Carlton Flatt announces retirement

[Batts]

One guy described this post as ignorant; maybe it is but it is also true. I love how everyone shows the numbers from his great career. I am not saying that he is not a good coach but I cant call him great b/c I dont know how well he would have done at a public school where he couldnt recruit players. I am just amazed how everyone just turns their cheek like he was legit and didnt have an advantage over his opponents. Another thing is how everything is split now b/c of that program; the privates now get to be champions of like 8-10 teams. I wish the man the best in his retirement and I have no hard feelings but I am not gonna kiss his butt and turn my cheek like alot of other people either. No rebuttle is required unless you can come on here and honestly say he did not recruit. I am an aspiring football coach myself and they couldnt pay me enough to take that job; it would stink to be in a league where there are just 8 or 10 teams.

Kevin, that bitter man turns up to spew venom whenever possible. Don't let him trouble you. I am sure it is the usual jealousy syndrome. The team he roots for has never beaten Coach Flatt (0-4 lifetime). I am glad to see you are not convinced it is true. I am glad you appreciate his numbers and career. As an aspiring coach, you should. I do not blame you for being amazed at the respect people show him and he did take advantage of his opponents with his incredible film work and relentless prep work. You have a good eye. I do think you are being harsh by implying that Coach Flatt's might scared many of the public schools into the D1/D2 split. I think some of them just wanted to figure out a way to win. I leave you with some advice, however. If you are going to be a coach, you should display more confidence. Do not be afraid of trying to fill big shoes, especially if someone is willing to pay you a lot!!! Don't be afraid to coach in the Super 8 just because the 5A D1 Champion has suffered its only loss to one of those lethal "8 or 10" two of the last five years and D2 has won over 70% of its games against D1 opponents. I know with only 8 teams of this quality, there is no place to hide. Every week is a tough game. As an aspiring coach you can't be afraid. Don't be afraid Kevin!

[WesVLT]

I'm very appreciative of Coach Flatt's service and dedication to the BA family, and I'm sad to see him go. Like many people, I thought this would be his last year. I never played for Coach Flatt, but I'll never forget the night he called me at home to tell me he enjoyed the job I was doing on our ESBN broadcast. He will remain a prominent member of the BA family -- never have I seen a man whose identity was so closely tied to an institution. He shaped Brentwood Academy more than perhaps anyone else, except for founder and longtime headmaster Bill Brown.

 

Here are the top three coaches I'd love to see replace Coach Flatt:

 

3) Jeff Brothers

 

2) Jeff Rutledge

 

1) George Quarles

 

I have no inside knowledge, but I can't think of anyone better for the job than these three men. I don't even know if Quarles is interested, but I admire the man as a coach and as a person and would absolutely relish the chance to see how he could do at BA. I think he'd be a smash hit.

[wingman10]

Congrats to Coach Flatt....I would go with Coach Brothers

Edited December 13, 2006 by wingman10

[my2cents]

I'm very appreciative of Coach Flatt's service and dedication to the BA family, and I'm sad to see him go. Like many people, I thought this would be his last year. I never played for Coach Flatt, but I'll never forget the night he called me at home to tell me he enjoyed the job I was doing on our ESBN broadcast. He will remain a prominent member of the BA family -- never have I seen a man whose identity was so closely tied to an institution. He shaped Brentwood Academy more than perhaps anyone else, except for founder and longtime headmaster Bill Brown.

 

Here are the top three coaches I'd love to see replace Coach Flatt:

 

3) Jeff Brothers

 

2) Jeff Rutledge

 

1) George Quarles

 

I have no inside knowledge, but I can't think of anyone better for the job than these three men. I don't even know if Quarles is interested, but I admire the man as a coach and as a person and would absolutely relish the chance to see how he could do at BA. I think he'd be a smash hit.

Wow, I guess Tom Moore would be out of the question at your Christian valued school. I doubt if he would let ya'll get him again. As the saying goes, gone but not forgotten.

[USA1]

Wow, I guess Tom Moore would be out of the question at your Christian valued school. I doubt if he would let ya'll get him again. As the saying goes, gone but not forgotten.

Are you saying Tom Moore is no longer a Christian? I am pretty certain you are mistaken.

 

Regardless, I agree there would not be much of a chance. The headmaster that did not hire him originally and fired him is the person making the choice.

[my2cents]

Spin it however you wish

[USA1]

Spin it however you wish

Typical response when faced with irrefutable facts.

[Sweep Left]

The post was ignorant because it wasn't true . . . This isn't the place to hash out the "recruiting" claim for the millionth time. If you want to take those pot shots, go to the Public/Private board and take a number.

 

You can like or dislike Flatt for whatever reason, but to call him (or his players as the other poster did) not legit is a joke. Did Carlton Flatt have some great athletes over the years -- absolutely. Is the average BA football player a better athlete than at any other school? No. The one thing you can say though is that they were well coached . . .

 

yes they are well coached and yes the average BA player is the same as the average player at any other school........BUT the superstars at BA that are not even from the Brentwood Community but drive in each day are better than the superstars on the local teams. That's my entire point of contention. He did a great job with what he had but in the early years against the Single A and Double A schools it was a mismatch of talent.

