OPINION: Top Candidates For Cookeville Head Coaching Job

The high school football season in the Upper Cumberland is over, but the storylines are not. The largest school in the area, Cookeville, is looking to hire a new football coach following the retirement of Jimmy Maynord. The Cavs are coming off a 1-9 season and will look to their new head coach to steer the program in the right direction.

UCR’s Noah McKay and Rusty Ellis sat down to give their top-five candidates to become the new head coach at Cookeville.

 

*Note: This is an opinion piece, only one coach is quoted in the article, and this is not a reflection on their interest, or lack thereof, in the position.

 

1. Bruce Lamb – Former head coach at Livingston Academy

The former Livingston Academy head coach resigned from LA at the end of the 2020 season. He is an alumni of CHS and has well-known roots in Cookeville. Lamb won 88 games in 13 seasons at Livingston, including two trips to the quarterfinal round of the postseason and an undefeated regular season in 2019.

Lamb resigned in 2020, but did not officially retire. If he still wants to coach, he appears to be a good fit for the Cookeville job.

Lamb’s teams were known for their physicality and consistent play which is something the Cavs need.

2. Adam Caine – Head coach at Upperman

This may be the least likely of the names on this list. In his four years as head coach of Upperman, Caine has won four region titles, 43 games, eight playoff games and made two trips to the semifinal round of the postseason. More importantly, his UHS teams are 3-1 against the Cavs. 

For what it’s worth, Caine said clearly he is happy in Baxter and has no interest in pursuing the CHS job.

“None whatsoever,” said Caine on his interest, or lack thereof, in the Cookeville job. “I’m very happy here. I love the atmosphere here. My kids love it here. I’m an Upperman Bee.”

His lack of interest makes sense, as Caine has built a perennial playoff contender in Baxter. The Bees are capable of winning state championships in the 4A classification, where the Cavs are matched up with the Murfreesboro region in the first three rounds of the postseason, creating a gauntlet for CHS to run through to go on any long postseason runs.

While he made it clear he is not interested, Robbins and Petett should make the call, in our opinion. 

3. Taylor Hennigan – Special Teams Coordinator at Gardner-Webb University

When you look at former Cavaliers who are in the coaching ranks, Hennigan’s name quickly comes to mind. As former CHS starting quarterback and assistant coach at Tennessee Tech, Hennigan possesses deep Putnam County roots. If he is interested in returning to the high school level, he would provide a boost of energy and youth to the CHS sideline. He checks off the boxes you want to see in your next head coach. 

4. Noah Repasky – Head coach at Cumberland County

Repasky has Putnam County roots, while also proving he can turn a program around. He was an assistant at CHS from 2004 to 2014 and offensive coordinator at Upperman during their 13-1 2018 season. As head coach at Cumberland County, Repasky took over a program that had zero on-field wins in three seasons, made them much more competitive in 2020 and won six games in 2021. 

I think his offense would work at the 6A level, and he would bring the discipline necessary to make Cookeville a viable contender in their region. Unlike Caine in Baxter, Repasky has more years of work before Cumberland County becomes a consistent contender. The CHS job is a clear upgrade.

5. Scott Hughes – Head coach at Monterey

Hughes has built a strong program at Monterey, and would likely do the same thing with the larger talent pool in Cookeville. Hughes would also bring a much-needed emphasis on physicality to the CHS program and his teams love playing for him.