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Weekly 150: Coach Randy Thomas

The Model for Coaches

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When I decided to go into education as a career, there were many teachers and coaches at McKenzie I modeled myself after. In pedagogy courses, you regularly hear the quote from William Arthur Ward, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
In my mind’s eye, when looking at that quote, the terms teacher and coach are interchangeable. If you look at McKenzie High School football over the last 40 years, there has been one fairly consistent face on the sidelines, Randy Thomas. He stands out as a superior and great teacher/coach. The 2020 football season marked his swan song in athletics, and at the end of the 2020-2021 school season, he will officially retire from education.
Beginning in the fall of 1979, Randy Thomas played an integral part in the McKenzie School System. His first assignment was as assistant football coach at the junior high, teaching Tennessee History and World Geography.
“I helped with the high school team as much as I possibly could. In the fall, I’d go out the first week or so with the high school and work with them until our junior high started.” For six years, Coach Thomas molded his craft at the old two-story building before moving up to the high school level.
In 1985, Thomas joined Coach Richard Chappell’s staff. Three short years later, he was no longer the assistant. Coach Thomas was at the helm of Rebel Football. As the steward for the program, Thomas led his teams to key victories with bowl appearances and playoff berths.
From 1988-1996, Coach Thomas compiled 45 wins, making him the winningest coach at the time. His record was later broken by a former assistant, Wade Comer, whom he hired in his last year as head coach.
Thomas’s coaching career took a brief two-year hiatus. He returned to coaching as an assistant softball coach helping the late Lori Pearson. After Bill Koen’s retirement in 1999, Wade Comer was named football head coach. Thomas was asked to rejoin the staff helping with the offensive line.

“I had hired Coach Comer as my assistant his first year. He came back to me and wanted me to come in and help him coach. All he wanted me to do was coach the offensive line. Of course, I was a little apprehensive about it at the time because I was concerned some people might think I wanted to take the limelight away from him and his accomplishments. I still had a desire to coach but being head coach was never too overly important to me.”
Being around the kids has kept him in the game. Thomas enjoyed coming to school every day and seeing the students. Having a positive impact on students and players is the most important part of his career.
“Probably the things that stick out in your mind more than anything are the mistakes you make as coaches more so than the accomplishments. As a coach, having the opportunity with McKenzie to play for the state championship was a great joy.”
With a lifetime of achievements on and off the field, Coach Thomas was awarded one of the greatest honors a coach can receive. On August 5, 2016, the hallowed ground known as Rebel Field underwent a name change. The Friday evening pre-season event was scheduled as an event for fans to meet the year’s current team.
As coaches and school board members gathered at centerfield, the longtime coach and beloved mentor, Randy Thomas was recognized for his dedication to McKenzie athletics as the football field was named in his honor.
The honor came as a surprise to Thomas. “I looked up and saw the blue cover, but I had no idea it was concerning me. Then when I looked and saw my family coming out on the field, especially my parents, and I knew something was going on. I still didn’t know what it was, so it was a total surprise.”
The career of Coach Thomas cannot be summed up in wins and losses or even through game strategy. Thomas’s greatest achievement through his forty-plus-year career is the countless number of students and athletes he has helped. The four-year transition through high school to graduation is an arduous task, but Coach Thomas was always there to help guide the way.