The Disgusting State of Knoxville West High Football

[WestHighReb07]

I have sat back too long not to address the sad state of affairs that is Knoxville West High Football. Being a proud alum and graduate of the 2007 Rebels football team, nothing made me happier than to see West make deep runs during the playoffs in 2010 and 2011 as well as state championship appearances in 2013 and 2014 being only one point away from back to back championships! Since that rainy night in December 2014 everything has gone downhill for a program that had one of the best records in 5A football from 2010-2014.

Of course it all started with Coach (and that's what I will always call him out of respect) leaving for Cleveland and look at all of the success he has had down there. I'm surprised Cleveland hasn't let him go yet because I know they had grandeur plans then first round exits and losing annually to bitter rivals when they hired him. Coach Cummings should have stayed at West and continued the powerhouse he created and worked so hard to do, but he chose a different route. That being said he had a heckuva coaching staff, a couple of which coached me personally, still intact and ready to continue the tradition. The admins or booster club down there at West had other plans and decided to hire Jeff Harig out of Loudon. A lot of the kids and former players like myself were taken aback by the hire especially when he revealed that the offense would change from the veer and "be like Ohio State's offense". The current players were used to the veer and if someone on staff would have been hired it would have likely stayed in place and been successful as it had been in previous years. The only saving grace was that the defense would stay in place as is.

In two years with Harig - West went 13-9, won a Region Championship, went 1-1 in one playoff appearance including a loss to the current coach Lamar Brown while he was at Morristown West. That "Ohio St offense" for West also averaged 23.1 ppg in 2015 and an even more impressive 15.8 ppg in 2016. The defense gave up an average of 16.79 ppg in two years. The 2016 season also ended with a pathetic 5 game losing streak with West missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The season ended with West replacing Harig.

Again West had an opportunity to hire from within, but chose to go elsewhere and went with Lamar Brown out of Morristown West. When Brown was hired, it was another shock to the current and former players. Again the players asked what the offense would be like and this time they were told it would be like "Auburn's offense". This coaching change also led to more staff changes than the previous one did.

In two years with Brown - West is 11-12, went 1-2 in two playoff apearances as well as an outstanding 1-7 record against your main rivals (Bearden, Farragut, Fulton, and Hardin Valley). The vaunted "Auburn offense" for West also averaged 15.5 ppg in 2017 with some improvement to 21.1 ppg in 2018. The defense has given up an average of 16.8 ppg. Coach Brown still in great standing and not replaced like Harig?

The defense has never changed and was setup beautifully by Derek Rang/Kevin Lane where you just plug players into spots.  With defensive numbers like that under two different coaching staffs, its amazing the record is as good as it is. I know many opposing teams fans, coaches, and players as well as some from West even made fun of the Veer but the offense was rolling regardless of who was behind center or running the ball. I know that opposing coaches hated only having a few days to prepare for it since no one else ran it. It made West unique and extremely successful.

Whoever has made these decisions for West in regards to coaching hires should really look at themselves and ask if the program is in a good place? Well it isn't and it has become a joke. Those kids played their hearts out last Friday night against Catholic and for those Seniors they deserved better than the four years of mediocrity they got. They came to West right after a championship win with plenty of talent left over and could not find success because those in charge failed them. No one can tell me that if Coach had stayed or they hired from within to succeed him and kept everything as is they would be doing any worse than what they are now. Could care less which teams reclassified or the different teams now on the schedule, that previous staff was equipped to handle whomever they played and would have had more deep playoff runs and even another Championship (your welcome Farragut) instead of the sad state West is currently in. From Champs to Chumps thanks admins.

[BlueDevil58]

Harig and Brown are both good coaches.  Their record at places other than West shows that.

It seems like somebody behind the scenes with a lot of pull didn't like the veer and wanted to hire a coach to run a more "modern" offense.

Unfortunately, HS coaches are under a lot of pressure by parents, boosters, and administrators to deliver a "product" that looks like what those people see the colleges run on TV.  Style over substance.  They have a bunch of really stupid assumptions about that offense somehow being magical and making kids play better or get scholarships.

If a coach runs an old-school offense nowadays, even if it's very successful (as Cummings was), he'll get run off or fired at the first opportunity.  I know of extremely successful veer coaches in other states (like Maryville-level successful) who put up with the same stuff.

I wish Cummings the best of luck in Cleveland and I wish West luck in the future with Brown at the helm.  They can still reload and be champions again.

[VolBall85]

THIS COULD GET INTERESTING........ 

[DonDraper]

19 minutes ago, VolBall85 said:

THIS COULD GET INTERESTING........ 

Lots of Cleveland folks would help the former coach pack if he wanted to return.

