I remember the first time I ever met Tim Daniels. It was in his first season as the head football coach of the Red Bank Lions; the first of back to back 2-8 seasons. Considering he had replaced coaching legend Tom Weathers, after that second season, I came to the conclusion he wouldn’t be there much longer. Boy was I wrong!  

He was a bit timid in that first interview I did with him in 2002. The one thing I recall vividly however, is that I had to look up when I asked him a question. I’m 6’-3” and very seldom ever have to look up at someone, unless it’s basketball season. When I began teaching at Red Bank High School in 2011, I was suddenly reminded that Tim Daniels is one of the biggest men I have ever been around. When he walked down the halls, he seemed to be accompanied by a huge shadow.  

This past Thursday afternoon at 1:50, an announcement was made on the PA system at the school; all football players report to the football locker room right away. Not much was thought about it, until word began to leak that Coach Daniels was resigning. After ten seasons as head coach, and a 77-44 record, Coach “D” was hanging it up. He had been a head coach for eighteen years total; ten at Red Bank and eight seasons prior at Loudon High School. Daniels said, “It was a great run and I have no regrets. I love Red Bank.” 

Perhaps the only thing he may have thought about regretting is the fact, he was unable to bring the school another state title. Coach Weathers had led the Lions to a perfect 15-0 season and the 5-A state crown in 2000. Even though Coach Daniels had come close with many trips to the TSSAA post season, he never made it to the championship game. There are several reasons why they never made it back. The main reason is lower enrollment. When the Lions won the 5-A title in 2000, they had almost 1400 students. Now they have less than 800, and even though Red Bank is now a class 3-A school, the competition is fierce.  

So what lies ahead for Tim Daniels? He plans to stay at Red Bank for the time being and teach, and with that assignment, he also plans to assist his replacement as head coach. I can’t imagine Tim Daniels just teaching and “helping” the football program for too long. He is a solid coach and a great leader of young men. What I haven’t mentioned however, is that Tim Daniels is a cancer survivor. As a young man, he was diagnosed but after a long and determined battle, he won the fight. After fighting and beating the big “C”, those back to back 2-8 seasons weren’t that tough. Take away that 4-16 record while the players were still buying into his system, his record at Red Bank is an amazing 73-28.  

I look for Tim Daniels to return somewhere as a head coach again in a few years. He’s just too good. In the meantime, he will stay at Red Bank and also do what he has done very well for the past decade; teach. I hope he plans to take it easy for a while, spend time with his family, and reflect on what he wants to do with the rest of his life. If he never coaches again, that’s okay too. As a teacher he does a lot of good. That big shadow he casts in the halls at Red Bank High School, covers a lot of young people.

Contact Randy Smith at rsmithsports@comcast.net

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Randy Smith has been covering sports in Tennessee for the last 42 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has continued his broadcasting career as a free-lance play-by-play announcer, author and is also a media concepts teacher at Red Bank High School in Chattanooga. He is currently teaching an "Intro To Sportscasting" class at Red Bank, the only class of its type in Tennessee.

Randy Smith's career has included a 17-year stint as scoreboard host and pre-game talk show host on the widely regarded "Vol Network". He has also done play by play of more than 500 college football, basketball, baseball and softball games on ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports, CSS and Tennessee Pay Per View telecasts. He was selected as "Tennessee's Best Sports Talk Show Host" in 1998 by the Associated Press. He has won other major awards including, "Best Sports Story" in Tennessee and his "Friday Night Football" shows on WRCB-TV twice won "Best Sports Talk Show In Tennessee" awards. He has also been the host of "Inside Lee University Basketball" on CSS for the past 10 years.

Randy and his wife, Shelia, reside in Hixson. They have two married children (Christi and Chris Perry Davey and Alison Smith). They also have one grandchild (Coleman).