Why Geoff Courtney doesn’t feel pressure replacing father as Farragut football coach

Geoff Courtney doesn’t believe there will be pressure as the new Farragut football coach. 

It doesn’t matter that he is replacing a coach who has been with Farragut for over 40 years and led the Admirals to a state championship. It also doesn’t matter that the coach is Eddie Courtney, his father.

Geoff Courtney, more than anything, is ready to take on his first head coaching job.

“This is something I’ve looked to as a dream and a goal for a long time,” Geoff Courtney told Knox News after the school made the announcement March 22. “I feel like I’ve been prepared in this situation as I've grown and matured in this profession, that I've had opportunities … (to) learn from guys that I've worked alongside with … and from other coaches that are in this profession that I have a great amount of respect for.”

Geoff Courtney served as an assistant for 15 years and offensive coordinator for seven years. He was recognized as the 2022 Assistant Coach of the Year for Class 6A from the Tennessee Football Coaches Association. 

He also played for Farragut, graduating in 2006, and was a walk-on wide receiver at Tennessee from 2006-09. 

Eddie Courtney retired March 6 after leading the Admirals for 28 years and serving as an assistant from 1977-95. Farragut is the only school he’s coached, retiring with 204 career victories — fifth among active coaches in the state — and 28 playoff wins and has been named region coach of the year four times. 

The former coach was inducted into the Tennessee Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame 2020 class. He has coached over 200 college signees, 47 all-state players, six Mr. Football finalists and six NFL players.

Geoff Courtney described replacing his father as a “special, unique opportunity.”

“He’s been a great mentor for me and a lot of other coaches in this business,” Courtney said. ”I've been very, extremely blessed to have a firsthand kind of side-by-side relationship with him and getting to, you know, have one of the best people in this business to be your mentor.”

He said that the prominent piece of advice from his father has been to remain authentic. Being himself means doing some things differently than his father.

“We share a lot of the same principles, but I've got some things that I like to get done myself as far as, you know, fresh ideas and bringing us into the next, I won't say 40 years, but into the future,” Courtney said. 

One of the fresher ideas involves the players being more “visible and vocal” off the field as members of the Farragut community.

On the field, new ideas will involve how the program approaches player development and other areas that can help the Admirals consistently compete for region and state championships, he added. 

EDDIE COURTNEY RETIRES:'I've been blessed': Farragut football coach Eddie Courtney retiring after 28 seasons

Farragut finished with a 4-6 record last season and missed the postseason for the first time since 2014. Courtney said he told players before being introduced that a number of them will have “first-time opportunities” and that it's an exciting time. 

The expectation he set for the team next season was to bring out the best from the young roster. 

“We're still going to continue to be a very exciting brand of football on offense and defense,” Courtney said. “Defensively, we're going to pressure and get after people and play a physical fast style of play. Offensively, we're gonna go out there and put an emphasis on execution and playing at an extremely high level as we've done for many years in the past.”

Toyloy Brown III is a Knox News sports reporter. Email toyloy.brown@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter, @TJ3rd_.