[billygoat]

Unfortunately this situation happens to many high school teams due to "politics" or some other behind the scene situation.  Who knows what happened at West, but I hope they return to their former level as Knoxville-area football is better when they have a good team.

[blazer1set]

2 hours ago, WestHighReb07 said:

I have sat back too long not to address the sad state of affairs that is Knoxville West High Football. Being a proud alum and graduate of the 2007 Rebels football team, nothing made me happier than to see West make deep runs during the playoffs in 2010 and 2011 as well as state championship appearances in 2013 and 2014 being only one point away from back to back championships! Since that rainy night in December 2014 everything has gone downhill for a program that had one of the best records in 5A football from 2010-2014.

I remember watching West in one of those years in Cookeville, the best I recall the offense attempted maybe 2 passes the entire game.   And I remember thinking about all the talk of "If you can't pass for > 400/YPG you can't win, blah-blah-blah...."    One of those years, or maybe both, they rarely used the shotgun, the QB was always under center, 2 or 3 RB's in the backfield....  The linemen made PRECISE blocks and the handoff happened so quickly that the RB was 5 yards downfield before the defense even knew who had the ball.       Pretty?    Nah....    NFL-like?     Not a chance.....     Gold Ball?    :^)

 

[fooseball95]

Would love for y’all to have Cummings back please!

[VolBall85]

4 hours ago, WestHighReb07 said:

I have sat back too long not to address the sad state of affairs that is Knoxville West High Football. Being a proud alum and graduate of the 2007 Rebels football team, nothing made me happier than to see West make deep runs during the playoffs in 2010 and 2011 as well as state championship appearances in 2013 and 2014 being only one point away from back to back championships! Since that rainy night in December 2014 everything has gone downhill for a program that had one of the best records in 5A football from 2010-2014.

Of course it all started with Coach (and that's what I will always call him out of respect) leaving for Cleveland and look at all of the success he has had down there. I'm surprised Cleveland hasn't let him go yet because I know they had grandeur plans then first round exits and losing annually to bitter rivals when they hired him. Coach Cummings should have stayed at West and continued the powerhouse he created and worked so hard to do, but he chose a different route. That being said he had a heckuva coaching staff, a couple of which coached me personally, still intact and ready to continue the tradition. The admins or booster club down there at West had other plans and decided to hire Jeff Harig out of Loudon. A lot of the kids and former players like myself were taken aback by the hire especially when he revealed that the offense would change from the veer and "be like Ohio State's offense". The current players were used to the veer and if someone on staff would have been hired it would have likely stayed in place and been successful as it had been in previous years. The only saving grace was that the defense would stay in place as is.

In two years with Harig - West went 13-9, won a Region Championship, went 1-1 in one playoff appearance including a loss to the current coach Lamar Brown while he was at Morristown West. That "Ohio St offense" for West also averaged 23.1 ppg in 2015 and an even more impressive 15.8 ppg in 2016. The defense gave up an average of 16.79 ppg in two years. The 2016 season also ended with a pathetic 5 game losing streak with West missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The season ended with West replacing Harig.

Again West had an opportunity to hire from within, but chose to go elsewhere and went with Lamar Brown out of Morristown West. When Brown was hired, it was another shock to the current and former players. Again the players asked what the offense would be like and this time they were told it would be like "Auburn's offense". This coaching change also led to more staff changes than the previous one did.

In two years with Brown - West is 11-12, went 1-2 in two playoff apearances as well as an outstanding 1-7 record against your main rivals (Bearden, Farragut, Fulton, and Hardin Valley). The vaunted "Auburn offense" for West also averaged 15.5 ppg in 2017 with some improvement to 21.1 ppg in 2018. The defense has given up an average of 16.8 ppg. Coach Brown still in great standing and not replaced like Harig?

The defense has never changed and was setup beautifully by Derek Rang/Kevin Lane where you just plug players into spots.  With defensive numbers like that under two different coaching staffs, its amazing the record is as good as it is. I know many opposing teams fans, coaches, and players as well as some from West even made fun of the Veer but the offense was rolling regardless of who was behind center or running the ball. I know that opposing coaches hated only having a few days to prepare for it since no one else ran it. It made West unique and extremely successful.

Whoever has made these decisions for West in regards to coaching hires should really look at themselves and ask if the program is in a good place? Well it isn't and it has become a joke. Those kids played their hearts out last Friday night against Catholic and for those Seniors they deserved better than the four years of mediocrity they got. They came to West right after a championship win with plenty of talent left over and could not find success because those in charge failed them. No one can tell me that if Coach had stayed or they hired from within to succeed him and kept everything as is they would be doing any worse than what they are now. Could care less which teams reclassified or the different teams now on the schedule, that previous staff was equipped to handle whomever they played and would have had more deep playoff runs and even another Championship (your welcome Farragut) instead of the sad state West is currently in. From Champs to Chumps thanks admins.

