Change has come to Grundy County, and it's much more significant than simply naming a new coach.
The school announced Friday morning the hiring of former Tennessee linebacker Tracy Hayworth as its head football coach. Hayworth, who played at nearby Franklin County High and was drafted by the Detroit Lions, is the first black coach in any sport in Grundy County school history.
"This is a historical hire. It's a very positive thing for our school, our program and our kids," said Leon Woodlee, who is entering his first year as the school's athletic director. "I've already had several parents call me and say this is the best thing that's happened on the mountain in a long time. I had three daddies come up to me this morning to shake my hand and thank me for making this hire, because we're changing the culture up here."
Hayworth, who played at UT from 1986 to 1989 and has coached almost exclusively on the collegiate level, replaces Scott Smith, who was fired this week after less than six months on the job.
After a six-year NFL career and three seaspms in the Arena Football League, Hayworth was an assistant for six seasons at Sewanee and spent eight years on the staff at Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Missouri.
He was a volunteer assistant at Franklin County in 2012.
"I saw this as a great opportunity in many ways," Hayworth said. "I knew the program had some issues with past regimes and they needed a good, strong, solid leader. I feel like I'm that guy. I don't think the kids care what color the leader is - they just want to be led.
"I grew up in the area, so I knew what the reputation was here. But this is not the only place where there's racism, so I've dealt with that before. Just the fact that the administration reached out to offer me the job says a lot about the change they're trying to make here. I see it as a responsibility to help change the culture. I'm representing all people of color and trying to change some of the stereotypes that folks who haven't been exposed to diversity might have.
"At the end of the day, I know I was hired to win football games here, and that's what we've got to get to work to do."
Hayworth is the eighth football head coach at Grundy County since 2000. The Yellow Jackets went 3-7 last season and have not finished with a winning record since 2011.
Smith was hired in February but fired on Wednesday by Woodlee.
"I went to Coach Smith about several concerns I had," Woodlee said. "Our field house and the field were both not being taken care of properly, I wanted him to make some changes on his staff for the good of the team and I told him we were going to get South Pittsburg, Marion County and Whitwell back on our schedule.
"He said, 'Over my dead body.' He refused to schedule those three teams, but we need them on our schedule because they're longtime rivals and bring a lot of fans. He wasn't going to make any of those changes, so I knew we needed to part ways and make a change.
"Coach Hayworth was the first man I spoke to about the job. While we were talking we discussed the race issue because it needed to be talked about. I know how people think about our community here, but I told him that I've got a black grandson and I live on that mountain and haven't heard anything said about it.
"All we've had was negative things coming out of this school for too long. I believe this will be something that will really change things here for the good."
The Yellow Jackets will open the season on Aug. 17 at home against East Hickman.
"We don't have much time to make a lot of changes and get prepared," said Hayworth, who also will serve as the defensive coordinator. "I'll be watching a lot of film over the next few days to see what the kids can do and then be paying close attention at practice trying to get us ready. I don't want to overload the kids with a lot of change, because they've already been through a lot.
"Besides preparing them on the field, I will also be paying close attention to our academics. From my time coaching and recruiting in college, I noticed that too often kids hadn't been prepared academically for that level. Whether our players are getting recruited or not, I will develop them into good young men to be professionals at whatever they do in life."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.