Keith Hodge steps down at Dresden...

[duckman38201]

I'm thinking butchie was model for that helmet. What a noggin!!!

Well, we tried it on him and it was even too big for him! I mean we ain't got that big of a team but we could get the whole team in it. As big a noggin as he has it ain't that big!!!! LOL I can't believe horse hasn't chimed in by now??

Edited April 22, 2014 by duckman38201

[coachwdb]

I told everyone all along it wouldn't be the other Hodge brother and got blasted for it.  I believe I even mentioned Rang too.  Oh well.....good luck to everyone involved.....4 months till football time

[Red Warrior]

How do you know what is best for the program or the players? How do you know Hodge was a better choice than Coach Rang? Have you compared their resumes? Chad Hodge helped his brother take our program to new heights and we should be forever grateful for the work he put in but even if you take out the antics of Chad from the equation i'm not sure how on paper you can know for sure Chad is the best option.

 

I do know that Derek Rang was hired to be the head coach of a 5A school coming off a state championship appearance and when he left became a paid, full time assistant college coach. The same can't be said for Chad....

I don't have to compare their resumes and the fact that you bring that up tells me that you're out of touch. Hodge had his success at Dresden. No other candidate can say that. Rang may do a great job, and I hope he does. The administration made a mistake. Your stubbornness won't allow you to admit that and that's ok. This is not about Rang. It's about an administration that made a mistake...and that doesn't mean that Rang isn't a good coach. I'm sure he's very good.

[DTownFan68]

I don't have to compare their resumes and the fact that you bring that up tells me that you're out of touch. Hodge had his success at Dresden. No other candidate can say that. Rang may do a great job, and I hope he does. The administration made a mistake. Your stubbornness won't allow you to admit that and that's ok. This is not about Rang. It's about an administration that made a mistake...and that doesn't mean that Rang isn't a good coach. I'm sure he's very good.

Don't you think comparing resumes would be a good way to pick a candidate? You ignoring this fact tells me you haven't made many hires in your life.

 

You keep stating the administration made a mistake as if it is a fact, only time will tell if Coach Rang was the right hire or not. YOUR stubbornness and obvious emotional tie to Coach Hodge won't allow you to admit that, and that's ok as well.  

 

It's time to support Coach Rang as he is now OUR football coach at Dresden. If Coach Hodge is a such a slam dunk head coach hire as you keep implying then I'm sure he will have a head coaching job somewhere else next year. Surely all the other administrations in the state all can't make the same "mistake" and not hire him as well, right?

 

 

How many days until Westview week?????

[wingman10]

Derek is a good young man and a good coach. I have known him for 3/4's of his life. I just hope it works out for him in Dresden. I will come back to Dresden from time to time. Will be there early summer to see how Derek and the players are doing

Edited April 22, 2014 by wingman10

[Red Warrior]

Don't you think comparing resumes would be a good way to pick a candidate? You ignoring this fact tells me you haven't made many hires in your life.

 

You keep stating the administration made a mistake as if it is a fact, only time will tell if Coach Rang was the right hire or not. YOUR stubbornness and obvious emotional tie to Coach Hodge won't allow you to admit that, and that's ok as well.

 

It's time to support Coach Rang as he is now OUR football coach at Dresden. If Coach Hodge is a such a slam dunk head coach hire as you keep implying then I'm sure he will have a head coaching job somewhere else next year. Surely all the other administrations in the state all can't make the same "mistake" and not hire him as well, right?

 

 

How many days until Westview week?????

You have a comprehension problem and it's bad. Let me spell it out for you. Hodge was a big reason for the success at Dresden. If you disagree with that then you're a fool. The only type of coach who should've been hired over him would be a legendary coach..,a state championship coach. If Dresden had just come off of a bad few years then Hodge shouldn't have been considered at all. This isn't about Rang. The administration should've hired Hodge because of what he did THERE at Dresden...UNLESS they had a proven winner with championships on his resume.