As a former player who did you think deserved the job?

[BigTime1950]

3 hours ago, WestHighReb07 said:

I have sat back too long not to address the sad state of affairs that is Knoxville West High Football. Being a proud alum and graduate of the 2007 Rebels football team, nothing made me happier than to see West make deep runs during the playoffs in 2010 and 2011 as well as state championship appearances in 2013 and 2014 being only one point away from back to back championships! Since that rainy night in December 2014 everything has gone downhill for a program that had one of the best records in 5A football from 2010-2014.

Of course it all started with Coach (and that's what I will always call him out of respect) leaving for Cleveland and look at all of the success he has had down there. I'm surprised Cleveland hasn't let him go yet because I know they had grandeur plans then first round exits and losing annually to bitter rivals when they hired him. Coach Cummings should have stayed at West and continued the powerhouse he created and worked so hard to do, but he chose a different route. That being said he had a heckuva coaching staff, a couple of which coached me personally, still intact and ready to continue the tradition. The admins or booster club down there at West had other plans and decided to hire Jeff Harig out of Loudon. A lot of the kids and former players like myself were taken aback by the hire especially when he revealed that the offense would change from the veer and "be like Ohio State's offense". The current players were used to the veer and if someone on staff would have been hired it would have likely stayed in place and been successful as it had been in previous years. The only saving grace was that the defense would stay in place as is.

In two years with Harig - West went 13-9, won a Region Championship, went 1-1 in one playoff appearance including a loss to the current coach Lamar Brown while he was at Morristown West. That "Ohio St offense" for West also averaged 23.1 ppg in 2015 and an even more impressive 15.8 ppg in 2016. The defense gave up an average of 16.79 ppg in two years. The 2016 season also ended with a pathetic 5 game losing streak with West missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The season ended with West replacing Harig.

Again West had an opportunity to hire from within, but chose to go elsewhere and went with Lamar Brown out of Morristown West. When Brown was hired, it was another shock to the current and former players. Again the players asked what the offense would be like and this time they were told it would be like "Auburn's offense". This coaching change also led to more staff changes than the previous one did.

In two years with Brown - West is 11-12, went 1-2 in two playoff apearances as well as an outstanding 1-7 record against your main rivals (Bearden, Farragut, Fulton, and Hardin Valley). The vaunted "Auburn offense" for West also averaged 15.5 ppg in 2017 with some improvement to 21.1 ppg in 2018. The defense has given up an average of 16.8 ppg. Coach Brown still in great standing and not replaced like Harig?

The defense has never changed and was setup beautifully by Derek Rang/Kevin Lane where you just plug players into spots.  With defensive numbers like that under two different coaching staffs, its amazing the record is as good as it is. I know many opposing teams fans, coaches, and players as well as some from West even made fun of the Veer but the offense was rolling regardless of who was behind center or running the ball. I know that opposing coaches hated only having a few days to prepare for it since no one else ran it. It made West unique and extremely successful.

Whoever has made these decisions for West in regards to coaching hires should really look at themselves and ask if the program is in a good place? Well it isn't and it has become a joke. Those kids played their hearts out last Friday night against Catholic and for those Seniors they deserved better than the four years of mediocrity they got. They came to West right after a championship win with plenty of talent left over and could not find success because those in charge failed them. No one can tell me that if Coach had stayed or they hired from within to succeed him and kept everything as is they would be doing any worse than what they are now. Could care less which teams reclassified or the different teams now on the schedule, that previous staff was equipped to handle whomever they played and would have had more deep playoff runs and even another Championship (your welcome Farragut) instead of the sad state West is currently in. From Champs to Chumps thanks admins.

