View the rest of our Best of Preps preseason coverage here
It was an offseason of notable change for the Chattanooga area’s high school football programs.
Nine of the area’s Tennessee schools have new head coaches, including Boyd Buchanan bringing in Gary Rankin – the state’s legendary leader in career wins and state championships – and Baylor hiring Erik Kimrey, who won 12 state titles in 17 seasons at South Carolina’s Hammond School.
Ted Gatewood, who built consistent playoff contenders at Ooltewah and East Hamilton, has taken over at Red Bank – his alma mater – and Phil Massey, who guided Baylor to consecutive state championship game appearances, is now in charge at Chattanooga Christian.
And in a late move that wasn’t completed until the last week of June, Derrick Davis was brought back to take over at Polk County, where he previously built one of the area’s most consistent programs.