[Red Warrior]

Derek is a good young mand and a good coach. I have known him for 3/4's of his life. I just hope it works out for him in Dresden. I will come back to Dresden from time to time. Will be there early summer to see how Derek and the players are doing

He may be a great guy and a great coach. I hope he is and I wish him well. He's done nothing wrong. I hope Dresden continues their winning ways.

[HTV]

I have had the honor and pleasure of serving as the Powell High radio play by play guy for the last 14 years and have covered high school football in East Tennesse as a member of both the broadcast and print media for the last 20 years.  During the year that Rang was the head coach at Powell, and for the last year while he has been at Carson-Newman, I have had the opportunity to get to know Derek Rang very well. 

 

What you are getting in Derek Rang, first and foremost, is a quality human being who will work hard to better the young men in the program both on the field and off.  He's a very bright young guy, he is a tireless worker, and he is as knowlegable a football mind as I have been around.  He demands an honest effort from his players both on the field and in the classroom.  He trusts his assistants to do their jobs, and will put his players in the best possible position to to be successful.

 

In his year at Powell he took a team that had lost some 17 starters from the previous team that finished 14-1 and lost a heartbreaking 17-14 game to Henry County in the 2011 Blue Cross Bowl and still got them back to the semi finals in 2012.  Derek knows what he is doing.

 

Rang has 3 state championship rings of his own as a player from his high school career at Maryville and he learned from one of the best high school head coaches in the game in George Quarles.  He also played under a great defensive coordinator at Maryville in Jimmy Gaylor.  As a defensive coordinator at Knoxville West he helped lead the Rebels to two class 5A semi final appearances before being hired as the head coach at Powell and then making it once again to the 5A semis, and believe me - that was a great coaching job to do that.  He's been part of some very successful programs as either the defensive coordinator or head coach thus far in his young career. 

 

It's my opinion that Rang is a great hire by Dresden and he will be very successful there.  And from talking with him this evening, he genuinely wants to be at Dresden and feels like it is somewhere he can be for a long time. 

 

Once you folks get an opportunity to meet Derek and get to know him I believe you will understand what a good hire this is for your program. 

[ysoangry]

At least we know the players will have good grades and plenty of bathroom breaks. Why would such a touted coach from the east take a job for less than half of what he was making in the east? I'm done bad mouthing the guy and our admin that has 112 years experience along with 37 national championships in competitive basket weaving. Go Lions!

[Red Warrior]

I have had the honor and pleasure of serving as the Powell High radio play by play guy for the last 14 years and have covered high school football in East Tennesse as a member of both the broadcast and print media for the last 20 years. During the year that Rang was the head coach at Powell, and for the last year while he has been at Carson-Newman, I have had the opportunity to get to know Derek Rang very well.

 

What you are getting in Derek Rang, first and foremost, is a quality human being who will work hard to better the young men in the program both on the field and off. He's a very bright young guy, he is a tireless worker, and he is as knowlegable a football mind as I have been around. He demands an honest effort from his players both on the field and in the classroom. He trusts his assistants to do their jobs, and will put his players in the best possible position to to be successful.

 

In his year at Powell he took a team that had lost some 17 starters from the previous team that finished 14-1 and lost a heartbreaking 17-14 game to Henry County in the 2011 Blue Cross Bowl and still got them back to the semi finals in 2012. Derek knows what he is doing.

 

Rang has 3 state championship rings of his own as a player from his high school career at Maryville and he learned from one of the best high school head coaches in the game in George Quarles. He also played under a great defensive coordinator at Maryville in Jimmy Gaylor. As a defensive coordinator at Knoxville West he helped lead the Rebels to two class 5A semi final appearances before being hired as the head coach at Powell and then making it once again to the 5A semis, and believe me - that was a great coaching job to do that. He's been part of some very successful programs as either the defensive coordinator or head coach thus far in his young career.

 

It's my opinion that Rang is a great hire by Dresden and he will be very successful there. And from talking with him this evening, he genuinely wants to be at Dresden and feels like it is somewhere he can be for a long time.

 

Once you folks get an opportunity to meet Derek and get to know him I believe you will understand what a good hire this is for your program.

