New Oak Ridge Head Football Coach

[OR nole]

Tommy Laurendine - Offensive Coordinator at Lenoir-Rhyne

 

http://www.lrbears.com/football/bio/Laurendine.htm

[Cactus Jack]

A lot of interesting rumors....but I don't think there is a front runner yet, in fact, the new coach may be a complete unknown to most. They are going to keep this one tightly under wraps, no citizen committee, it will all be internal. No names of applicants released. According to the Oak Ridger, and the AD, it will probably remain posted for a month, then they will look through the resumes, interview and hire, but right now no timetable.

 

There are a lot of good coaches mentioned here:

 

Gary Rankin: he has done great jobs at both Riverdale and Alcoa, but keep in mind he is also AD at Alcoa and has well established his program there, he has good discipline on his teams and great talent. I am sure he has one unfulfilled goal there, to beat Maryville. Unless OR offered him one heck of a salary, I don't see him coming.

 

Joe Gaddis: Have you ever heard of the novel, "You can't go home again"? I think this applies to Joe. He has done a fantastic job at Henry County, and has the total support of that community and has football interest ramped up like it was his first 4 years at Oak Ridge. Also there is a lot of opposition to him in Oak Ridge. He is a great rebuilder and a good friend of mine, but I think his best move may be not to make one. Also, Oak Ridge is not the town it was when he first came in 1988, it is a lot weaker economically, due to some wrong headed city leadership and government cutbacks. The talent level is not quite as good as 88, but there is still enough to have winning team and maybe make good playoff runs every couple of years...nope, Joe stays at HC.

 

Ron Gray: Ron is a good coach, he studies and works hard at the game, he is very good with offensive line etc. I am sure he is interested, but one thing that often works against one in Oak Ridge is to already be here. Ron would make a good head coach, but like Gaddis, there is much opposition to him here, internally and externally to the school, and it would be tough for him to get the job. His contributions to Catholic were well known.

 

Benny Monroe: This one is a bit far fetched. Coach Monroe is in his early 60s, and looking to retire soon. He has done a great job at Ooltewah. He says the Volkswagen Plant will give him even more good kids to pick from, so the East Hamilton High and Ooltewah will probably have enough for both. Can't see Benny coming here, maybe 10 years ago, but not now. It was interesting to read about Ted Gatewood taking the East Hamilton job. if he was available, that would be a very good choice for OR.

 

Doug Martin: Would be a great choice, but I can't see him leaving Kent State, unless he really had a desperate desire to come home. He is doing well at Kent State and the next offer for him may come from a lot larger school, maybe UK some day.

 

Tommy Laurendine: As far as I know, he is the offensive coordinator at Lenoir Rhyne in North Carolina. Here again an OCs salary is probably better then ORHS can pay, but he would be more likely to apply then Doug Martin, Tommy was a great player here and a good guy too, he would be a good choice.

 

Bruce Lussier: Totally ruling Bruce out, although he is the best football coach I have ever been around. Bruce has a great thing going at Father Ryan and is currently overseeing the building of their new on campus stadium and is anticipating a very good team next year.

 

I am not sure about any of the others, but I think the new coach will be that...new...if I was looking, I would look for a guy in the 35-45 age range, with large school head coaching experience, a good teacher, motivator and rebuilder, and one that would be ready to work on day one, because there is a lot of work to do.

 

One thing I do hope is that the Administration and Community get behind this program now and do their part in returning it to being a solid program. It will take some $$$ and a lot of work..in addition to the new coach....

 

Good luck to the AD in finding the best possible, qualified guy to lead this program back!!

[Govolsknox]

A lot of interesting rumors....but I don't think there is a front runner yet, in fact, the new coach may be a complete unknown to most. They are going to keep this one tightly under wraps, no citizen committee, it will all be internal. No names of applicants released. According to the Oak Ridger, and the AD, it will probably remain posted for a month, then they will look through the resumes, interview and hire, but right now no timetable.

 

There are a lot of good coaches mentioned here:

 

Gary Rankin: he has done great jobs at both Riverdale and Alcoa, but keep in mind he is also AD at Alcoa and has well established his program there, he has good discipline on his teams and great talent. I am sure he has one unfulfilled goal there, to beat Maryville. Unless OR offered him one heck of a salary, I don't see him coming.

 

Joe Gaddis: Have you ever heard of the novel, "You can't go home again"? I think this applies to Joe. He has done a fantastic job at Henry County, and has the total support of that community and has football interest ramped up like it was his first 4 years at Oak Ridge. Also there is a lot of opposition to him in Oak Ridge. He is a great rebuilder and a good friend of mine, but I think his best move may be not to make one. Also, Oak Ridge is not the town it was when he first came in 1988, it is a lot weaker economically, due to some wrong headed city leadership and government cutbacks. The talent level is not quite as good as 88, but there is still enough to have winning team and maybe make good playoff runs every couple of years...nope, Joe stays at HC.

 

Ron Gray: Ron is a good coach, he studies and works hard at the game, he is very good with offensive line etc. I am sure he is interested, but one thing that often works against one in Oak Ridge is to already be here. Ron would make a good head coach, but like Gaddis, there is much opposition to him here, internally and externally to the school, and it would be tough for him to get the job. His contributions to Catholic were well known.

