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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.