I'm not a Dresden guy but some friends say the same things about Rang that you've said. I hope he does well.

[DTownFan68]

You have a comprehension problem and it's bad. Let me spell it out for you. Hodge was a big reason for the success at Dresden. If you disagree with that then you're a fool. The only type of coach who should've been hired over him would be a legendary coach..,a state championship coach. If Dresden had just come off of a bad few years then Hodge shouldn't have been considered at all. This isn't about Rang. The administration should've hired Hodge because of what he did THERE at Dresden...UNLESS they had a proven winner with championships on his resume.

I don't have a reading comprehension problem at all but I appreciate your concern. Keith Hodge did a heck of a job as a head coach for us and his brother did a great job as a volunteer assistant coach helping him. 

 

It's time for us to move on and support coach Rang and the Lions and that is what the discussion needs to be at this point, so there is no reason for me (or anyone else) to list the reasons here that Chad didn't get the job but all of us have seen with our own eyes (or heard with our own ears) the reasons why Chad did not get the job. If Chad didn't have so many issues while as an assistant then I'm sure he would have been the natural choice to replace his brother but that wasn't the case and I'm not sure how that is the administrations fault. 

 

You are obviously from Henry county so you have a personal tie to Chad and I can understand that, but maybe you need to sit back and think about the fact that he was passed over for the Henry County job, passed over for the Dresden job, and hasn't been hired as a head coach at any other school as a head coach either and realize maybe the people that have done the hiring at Henry County, Weakley County, and the countless other counties that have had open head coaching jobs come open have also not hired Chad. The administration here had no issues giving Keith the head coaching job when it came open and the administration hasn't changed from then to now so the same people smart enough to hire Keith didn't hire Chad. Case closed.

 

I think it would be best for all involved, since it's over and done with now, for you to go back to supporting and commenting on Henry County threads and let us as Dresden supporters turn our attention to our new leader and to our kids. I think the community will rally around the kids and our new coach and hopefully propel our programs to even greater things!

 

Go Lions!!

[DTownFan68]

 

I have had the honor and pleasure of serving as the Powell High radio play by play guy for the last 14 years and have covered high school football in East Tennesse as a member of both the broadcast and print media for the last 20 years.  During the year that Rang was the head coach at Powell, and for the last year while he has been at Carson-Newman, I have had the opportunity to get to know Derek Rang very well. 

 

What you are getting in Derek Rang, first and foremost, is a quality human being who will work hard to better the young men in the program both on the field and off.  He's a very bright young guy, he is a tireless worker, and he is as knowlegable a football mind as I have been around.  He demands an honest effort from his players both on the field and in the classroom.  He trusts his assistants to do their jobs, and will put his players in the best possible position to to be successful.

 

In his year at Powell he took a team that had lost some 17 starters from the previous team that finished 14-1 and lost a heartbreaking 17-14 game to Henry County in the 2011 Blue Cross Bowl and still got them back to the semi finals in 2012.  Derek knows what he is doing.

 

Rang has 3 state championship rings of his own as a player from his high school career at Maryville and he learned from one of the best high school head coaches in the game in George Quarles.  He also played under a great defensive coordinator at Maryville in Jimmy Gaylor.  As a defensive coordinator at Knoxville West he helped lead the Rebels to two class 5A semi final appearances before being hired as the head coach at Powell and then making it once again to the 5A semis, and believe me - that was a great coaching job to do that.  He's been part of some very successful programs as either the defensive coordinator or head coach thus far in his young career. 

 

It's my opinion that Rang is a great hire by Dresden and he will be very successful there.  And from talking with him this evening, he genuinely wants to be at Dresden and feels like it is somewhere he can be for a long time. 

 

Once you folks get an opportunity to meet Derek and get to know him I believe you will understand what a good hire this is for your program. 

 

That is a heck of a post and we appreciate it very much. I think the part I highlighted is the part that I'm most excited about. Coach Rang is coming to Dresden because he genuinely wants to be here AND plans to be here for the long haul!

 

I'm excited to see what the future holds for the Lions!