 

Benny Monroe: This one is a bit far fetched. Coach Monroe is in his early 60s, and looking to retire soon. He has done a great job at Ooltewah. He says the Volkswagen Plant will give him even more good kids to pick from, so the East Hamilton High and Ooltewah will probably have enough for both. Can't see Benny coming here, maybe 10 years ago, but not now. It was interesting to read about Ted Gatewood taking the East Hamilton job. if he was available, that would be a very good choice for OR.

 

Doug Martin: Would be a great choice, but I can't see him leaving Kent State, unless he really had a desperate desire to come home. He is doing well at Kent State and the next offer for him may come from a lot larger school, maybe UK some day.

 

Tommy Laurendine: As far as I know, he is the offensive coordinator at Lenoir Rhyne in North Carolina. Here again an OCs salary is probably better then ORHS can pay, but he would be more likely to apply then Doug Martin, Tommy was a great player here and a good guy too, he would be a good choice.

 

Bruce Lussier: Totally ruling Bruce out, although he is the best football coach I have ever been around. Bruce has a great thing going at Father Ryan and is currently overseeing the building of their new on campus stadium and is anticipating a very good team next year.

 

I am not sure about any of the others, but I think the new coach will be that...new...if I was looking, I would look for a guy in the 35-45 age range, with large school head coaching experience, a good teacher, motivator and rebuilder, and one that would be ready to work on day one, because there is a lot of work to do.

 

One thing I do hope is that the Administration and Community get behind this program now and do their part in returning it to being a solid program. It will take some $$$ and a lot of work..in addition to the new coach....

 

Good luck to the AD in finding the best possible, qualified guy to lead this program back!!

 

 

Excellent post Jack. However I'm not sure how many candidates have large school head coaching experience and a proven track record in rebuilding between the ages of 35 - 45. Speaking for myself, I don't want another "promising" up and coming young coach. I want a proven winner.

 

Again, JMO, but while I have the utmost respect for Rankin, Riverdale, and Alcoa, there is one key difference between those 2 programs that Rankin has thrived in vs. Oak Ridge. Both Riverdale and Alcoa have had superior talent to (virtually) every other team in their classification year in and year out. Don't get me wrong, he's done a great job, but he has had the best athletes on the field (overall) year in and year out. This is not the history with Oak Ridge. Oak Ridge has been much more like Maryville in this respect rather than Alcoa or Riverdale. The previous great coaches at OR took good athletes with very very few D1 prospects and put together a TEAM that could give about anyone in the state a run for their money. GQ in Maryville has done the same thing (only more) in that he generally doesn't have a team full of D1 guys. Yet he turns them in to a team that is top notch. This is what Emory Hale, Joe Gaddis, and Bruce Lussier all did IMO. I believe that if a coach is going to be successfule at OR, he is going to have to work with good but not great overall talent. Just my opinions, your mileage may vary.

[MLREB]

That's a good post govols and I agree with you on your comparisons. The Rankin/Riverdale/Alcoa statement is so true and OR/Maryville statement is mostly correct as well though I believe both schools have been blessed with good to great athletes in certain years.

 

My guess....OR goes out of the area to obtain a coach this time. They better not make a mistake because that little goverment employer does not lure the people into the area as it once did and OR is a bit stagnant now and most likely for a long while. The pool of athletes is not as large as it once was and power house teams will be fewer and fewer.

JMO though...

[tornadogold]

"Gary Rankin: he has done great jobs at both Riverdale and Alcoa, but keep in mind he is also AD at Alcoa and has well established his program there, he has good discipline on his teams and great talent. I am sure he has one unfulfilled goal there, to beat Maryville. Unless OR offered him one heck of a salary, I don't see him coming."

 

No, Rankin is not AD; he is the assistant principal.

See today's story from the Daily Times:

 

http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20081...PORTS/312189979

[baconbreath]

Basically bacon is saying Tim Daniels to OR and another coach going from a marion county school to a bradley county school is this correct bacon!!!

 

 

You're getting very close from what informed sources are saying. McDaniel is the name being mentioned by prominent people for the OR. The other coaching situation about Marion County mentioned above is a very strong possibility as well. It would include multiple moves in the school setting involving the move to a different school.

 

Don't you just love the off-season positoning and politicking??? There's nothing better than high school sports and their passionate fans.

 

bb

[Red Rebels]

You're getting very close from what informed sources are saying. McDaniel is the name being mentioned by prominent people for the OR. The other coaching situation about Marion County mentioned above is a very strong possibility as well. It would include multiple moves in the school setting involving the move to a different school.

 

Don't you just love the off-season positoning and politicking??? There's nothing better than high school sports and their passionate fans.

 

bb

 

Why so cryptic BB? Are you a big cloak and dagger fan?

[baconbreath]

Why so cryptic BB? Are you a big cloak and dagger fan?

 

 

There's no need yet to reveal all yet because some of it may not happen depending on money, assistant coaching staffs, teaching positions available, etc. It'll all become clear in due time and very quickly.

[KooAidDrinker]

The latest rumor has an unnamed coach from an undisclosed location looking into the job. I will give you (6) guesses.

[bounder]

This is getting to be like the "silly season" in Nascar.

[HULK123]

I have heard the name Justin Anderson the Head Coach at Jefferson County. His name has come up twice.

[Ole Dad]

I think Randall Sharp is the frontrunner.

 

Ole Dad

 

I have heard the name Justin Anderson the Head Coach at Jefferson County. His name has come up twice.