Maryville College is filling its vacant head football coaching position with an East Tennessee homecoming of sorts.
Multiple sources confirmed to FootballScoop that Maryville College has completed its process of finding its next head coach and selected Centre College offensive coordinator Ben Fox. A formal announcement is expected today.
A Gray, Tennessee, native who starred at Daniel Boone High School, Fox was class Valedictorian and played collegiately at prestigious Washington University (St. Louis), where he earned academic all-conference honors.
Likewise, Fox, widely regarded as a bright young offensive mind among his peers, has been no stranger to Maryville College throughout his coaching career – as a competitor.
Fox's squads as an assistant at first Huntingdon College and since 2017 as offensive coordinator at Centre College have compiled a combined 7-0 record against Maryville College football teams.
In 2018, Fox engineered a Colonels' offense that shattered school records – including passing touchdowns – and helped them to a 10-2 record that included the team's advancement into the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Centre's 19 wins in the program's first two years with Fox as the offensive play-caller were the most for the program in a two-year span in nearly 30 years.
"I've gotten to know Ben through the last few years, and he really is one of the bright young offensive minds in our game," said Furman offensive coordinator and associate head coach, George Quarles. "Maryville is obviously a very special place to me and my family, and Ben will fit in well in that wonderful community.
"I'm excited for Coach Fox and excited for Maryville College and the community."
Prior to his stints at both Huntingdon and Centre, Fox spent three seasons at FCS-program Bryant University (Rhode Island). There, Fox coached the defensive line for two seasons before his final season, 2011, when he coached wideouts.
Maryville College leaders hosted a trio of finalists throughout the past seven to 10 days on its campus, with Fox arriving first and followed by an active, sitting head coach from a Midwest Division III program and a top assistant from another program in the same region. On-campus interviews concluded Wednesday.
The college fielded inquiries from more than 300 coaches interested in the job, which opened in late November when previous coach Shaun Hayes resigned after five seasons and an overall 31-19 ledger.
Fox and his wife, Katherine, have a daughter, Kinsley, and a son, Bowen.