Oakland lands Ashton Jones from DCA..

[BoardHater71]

11 minutes ago, BarneySox2007 said:

I always have my backup plan and that is Oak Ridge. When Rang gets that rolling that will be the new Head Honcho in East Tennessee.

 

 

 

 

Scott Blade 2.0

[MidTennFootball]

9 minutes ago, howdoitknow said:

Scott Blade 2.0

Better comparison would be Scott Smith or Scott Meadows, who averaged changing jobs every 3 years, Blade only had 3 in 16 years. If OR had been completely on board, maybe stays much longer

[BCsportsfan]

14 minutes ago, BarneySox2007 said:

I always have my backup plan and that is Oak Ridge. When Rang gets that rolling that will be the new Head Honcho in East Tennessee.

 

 

 

 

Yea. he did real good against Alcoa while at GP...........Yawn.

[MidTennFootball]

21 minutes ago, BCsportsfan said:

Yea. he did real good against Alcoa while at GP...........Yawn.

Alcoa is a 6A elite program with a 3A enrollment, just about every other coach would get mercy ruled coaching at G-P v. Alcoa

[SweetScience]

6 hours ago, MidTennFootball said:

Better comparison would be Scott Smith or Scott Meadows, who averaged changing jobs every 3 years, Blade only had 3 in 16 years. If OR had been completely on board, maybe stays much longer

Wouldn’t have mattered if they were on board or not, he left to be closer to his parents to help care for them, from my understanding.

[SweetScience]

6 hours ago, BCsportsfan said:

Yea. he did real good against Alcoa while at GP...........Yawn.

Nick Saban would’ve been mercy ruled too. Not really a surprise.

[BarneySox2007]

He got the best anyone is going to get out of the kids at GP. Before Benny Hammonds got there GP was so terrible they would have the states power ratings in the paper on Wednesday and they would always be in the bottom 3 if not last among 325 schools. GP is actually a very good 2A school playing in 3A because the area has brought in so many outsiders that don't contribute diddly squat to the football program. Those outsiders love their soccer and that's why the place has all those soccer fields. When all your kids grow up on land that's wooded going straight up a hillside not many kids are going to be able to play neighborhood football. I was surprised Derek took that job back then knowing the limits which he reached. Athletes are in short supply and you have to work with what you have. He won't have that problem at Oak Ridge. If they stay in 5A he'll do very well at OR.

[Swipes]

1 hour ago, BarneySox2007 said:

He got the best anyone is going to get out of the kids at GP. Before Benny Hammonds got there GP was so terrible they would have the states power ratings in the paper on Wednesday and they would always be in the bottom 3 if not last among 325 schools. GP is actually a very good 2A school playing in 3A because the area has brought in so many outsiders that don't contribute diddly squat to the football program. Those outsiders love their soccer and that's why the place has all those soccer fields. When all your kids grow up on land that's wooded going straight up a hillside not many kids are going to be able to play neighborhood football. I was surprised Derek took that job back then knowing the limits which he reached. Athletes are in short supply and you have to work with what you have. He won't have that problem at Oak Ridge. If they stay in 5A he'll do very well at OR.

Dang How old are you Barney?  Benny was there for 45 years starting in 1972.  I hate to tell you they don't classify you by how many kids come out for the football team so GP is a Very Good 3a team but couldn't get over the Alcoa Hump.  Derek came in and it wasn't like GP didn't have athletes on the team then or when he left ( He would have had Orr (4 d1 offers), Whaley (5 d1 offers), Starting QB back, Leading tackler, leading INT, etc if he had stayed)

[BCsportsfan]

1 hour ago, BarneySox2007 said:

He got the best anyone is going to get out of the kids at GP. Before Benny Hammonds got there GP was so terrible they would have the states power ratings in the paper on Wednesday and they would always be in the bottom 3 if not last among 325 schools. GP is actually a very good 2A school playing in 3A because the area has brought in so many outsiders that don't contribute diddly squat to the football program. Those outsiders love their soccer and that's why the place has all those soccer fields. When all your kids grow up on land that's wooded going straight up a hillside not many kids are going to be able to play neighborhood football. I was surprised Derek took that job back then knowing the limits which he reached. Athletes are in short supply and you have to work with what you have. He won't have that problem at Oak Ridge. If they stay in 5A he'll do very well at OR.

Head Honcho in East TN?

I'll take Coach Lamar Brown and Knox West FTW.......even in 5A..............

[BCsportsfan]

Just now, Swipes said:

Dang How old are you Barney?  Benny was there for 45 years starting in 1972.  I hate to tell you they don't classify you by how many kids come out for the football team so GP is a Very Good 3a team but couldn't get over the Alcoa Hump.  Derek came in and it wasn't like GP didn't have athletes on the team then or when he left ( He would have had Orr (4 d1 offers), Whaley (5 d1 offers), Starting QB back, Leading tackler, leading INT, etc if he had stayed)

My thought also. Orr is/was a STUD! Hammonds and Whaley also.

[HTV]

1 hour ago, BarneySox2007 said:

He got the best anyone is going to get out of the kids at GP. Before Benny Hammonds got there GP was so terrible they would have the states power ratings in the paper on Wednesday and they would always be in the bottom 3 if not last among 325 schools. GP is actually a very good 2A school playing in 3A because the area has brought in so many outsiders that don't contribute diddly squat to the football program. Those outsiders love their soccer and that's why the place has all those soccer fields. When all your kids grow up on land that's wooded going straight up a hillside not many kids are going to be able to play neighborhood football. I was surprised Derek took that job back then knowing the limits which he reached. Athletes are in short supply and you have to work with what you have. He won't have that problem at Oak Ridge. If they stay in 5A he'll do very well at OR.

Following a lifer like Hammonds was one of the issues that had to be overcome in that job.  Lots of pushback and the phrase "but Benny didn't do it that was" was uttered many times.  

Given that he followed a coach who had been there for 45 years and was still around, I believe that Derek did a really good job in that program.  

Like the saying goes, it's better to be the man who follows the man who followed the original man, than to be the guy following a long time entrenched man.  

 

[Swipes]

9 minutes ago, HTV said:

Following a lifer like Hammonds was one of the issues that had to be overcome in that job.  Lots of pushback and the phrase "but Benny didn't do it that was" was uttered many times.  

Given that he followed a coach who had been there for 45 years and was still around, I believe that Derek did a really good job in that program.  

Like the saying goes, it's better to be the man who follows the man who followed the original man, than to be the guy following a long time entrenched man.  

 

I can totally see that and actually very surprised that GP hired an outsider instead of Promoting within (I know Dan Hammonds had applied after being an assistant for one year at GP after coming over from Greeneville as the DC). I don't know if they had promised him the HC job when he made that move but he went back to Greeneville when he wasn't hired and became their head coach in 2019.