One of West problems was Coach Cummings. Hung on long enough to get lucky with some IB transfers and moving of Knoxville West Western school zone boundry in the old Bearden high school zone to where you now drive past Bearden high school to get to Knoxville West high school. Cummings always beat his chest how he stayed loyal to West high school and built it up himself. Then got lucky thanks to some financial/political power plays by school board. Cummings  hung on till he hit the lotto ,(really no one wanted the job because it was a dead job, dead school, poor academics and discipline, safety, etc.). Had to be proped up by Knox county school board thanks to Dr. Murphy, Karen Carson and the memory of Doc Simpson and his wife. West was in danger of closing down or being taken over by state/fed govt. because of the mess it was. People in Sequoyah Hills, Old Bearden, North shore drive, especially near Fort Loudon lake, and New Rocky Hill and even further west down North shore Dr.  formed a coalition. Sequoyah Hills and Old Bearden wanted an alternative to Webb and the other private schools so they could save money and go public. Did not have enough financial/political backing between them so they went down Northshore drive and even got West Hills and New Rocky Hill, part of BG, in on the deal.                                           Total political deal that save Knoxville West,  get more wealthy white people at West and infused better academic students to help discipline, safety, and culture.  IB program just a sales job. You can transfer in on IB status,but dont have to stay in IB or graduate with IB diploma but you  can stay at Knoxville West.                         Can you say Nathan Cottrell/SethMarshsl/Others/ ETC. Scott Cummings got lucky. Also made him some money and made him think or really believe he was a great coach. His bad results got him in over his head in Cleveland, which is a two horse town with higher expectations. Did Scott not know the legand of Benny Monroe, WING - T Cobb's, Whaley, Hickey, to many to mention, ETC. Did Scott not look at the carnage/carosel of coaches after Coach Monroe.   Plus the rebuilding/reemergence of  BC. Future candidates at Cleveland should do their homework, plan accordingly, check ego, past coaching luck at entrance of HCing entervies with Adm.                               I don't know if these last too coaches know how to use the gray areas (loopholes in transfer policy, work the system, what ever you want to call it in Knox county to get players in your school.  Maybe they thought they were good enough with what they had. Maybe downtown said you get 95% of BMS IB students, win with  them. No more players from Gibbs,  ETC. I don't know if Coach Cummings did either, but somebody did (maybe the had an undercover,(UIB),  person doing the recruiting) , maybe Jeff Francis running the baby Rebels. Has that run dry?                                        Knoxville West is no different than any other Knox county school. Get the financial/political/school board backing and you can win sports championship especially football, it's a money game arms race. West got what most people wanted. From SQU, Lyons View and Pike, all the way to Bluegrass, New Rocky Hill plus West Hills to make it look better. Like West Hills really wanted to go to Knoxville West? Get more students, sneak a few players in and you get you new West, better academics, better discipline, safer campus, state/feds/special interest groups/ etc off school board back, a new East Bearden high school, Dead End BBQ, Fresh Mart/Earth Fare, ACE HDW, some more bike shops, new yuppies, and a football championship. Wait was that supposed to be in the deal ?                                               West does have some players, but they made the mistake of realizing there are too many distractions/others things to do added when they got the rich whites from SQU, NRH, LV, LB, WH, plus gotta get that IB studying done.  Plus good looking rich girls added to West (New East Bearden to make football a priority. All you really have is another upper class school with too many distractions. Knoxville West should have stayed where they were, no pressure, maybe gone down to 4A (without all those new West Knoxville yuppies), in new allignment after everybody else went 5A, I MEAN GONE THE FARRAGut WAY/PLAN.    OLD WEST was special. UT Married student appts, Old Southerland, Marble City, WEST LONSDALE, JT, Cumderland EST, ETC.  You  could transfer out if you though you did not fit in, but if you stayed you had to be tough, real tough. Some of the toughest people to come out of OLD WEST. Now the are mostly just a bunch of rich white kids.             Now some new West High school people though that this new found football success woud continue forever. Not so fast. (Check comments on going down in class to win state championship, SO CALLED FARRAgut WAY/PLAN) . Once you have that success, everybody still expect the same result.                      Best thing for Knox county and the like is to get the new T$$AA anti transfer rule in place and everybody just play with who you got or take a redshirt year if you transfer. Not many players/ parents/coaches are that patient or willing to grow where you are planted. Go to the greener grass, instant gratification, l can't win with these players, mentality is rampant in society. There is no loyality. Plus the coaches can't understand that there is a better chance that you have players transfer to other schools compared to getting some studs transfer in to make you look like a better coach than you are.               Vote does not look good at HVA right now. Most coaches/AD/ADM dont know how it would benefit them to pass it because it would hurt/make OZ/Easy to transfer into/ SMALL tuition schools less likely to get multiple transfers and just get richer. Some coaches just are going to bet on getting a couple golden bullet transfers and then bolt to greener pastures.       OH l forgot we were talking about Coach Cummings and New West High. Cummings certainly not the first coach to do it. He probably won't be the last.

[TNsportsfan12]

17 hours ago, VolBall85 said:

As a former player who did you think deserved the job?

Kevin Lane.

[IrishBBall]

1 hour ago, TNsportsfan12 said:

Kevin Lane.

Kevin is good where he's at..... Thank you Rebels

[VolBall85]

1 hour ago, TNsportsfan12 said:

Kevin Lane.

We was always told he was not certified to teach and you cant be head coach in Knox County and not be a teacher. So is that not true?