Ooltewah High School football coach Scott Chandler has resigned after three seasons. Chandler was promoted from defensive assistant prior to the 2018 season and compiled an overall record of 16-16 as head coach.
"Words cannot express the love and appreciation I have for the players who came through our program," Chandler said. "Their success on the football field may not be what they hoped for or that society sees as success, but years from now when they become leaders of our communities, husbands, fathers and real men, that is a far greater success than winning games.
"I would also like to thank my coaches, who believed in our vision and worked tirelessly to achieve success. I have never been around a finer group of men. Ooltewah football will always be very special to me. I wish continued success to the program as it starts a new beginning."
Chandler is a 1981 graduate of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School and later graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He worked as a graduate assistant at Kansas State when Bob Stoops was defensive coordinator for the Jayhawks, and Chandler has also been a college assistant at Valdosta State and Emporia State and a high school assistant at Rhea County, Trion and Gordon Central, where he also coached boys' basketball.
Chandler's only previous head coaching experience in football was three seasons at Georgia's Coosa, where he compiled a 20-15 overall record and two trips to the postseason, which ended a 15-year playoff drought before his hiring.
Ooltewah finished 4-6 last season, missing the playoffs for a second straight year. In Chandler's first season as head coach, he helped the Owls to a 9-3 finish and the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Along with Tyner, Ooltewah's opening gives the Chattanooga area two programs currently looking for a new head coach.
"We're very appreciative of everything that Coach Chandler did in leading the team and coaching staff and wish him well in all of his future endeavors," Ooltewah principal Angela Cass said. "We have begun the process of advertising the head coaching position and want to move as quickly as possible. We definitely want to make sure we get the right candidate, but we also understand that spring practice is coming up, so we want to make sure we have someone in place as soon as possible."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293 and follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.