Therrell resigns as Bledsoe coach

With only about a month remaining before the prep football season kicks off, Bledsoe County coach Dennis Therrell has resigned. Therrell coached his alma mater for just one season, finishing 4-7 last year, before telling the team Thursday evening that he was stepping aside.

“There is no good timing to lose a coach, but I’m disappointed for the kids,” said Bledsoe County athletic director Jason Reel. “Obviously right now is a very important time to have a good head coach. We have good assistants who can maintain the program and keep it going forward. The administration will move as fast as possible to get someone in here to talk to that we feel will be willing to work this season and beyond.

“In the scenario that we feel we don’t get someone we’re comfortable with, then we would put someone in as an interim.”

Reel, a former head coach of the Warriors, said he will not take over the program but will assist in the search.

Therrell is a 1973 Bledsoe County graduate who has had a journeyman career spanning three decades that includes high school stints as an assistant at Campbell County, Rhea County and Calloway County (Kentucky). He’s also been in the college ranks at Middle Tennessee State, Illinois State, Murray State, UNLV and Lock Haven (Pennsylvania), where he eventually took over as head coach for seven seasons and compiled a 13-52 overall record.

Attempts to reach Therrell were not successful. He is the second area football head coach this week to resign abruptly. Carter Cardwell stepped down at Boyd-Buchanan on Monday and was replaced Thursday by former Soddy-Daisy assistant Kevin Orr Rodriguez.

“It was sort of dropped on us unexpectedly,” Reel said. “His wife did not move here with him from Kentucky when he took the job, and he told us that he couldn’t continue living so far away from home. Since he had been here, if he had a long weekend or free day, or any chance he got, he would drive the four hours back to where she was.

“He just said he did not feel like he could move the program forward and that it was time to go.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY ROBIN RUDD Dennis Therrell resigned as football coach of Bledsoe County High School on Thursday. Therrell finished with a 4-7 record after one season at his alma mater.