good bit of talent. I am intrigued to see the program unfold under Coach Kirby.

Thanks. I like what I’ve heard so far. I know Covington has been a good program for a long time now. Just pretty unfamiliar with them in general.

I don't know anything about this guy. How long was he at Covington, specifically as head coach? There was some info posted in the Paris newspaper, but I honestly don't trust them to post last night's correct lottery numbers let alone accurate info on a new coach.

I moved away from Henry Co several years ago but have kept up with the program pretty well. The facts are this. After realignment, they are in a region with Clarksville Northeast, Clarksville Northwest, Kenwood, Kirkwood, and Dickson County. Nothing against any of those schools, but that's basically a guaranteed region championship for Henry County every year. And their main obstacle from region 8 just moved up to 6A. Nothing is a sure thing, but that's a fairly straightforward path to the semifinals. They have a student body of 1300+ so their general talent level is a lot more consistent than the smaller schools that are more typical of West TN. Not to mention their community support is among the best in the state. 1A-3A is also a bloodbath in West TN. Outside of Shelby County, Henry County is absolutely one of the top one or two jobs in West TN. I can't imagine having to teach (probably PE or Wellness? Give me a break) will deter many applicants.

He had a good run at Henry County. 2015: 10-3 2016: 6-5 2017: 9-4 2018: 13-2 (5A runner up) 2019: 10-3 2020: 11-3 2021: 8-6 2022: 10-3 2023: 11-2 2024: 7-5 I was spoiled when he took over, and probably said some things early in his tenure that reflected as much, but stepping back and looking at the big picture, Rockvale is getting a very good coach. The Henry Co job should garner a lot of interest. Still plenty of talent in the pipeline and returning to a very favorable region. Coach sure left his successor with quite a non region schedule to navigate though 😅

That’s pretty solid. Should be some really good games in there.

A tough regular season schedule is good for getting a team familiar with what good competition looks like, but it’s pretty overrated in the grand scheme of things. MJ could schedule the Detroit Lions and it wouldn’t make them any more or less likely to beat Oakland in the quarterfinals. You’re either good enough to win it all or you’re not. Our two state title teams had notoriously easier schedules than recent years.