[Sweep Left]

Kevin, that bitter man turns up to spew venom whenever possible. Don't let him trouble you. I am sure it is the usual jealousy syndrome. The team he roots for has never beaten Coach Flatt (0-4 lifetime). I am glad to see you are not convinced it is true. I am glad you appreciate his numbers and career. As an aspiring coach, you should. I do not blame you for being amazed at the respect people show him and he did take advantage of his opponents with his incredible film work and relentless prep work. You have a good eye. I do think you are being harsh by implying that Coach Flatt's might scared many of the public schools into the D1/D2 split. I think some of them just wanted to figure out a way to win. I leave you with some advice, however. If you are going to be a coach, you should display more confidence. Do not be afraid of trying to fill big shoes, especially if someone is willing to pay you a lot!!! Don't be afraid to coach in the Super 8 just because the 5A D1 Champion has suffered its only loss to one of those lethal "8 or 10" two of the last five years and D2 has won over 70% of its games against D1 opponents. I know with only 8 teams of this quality, there is no place to hide. Every week is a tough game. As an aspiring coach you can't be afraid. Don't be afraid Kevin!

 

Hey Batts..........why are you calling me a "bitter man"? haha I'm not bitter at all, just saying that for the majority of his championships it was a unlevel playing field.

[fan6]

yes they are well coached and yes the average BA player is the same as the average player at any other school........BUT the superstars at BA that are not even from the Brentwood Community but drive in each day are better than the superstars on the local teams. That's my entire point of contention. He did a great job with what he had but in the early years against the Single A and Double A schools it was a mismatch of talent.

 

A significant part of the student body is not from the Brentwood community . . . it's a private school and has to draw students from a much larger geographic area to survive. There is a surprizingly large contingent of students who come from Murfreesboro each day (none of which are "superstars" to my knowledge . . .).

 

Certainly BA has gotten a lot of great athletes -- if you had a promising player/student, wouldn't you consider sending them to a school where you knew they would be coached well, where there would be stability and where they would most likely get a chance to play for a championship? I would agree that Coach Flatt did a great job with what he had -- that's what great coaches do. My issue is with those on this board who think that the only reason he did well is because he somehow illegally recruited star athletes to the school. I would also contend that Coach Flatt was pretty quick to play up in classifications once there was a mismatch of talent . . .

[McNine4MVP]

Carlton Flatt is the ultimate conundrum when it comes to high school football in the state of Tennessee. I've met the man several times through the years and he was always above board and cordial to me, and for that I am appreciative. He was/is an outstanding football coach and molder of young men, and he will be sorely missed. I wish he, and his family the best in their future. I have known Jeff Brothers since I was 8 years old and their search should start and stop there. He's a true Brentwood Academy guy and he's still young and would be there a long time. Brian Rector would be a great candidate, but he's doing such great things over on Wilson Pike that it would be a shame for him to leave for that job for the reasons that I will bring up in a moment.

 

However, I have to admit that a lot of what BA accomplished in the late 1980's, into the mid-1990's is a bit tarnished in my eyes. Its not all their fault, because similar things happened at Riverdale (talking about a pot calling the kettle black Rankin) and Hoover, AL, but there was certainly some "player steering" going on from at least one junior pro football system in Southern Davidson County into the Brentwood Academy pipeline that I am directly aware of. I mean, it was blatant!! There were holdbacks of kids when they got enrolled there for "maturing" and other issues. As I have always said, it isn't just coincidence that the Antioch's, Hillsboro's, and Brentwood High's started having a lot of success as soon as the BA-TSSAA suit hit around 1997. BHS didn't ever win more than 5 games in a season between 1985-1997, as far as I know. With that said, I hate this stinking watered down split, and I wish somebody smart at the TSSAA (insert joke here______) would reunite the divisions under 4 classes (we might be big enough for 5 classes now, but it was a reach when they did this 10 years ago) with a 1.5 multiplier, but watch these privates like a hawk on the financial aid side.

 

Now, I admit that I am a proponent of public schools, so I am a bit biased, but the BA's of the world did a lot of damage to public schools in general, and public school sports in particular. I'm jealous of the days when our father's played high school ball at Central, Cameron, Cumberland, Antioch, Overton, Hillsboro, Madison, DuPont, Pearl, East, Litton, Hermitage, and the list goes on with the guys they went to church with and lived down the street from. These public schools used to be woven into a fabric of the community and were something that all people, rich or poor, black or white, could unite and support on Friday's in the fall. White flight (kids read up on that for social understanding) and the establishment of these "Christian educational systems" in the 1970's have absolutely killed the public educational system in this country. I can't blame the parents for wanting their kids to have a better learning environment, but maybe this vigor should have been utilized to better the public school systems that these same parents were products of.

 

I don't mean to get too political about it, but I hope you all understand where I'm coming from. I have no qualms with Carlton Flatt, the man, and I wish him the best in whatever he decides to do. He has worked his butt off to be a success and the mission was accomplished!!!! My concerns are more with the system as a whole, than it is with Coach Flatt. Coach Flatt just used the system to his advantage, and there is ultimately nothing wrong with that. Good Luck Coach!!!

[WarriorFan]

Wow, I guess Tom Moore would be out of the question at your Christian valued school. I doubt if he would let ya'll get him again. As the saying goes, gone but not forgotten.

Tom is now a very successful business man with a line of Smoothie King franchises. I don't think he would even be interested......by the way......when my daughter was at summer camp at BA this year, I noticed that Smoothie King was one of the choices a kid could have for their lunch/snack........maybe Mr. Moore and BA's feelings towards one another aren't as strained as you think......