McCallie football's Ralph Potter resigns six days after winning state championship

Longtime Tennessee high school football coach Ralph Potter has stepped down as head coach at Chattanooga's McCallie School Wednesday, according to a release on the school's athletic account on the X platform.

Potter guided McCallie to four of the past five Division II-AAA state championships. He went 54-9 during that stretch will stay on with the Blue Tornado as defensive coordinator under new head coach Joel Bradford, who was previously the team's offensive coordinator.

McCallie captured this season's BlueCross Bowl, defeating Chattanooga rival Baylor 34-28. Potter won five state titles overall at the school, including 2001. The Blue Tornado were runner-up in 2006.

“Every year that I’ve coached, I’ve considered whether I’m able to make the sacrifices necessary to continue as the leader of our program. Last spring, I decided that the time had come for me to step aside,” Potter said in the release.

Potter, a 1981 McCallie graduate, had two coaching stints at the school (1997-2006, 2012-2023), while coaching at Brentwood Academy from 2007-11 and going 47-17.

He was 181-77 at McCallie, the winningest coach in school history. His father, the late Pete Potter, won 155 games with the Blue Tornado between 1973-93.

Bradford, a 2007 McCallie graduate, was an all-state wide receiver on the 2006 runner-up team before going on to star at Chattanooga. The offensive coordinator since 2019, Bradford's offenses at McCallie have averaged 36 points a game.

“I am excited and humbled to serve as McCallie’s next head football coach,” Bradford said in the release. “McCallie has had a great impact on my life and has been a special place for my family. I am looking forward to building on the success of Coach Potter’s leadership, and I am grateful that he will remain as the defensive coordinator.”