Signal Mountain principal Robin Copp and assistant principal and athletic director Bumper Reese sifted through 88 applicants for the school's football head-coaching position.
They pared the list, continually referring to their own prerequisites.
"We were looking for a proven track record, a man of character that would develop character in our student-athletes and one that would continue the tradition of work ethic to ensure a (grades) 6-12 football program," Copp said Saturday afternoon. "We wanted a man that would be 100 percent committed to the football players and our school and one that intends to make a commitment to Signal Mountain. We wanted a strong leader who fosters relationships with students."
The man they felt best filled the bill was Ty Wise, most recently head coach at Graceville (Fla.) High School and a former All-American at the University of Miami.
"To a person, everyone I talked with about Ty from his high school football coach to his former administrator had nothing but glowing comments," Copp said, "not only his football knowledge but his character and how he develops the athletes as young men."
Wise played on two Big East championship teams and helped lay the groundwork for Miami's national championship run in 2001. He spent better than four seasons in pro football. He has coached on the college level at Florida International.
Wise interviewed twice by telephone and was then invited for an in-person interview that wound up lasting close to five hours.
New Signal Mountain football coach Ty Wise"I learned about the position and immediately was interested. I began researching the program and what Coach (Bill) Price was able to establish," Wise said. "Then I started researching the academic side, overall life in the area and what the population was like."
He brought his wife and four children (ages 5-12) when he came for the interview, "and when we arrived on the mountain we just fell in love," he said.
Wise accepted immediately once the job offer was proffered, and Saturday afternoon he met with several members of the football team.
They got a quick lesson on his philosophies.
"We're going to create a foundation in which our players are going to function, and the key characteristics are honesty and respect. You can't establish much unless those two things are in place," he said. "I want the players to respect the coaches, the coaches to respect the players and the coaches to respect each other. And then simply trust -- completely, 100 percent, based on honesty and integrity."
While he might be an offensive-minded guy, having used run-based offensive sets as well as spread offenses, Wise obviously values defense.
"Everywhere I've been we've been able to run the football. We have been able to build the offensive line and control the line of scrimmage, and a lot of that revolves around practice habits and what we do in the offseason," he said. "We'll build our defense with the best athletes."
He said, however, that the Eagles will do whatever gives the team the best chance to succeed.
"We'll build our defense with the best athletes, but special teams (play) will be a big part of our program. I believe a lot of games are won and lost there," the coach said.
And there also will be emphasis on the lessons that can be learned in football.
"A lot of life's lessons go on between August and December every year, and I try to pride myself on players that graduate from my program with thoughts that they're going to be better husbands and fathers," he said.
That includes teamwork, but teamwork is only a start.
"You learn to be self-motivated, how to be coached. You understand that you have to learn in life," Wise said. "You push them to a limit that they're not comfortable with, but that's the way it is in life. I believe that every player that plays for me has a foundation that will help him transition from high school to adult life."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.