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Name the best coaches ever in TN HS FB history


SweetScience
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Oak Ridge and Jack Armstrong sure did..Played them 9 times from 1946-1958 going 3-5-1 against them. OR beat them in 1946 after being a school for only 3 years. Also beat them in '56 and '58 to win state. Granted, it was by polls back then, but if you beat Chatt Central back then, you were beating the best the state had to offer.

 

Only thing is so many get caught up in the current system and really don't know what went on before. Dad was a great fan for years and followed the Bears everywhere. And I grew up on stories of football in the 50's and 60's and did it on my own since.

 

Chattanooga Central, under Coach Etter won Championships in 1946. 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1962, and 1965. Voted by the state's sports writers, true, but it is still 8 of them. and in a period of time when there were so many fewer schools and you played whoever came along.

 

Bradley played Chattanooga Central 59 times in history going a total of 26-30-3 (4-17-1 against Etter coached teams). Since Coach Etter moved to Baylor and retired, Bradley has pretty much beat Central every time they have appeared on the schedule, and we still have not caught up. lol

 

Quarles, Rankin, and Flatt deserve the accolades, but Etter has to mentioned right up there too.

Edited by alt1958
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Some of the good ones I remember:

  • Red Etter - Chattanooga Central and Baylor
  • Jack Armstrong, Emory Hale and Joe Gaddis - Oak Ridge
  • George Quarles, Ted Wilson - Maryville
  • Graham Clark - Kingsport DB
  • John Cropp - Tennessee High of Bristol
  • Craig Kisabeth - Jefferson County
  • Calvin Short - Gallatin
  • Gary Rankin - Riverdale, Alcoa
  • Benny Monroe - McMinn County, Cleveland, Ooltewah
  • Steve Brewer - Fulton, Sevier County
  • Buck Coatney - Fulton
  • Joel Helton - Knox Central
  • Louis Thompson - Lincoln County

 

 

More at other classes and in Middle and West Tennessee, the guy at Brentwood Academy for years, can't remember his name...

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Well how about Joe Gaddis Oak Ridge and Henry County.

Somebody mentioned him already, but i agree Bounder. Nobody ever heard of Henry County till "Smokin" Joe Gaddis went there. At least i hadn't. I'm sure they have had other good teams, but i am just 33 yrs old. The Teague teams that Gaddis coached really put Henry Co back on the map if they had been down.

Edited by SweetScience
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1) George Quarles...to do what he's done in a public school is amazing

2) Carlton Flatt...to do what he did even though in a private school is also amazing

3) Gary Rankin...it's hard to argue with his record

4) Calvin Short...he didn't build it but he sustained for a long period of time

6) Emory Hale...his teams were exceptional

7) John Tucker...he was excellent over a long period

8) John Hooper...a blast from the past but was a great coach

9) Ken Colquitt...he had great success

10) Jack Armstrong...he got it started in the atomic city

11) John Meadows...he did it in two states

12) Benny Monroe...he built something special in Cleveland

13) Joe Gaddis...he can turn a program around better than most

14) Louis Thompson...picked up where Meadows left off and sustained it

15) James Counce...a very good coach in two places and finally got a much deserved ring

16) Jim Stowe...a great guy and a great coach

17) Jerry Pearson...another great one who could be rated higher

18) Jim Barron...got things started in Gallatin

19) Ken Netherland...a great coach for Germantown

20) Red Etter...one of the best of his day

 

I could argue with myself over my own list except for the two top spots. One of the greatest guys I didn't place on my list was Tommy Owen...it would be difficult to find a better man who was also a great coach.

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Maybe not a top name, but one that should be mentioned is Roger Perry. He has had a great career starting in Westmoreland, then moving to Portland, and now at Mt. Juliet. His Portland Teams were in the State Championship in 1994, 1999, and 2000, winning the Championship in 2000. Not sure of his overall record, but he has been one of the primier mid-state coaches since the early 1990's.

 

A name on this list that I second is John Tucker. His 1995 Humboldt team was one of the best I have seen and the man is 3rd all-time in TN with 332 wins.

 

Check out the top 7 winningest TN coaches as provided by Murphy Fair at http://www.murphyfai...s_coaching.html

Edited by breakawayspeed
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