Boyd Buchanan coach Grant Reynolds signals during the game against Tyner Friday, November 13, 2015 at Boyd Buchanan.
Jul 9, 2013
Head coach Grant Reynolds oversees drills at Boyd-Buchanan High School football practice on Monday in Chattanooga, Tenn. Grant Reynolds has already helped build one program into a perennial title contender.
Now he'll try to maintain the demanding expectations of another high school football powerhouse.
After 20 years at Boyd-Buchanan - the past 10 as head coach and the decade before that as a defensive assistant - Reynolds resigned Wednesday morning to accept an offer to take over at Huntsville's Madison Academy, one of Alabama's premier programs.
"It's been a tough decision for sure," Reynolds said. "We prayed about it a lot and thought about it a good bit, because it's tough to leave a place that's been so good to me and my family for such a long time. But this is a chance to really take care of my family, and that's what it's all about."
Reynolds, 46, is one of the most respected coaches in the Chattanooga area, having averaged nearly nine wins per season during his tenure. The Bucs reached the playoffs every year with him as head coach, and he helped the program reach at least the state quarterfinals in six of the past eight postseasons, including a Class 2A runner-up finish in 2009.
Madison Academy compiled an 87-12 record over the past seven seasons, including 25-4 in the playoffs and 50-1 against region compeition. The Mustangs won three consecutive Class 3A state championships from 2012 to 2014 and also finished runners-up the year before their run of state titles. Last season they finished 11-2, losing to the eventual state champion in the quarterfinals.
Madison Academy is set to move up to 4A next season and compete in the same region with perennial area power North Jackson. The Mustangs have six returning players who are considered college prospects, including four-star recruit Austin Troxell, an offensive tackle who will likely choose between Alabama and Auburn, though he also has offers from Arkansas, Florida and Florida State.
"It means a lot that a program like that would reach out to me and want me to come and have confidence in me to do the job," Reynolds said. "It also says a lot about the job we've done here. The kids and the coaches I've worked with are the reason I have this opportunity.
"What really intrigued me was the chance to be at a quality school that puts great emphasis on the academics and spiritual aspect as well as athletics."
Reynolds originally came to Chattanooga from Louisiana to be closer to his wife's family. He had planned to work in business, but he altered that plan when he saw a newspaper article announcing fellow Harding University graduate Robert Akins was the new football coach at Boyd-Buchanan. In what proved to be one of the best coaching decisions of his successful career, Akins offered Reynolds a job to teach Bible and become the Bucs' defensive coordinator; in their first season together they guided a program that had never reached the playoffs to the district championship and an 11-1 finish.
"We had a lot of interest in the job, but the thing that stood out about Grant is, besides obviously being a very celebrated coach as far as success in the game, is his integrity and his character as a leader and a Christian man," Madison Academy principal Terry Davis said. "As far as on the field, he has the experience of not only getting to the playoffs but has been a perennial player at that level, and that speaks volumes."
With Reynolds as defensive coordinator, Boyd-Buchanan reached the state championship game three consecutive years from 2002 to 2004, winning it in 2003. The Bucs have been among the area's most successful programs in the 20 years Reynolds has been on the staff, including last season, when they were the state's No. 1-ranked team in 2A for seven straight weeks and finished the regular season unbeaten. The Bucs won 10 or more games five times under Reynolds.
"I don't know of anybody that we play on a yearly basis that we have more respect for than Boyd-Buchanan, and that's a product of Grant," said South Pittsburg coach Vic Grider, whose program has split the past 10 meetings with Reynolds' Bucs. "They're always well prepared and fundamentally sound, and his kids play extremely hard. He does all the things that good head coaches do and he does it in a classy way, and that's a pretty rare combination in our profession these days."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.