Dickson County head football coach Randy Murphree
Dickson County High has chosen Randy Murphree as its new head football coach.
The announcement was made Wednesday morning by Dickson County Director of Schools Danny Weeks.
Murphree will be following Troy Williams, who announced he was stepping down as the Cougars’ head coach in February to be able to focus more time as the school’s assistant principal.
“Coach Williams has done a good job of developing a base here and recently this past year we’ve created some momentum as far as on the football field with an excitement,” Murphree said. “We’ve have more athletes come out for (skilled positions), receivers and things of that nature.
“We just got a lot of momentum going right now and I felt like I could continue that.”
Murphree has been an assistant coach for the Cougars for the past 12 seasons, most recently as the defensive coordinator. He also teaches physical education at DCHS. Overall, Murphree has more than 20 years of coaching experience, including four years as the head coach at Hickman High School. He’s a graduate of Waverly High (1988) and Austin Peay State University (1992).
Dickson County principal Joey Holley had his first year of coaching with Coach Murphree at Hickman. They shared the sidelines as football coaches for almost 15 years, from Hickman County to Dickson County.
“He is very passionate about football and more importantly he is passionate about the players,” Holley said. “He is big on giving a kid a chance, giving a kid who might be a second or third team a chance to get out there to prove what they can do.
“He looks for the underdogs. He looks for those kids that are willing to lay it all out on the line for him whether they are the most talented or not, and he gets the most out of those kids.”
Holley added that the Cougar football players were equally excited about the choice when they heard the announcement.
Murphree is already focused on getting his team ready for spring practices. The Cougars will also host a special football showcase on Friday, April 8 at 6 p.m. – a fundraiser with the players performing lifts in front of the crowd and running the 40-yard dash. The coach is hoping for a strong turnout from DCHS football fans.
Dickson County’s rising senior quarterback Jacob Murphree, Coach Murphree’s son, will be one of those players at the showcase. Randy Murphree has enjoyed sharing the field with Jacob and his older brother Ty (2015 graduate) throughout their high school careers. While he is excited about having one more season with Jacob, he sees the team as just one big family as well.
“The way I look at it, is they’re all my kids. When we’re out there on the field we’re going to go to war. When that’s over with, we’ll regroup and do it again, together,” Coach Murphree said.
That’s what being a coach is all about for him.
“It’s about the players and making them feel like they’re cared about…that’s important to parents, to feel like when they come to practice the coaches here will take care of their child, and then make sure they’re coached hard,” Coach Murphree said.
“Sometimes a lot of the discipline is not giving at home. It’s provided by coaches. They have a lot of impact on kids’ lives. We want to be that support for them…if we take care of the little things as far as preparing for the season, the big things out on the field will take care of themselves.”
Dickson County finished last season 5-6 overall with a three-game win streak at the end that included a post-season bowl victory.