Brandon Derrick turned in his resignation Thursday at McMinn Central High School.
The Chargers’ football coach for the past three seasons, Derrick is to be introduced as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Glynn Academy on St. Simon’s Island in Georgia.
“Coaching at McMinn Central has been a great experience,” Derrick said. “I have worked relentlessly — building something, cleaning something or working on something — for three years to try to assure that these kids have what top-notch programs have.”
The former Chargers quarterback had a 3-7 record his first year, then put together consecutive 9-2 seasons, including the Region 3-3A championship in 2007.
He said the move is for both personal and professional reasons.
“The principal here (Roger Freeman) was understanding,” Derrick said. “There is some uncertainly here job-wise for my wife, and she is guaranteed a job where we’re going. Too, I have a chance to step back and spend more time with my family. That was a big factor in the decision. My daughters are 11 and 8, and I have missed time in their lives.”
The Glynn head coach is Knoxville native Rob Ridings.
“He was on the coaching staff at LaGrange (Ga.) when they won that national championship,” Derrick said, “and he has several state championship rings, so this will be an opportunity for me to learn. It would be like Gary Rankin (former Riverdale coach now at Alcoa) calling and asking me to be on his staff.”
Derrick said he thought when he took the job three years ago that he might be at McMinn Central the rest of his coaching career.
“There were a lot of people who thought I was coming home for good. I did too when I first came back,” he said, “but sometimes opportunities present themselves that you can’t turn down.”
He leaves, though, feeling good about his accomplishments and McMinn Central’s future.
“I’m not a cycle guy, somebody who believes things run in cycles. If you build from within, you can be successful,” he said. “It’s like Derrick Davis over at Polk County. They might not win a championship every year, but they’re always winning. I feel like I put a foundation that will be here for the next guy.”
Ward Gossett is an assistant sports editor and writer for the Times Free Press. Ward has a long history in Chattanooga journalism. He actually wrote a bylined story for the Chattanooga News-Free Press as a third-grader. He Began working part-time there in 1968 and was hired full time in 1970. Ward now covers high school athletics, primarily football, wrestling and baseball and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling. Over a 40-year career, he has covered ...
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