Boyd-Buchanan names Kevin Rodriguez interim football coach

Kevin Orr Rodriguez has been named interim football coach at Boyd-Buchanan.
Kevin Orr Rodriguez has been named interim football coach at Boyd-Buchanan.

Boyd-Buchanan has named Kevin Orr Rodriguez its interim head football coach for this season. Rodriguez will take over for Carter Cardwell, who resigned early this week.

"We are truly excited to have Kevin join our athletics program this season to lead and mentor our football team," new Buccaneers athletic director Tommy Brown said. "Kevin will bring passion and energy into our program and has a real heart for the students.

"Change can understandably be a transitional process. At Boyd-Buchanan, we have winning seasons in our history books, and we strive to create that atmosphere across all of our athletics."

Rodriguez has 22 years of high school coaching experience, including four as head coach at Soddy-Daisy from 2009 to 2012. He compiled an 18-24 overall record with the Trojans that included a 7-5 season in 2010 when they reached the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Rodriguez, who also worked as an assistant at Red Bank for two seasons, had not coached football for two years but was an assistant basketball coach at Hixson last school year.

When Brown began the search for an interim coach, he reached out to longtime friend Kevin Templeton, who has coached basketball at Tennessee Temple and Soddy-Daisy and who recommended Rodriguez.

"Coach Templeton and I have known each other for a while, and he's been a great mentor and friend, and he knew I was ready to get back into coaching football," said Rodriguez, who as an assistant at Auburndale (Florida) Senior High helped that program reach the state playoffs six times, including the semifinals in 1998.

"I've missed it and feel blessed they chose me to come to Boyd-Buchanan," Rodriguez added. "Everything happened really fast, but I'm excited about the challenge. Football is about relationships, and I'm looking forward to that aspect. I'll tweak a few things, but the players are what's important, so we'll keep most everything the way they were, since that's what our players are used to."

Contact Stephen Hargis at 423-757-6293 or shargis@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.

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