On Tuesday morning of this week, I had breakfast with Boyd Buchanan head football coach Gary Rankin and my broadcast partner Chris Barnett. As you know, the high school football season begins this week and we were picking Coach Rankin's brain one final time before his Buccaneers take on Greenback on Friday night. (The pre-game show begins at 6:30 with kickoff at 7:00 on WFLI am 1070 and fm 96.1). About half way through our breakfast meeting, I looked over and saw McCallie head coach Ralph Potter having breakfast as well.
Wow....right at 700 career wins and 21 state championships between the two coaching legends. That encounter made me think of all the great coaches I have come to know in my 54 years as a sportscaster and sports journalist.
When I came to Chattanooga in 1975, I met and had great relationships with Red Etter at Baylor, Pete Potter at McCallie, Cary Henley at Brainerd, then Tyner, Tom Weathers at Red Bank, Bobby Davis at City High, Benny Monroe at Cleveland and Robert Akins at Boyd Buchanan. I could go on and on mentioning all the area's head coaches but rather than bore you with names, I'll talk about some of those relationships.
I was a huge Red Etter fan. I had heard about him before I ever came to town and I found him to be the most intelligent and well-prepared coach of them all. He was like a computer....spitting out football knowledge far and above anything I could comprehend. When I called the 1978 AAA State Championship Game between Gallatin and Red Bank, I needed a color analyst and I asked Coach Etter. He agreed, did a wonderful job and we had a great time together.
Cary Henley and I got along great as well. When I would interview him we would spend a long time talking about football. We were on a first name basis and when I needed a color analyst for a UTC-Marshall football game in 1983, I chose the former Moc for the job and I made a great decision.
Tom Weathers was also a really good friend of mine. From his tenure at Red Bank to his stints at Soddy-Daisy and Dade County, he was always one of my very favorites. He was a bit laid back but when he got his dander up he was tough to handle. He always gave me a great interview and while he never said a whole lot, what he said was golden.
Pete Potter was one of the truly great gentlemen in the coaching profession. He was always prompt and strictly to the point. He had a chance to coach his son Ralph who would go on to play at UTC. He would be very proud of his son and his list of State Championships at the school where they both coached.
Robert Akins did more for Boyd Buchanan that any coach ever did at any other school. Of course I'm partial to him because my son played for him but he took over a program that barely had a football team and began to win big right away. He won the 2003 Class A state title and finished second on two other occasions. The great facilities you see now at Boyd Buchanan are a direct result of Coach Akins' eleven years there.
Even before I ever came to Chattanooga, I got to know Ray Hughes in Murfreesboro. He was head coach at Oakland High School when there were only two high schools in Rutherford County. The rivalry between Oakland and Riverdale was one of the most intense rivalries ever in Middle Tennessee and Coach Hughes was always right in the middle of it. After I left Murfreesboro, Coach Hughes kept up with my career and I kept up with his. It was always good to see him when I went back to visit.
I could literally write a book about all the great high school coaches I got to know. But then I would need to write one about the college coaches, and basketball coaches as well. The relationships I had with all those folks was wonderful and believe me when I say this....they all did a lot more for me than I ever did for them!