(Story has been updated)
Ed Clendenen, former boys’ assistant and head girls’ basketball coach at McMinn County in Athens, Tenn., has been named the head Cherokees coach, succeeding Keith Elliott, Chattanoogan.com has learned.
While coaching the Lady Cherokees, Clendenen posted a 55-12 record from 1999-2000 after spending two years as an assistant for girls coach David Tucker.
Clendenen has been a teacher and assistant boys coach at North Murray High School in Chatsworth, Ga., for the 2014-15 school year.
“I was content here and worked with some great people,” Clendenen said.
“I wouldn’t have left here for any other job except McMinn County. Athens is home and the opportunity to be closer to family and coach at McMinn County was too good to pass up.”
The 55-year-old Clendenen has won more than 400 games in his career and hopes to turn the Cherokees’ program around after three sub-par seasons produced a combined 21-59 record.
Elliott was forced to resign following the 2014-15 season. The Cherokees finished 9-22 and lost to Soddy-Daisy, 59-56, in the District 5-AAA tournament.
Clendenen interview for the job with principal John Burroughs and athletic director Jimmy Haynie two weeks ago. Those two school officials offered the job to Clendenen via a telephone conversation and he accepted about 90 minutes later after conferring with his wife on a few “minor things.”
“They didn’t have to sell me too much on the job,” Clendenen said. “I coached there four years before, two as an assistant and two as the head girls’ coach. It’s a special place and I thought it was time to be around family.
“But this job hadn’t been open for like 20-something years, so I wasn’t really expected this.”
Clendenen said he noticed the job posting and “made some calls.” He also had friends contact the school in his behalf and they were “very encouraging and supportive of me” in me pursuing the job.
A native of Athens, Clendenen attended Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater and later earned degrees from Tennessee Tech University, Tusculum College and Lincoln Memorial University.
His first coaching job was at the old Chattanooga Valley High School in North Georgia and then became the head girls’ coach at Gordon Lee in Chickamauga, Ga.
Following the death of his mother, Clendenen moved back to Athens and assumed the head girls basketball job at Sweetwater High School. A year later, he became a coach at McMinn County.
Following that four-year stint, Clendenen returned to Gordon Lee and stayed there 15 years and coached boys’ basketball, boys and girls golf and volleyball. He won state golf titles in 1998-99.
He left Gordon Lee for North Murray prior to the current school year and served as head coach Tim Ellis’ assistant with the boys basketball program.
Ironically, Clendenen was succeeded as Gordon Lee’s boys basketball coach by Alex Disbrow, who formerly coached at Hixson.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)