A D-III gem is drawing interest from SEC coaches, former NFL players
Tucked some 20 miles south of Knoxville, minutes from the region's largest airport and almost abutting the Great Smoky Mountains, sits 201-year-old Maryville College.
It's a vibrant, private liberal arts college with notable alumni including the 'Godfather of the Southeastern Conference,' Roy Kramer.
It has an energetic, brand-new president in Dr. Bryan Coker.
The area likewise is home to Alcoa and Maryville high schools, the state of Tennessee's two winningest programs that are separated by a mere four miles.
Coker and Maryville College are looking for a football coach, after late last month accepting the resignation of Shaun Hayes.
The NCAA Division III Scots are no strangers to success, including a 2018 appearance after winning the USA South Conference title.
They're finding out exactly how intriguing the position is, Coker explains in an interview with FootballScoop.com.
“Applications, we're well over 150 sheer applications, and inquiries is even higher,” says Coker, a Rhodes College graduate whose classmates at the prestigious Memphis school include recent Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. “We want to expedite the process as much as possible, given all the interest and the fact that we want to be ahead of the game as much as possible. Our goal is right after the holidays to be in the interview stage, an advanced interview stage, and hopefully by the end of January have a hire.
“We're thrilled to have the interest that we have. I think we're a great college down here in an amazing location with incredible quality of life, in a super place to live and raise a family. Hopefully folks are seeing that.”
Those candidates doing due diligence – a group including multiple former Southeastern Conference assistant coaches, sitting college and high school head coaches, current college assistants and former NFL players, including current staff member David Martin, a long-time Green Bay Packers tight end – likely are seeing a college with newfound momentum under Coker's direction and renewed commitment, with a centered approach from the community outward, to a synergistic academic and athletics relationship at the school of roughly 1,200 students.
“When I think about what we're looking for, we're looking for someone who is going to bring some stability to the program,” says Coker, named Maryville College's 12th president in February. “Someone who wants to be here for a while and really recognizes the real potential of this program. A Division III program with really incredible community interest and support in a region that's obviously pretty pro-football. I think someone who understands Division III, how you recruit and get people to your school and build excitement around a non-scholarship program and someone who gets Maryville College. Who gets the liberal arts. I like to say, 'Here, you're going to study everything so you can be prepared for anything.'
“What's here is wonderful, and it's already pretty amazing in itself, but the possibilities for the future are big and exciting. We're going to lean into and dig down deep into our location more than ever before. We're right at the footsteps of our nation's most visited national park and in area with immense natural beauty.”
Multiple sources in college athletics around the region tell FootballScoop.com that former University of Tennessee, LSU, Texas A&M and Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis is inquiring about the opening atop the Scots' football program; so, too, is former Cincinnati Bearcats and Vols offensive line coach Dan Mahoney.
Again, athletics also is a key component of the venerable institution's central nervous system. In recent years, the football program's recruiting efforts include plucking student-athletes from Florida and Texas, as well as the immediate talent-rich area and surrounding states.
Men's and women's basketball coaches, Raul Placeres and Darrin Travillian, respectively, are part of the school's aggressive and energetic recruiting efforts. Placeres Scots' roster includes players from five states, including his native Florida and as far away as Michigan; Travillian's roster includes Georgia, Ohio and Tennessee.
The school also has a number of programs to study abroad and grants financial aid to “a majority of students.”
“I talk to people out in the community really often and one of most interesting types of conversations I have is with a high school student or parent of a high school student and they're a pretty good football player,” Coker says, spearheading key fundraising and other revitalization efforts on behalf of MC. “They're not gonna play for UT (20 minutes away in Knoxville). But they're good. If you would love a chance to play in college and get a great educational experience, you can come here. If you're planning to stay close to home, come to Maryville College.
“We want someone who can bring excitement and generate energy within the program and marry it with what we've got going on with college. There's a lot we do have to quantify with the opportunity here, but I'm a huge, huge proponent in those non-tangibles, too, that make an institution a better place to work.”
