Several hundred people listen to Joe Gaddis during a Thursday evening reception for the returning Oak Ridge Wildcats football coach.
He can’t guarantee that the Oak Ridge Wildcats will win every game this fall, but returning football coach Joe Gaddis said he plans to.
Gaddis said he and his staff will revitalize fan support and increase the number of players. They will also rebuild confidence and excitement in the football program, Gaddis said during a Thursday evening reception at Oak Ridge High School Wildcat Arena.
We’re bringing it back, Gaddis told a few hundred people at the reception. Some of them wore T-shirts that said Gaddis’ Gang.
“We’re going to get this thing turned around,” Gaddis said. “We’re going to get this city turned upside down for football.”
Oak Ridge High School Wildcats football coach Joe Gaddis greets fans during a Thursday evening reception at Wildcat Arena.
The season starts in 25 weeks against Farragut.
Gaddis, 60, was head coach at ORHS from 1988 to 1998. He plans to stay even longer this time.
He officially returns to Oak Ridge on Monday, March 18. In addition to being a coach, he will also be a teacher at the high school, although he doesn’t know yet what he will teach.
Gaddis has an overall 258-112 record in his 30 years as head coach. Almost half of those wins—or 119 of them—came while he served as head coach at Oak Ridge High School.
A University of Central Florida graduate, Gaddis has been coaching at Peabody High School in Trenton, Tenn., where he has an overall record of 9-4 and won the district championship for the first time since 1992.
His 119-24 record at Oak Ridge is the best in the school’s history. Gaddis led the Wildcats to a 14-1 record and the Class AAA state championship in 1991.
“Under Gaddis, the Wildcats made 10 playoff appearances in 11 years, and the team produced nine seasons with 10 wins or more,” a recent Oak Ridge Schools press release said.
Gaddis has previously coached in Henry County, Tenn., where he took his teams to three straight Class 4A semifinal games. He has also held coaching positions in Alabama, Mississippi, and North Carolina.
On Thursday, Gaddis said he has coached at five schools since he left Oak Ridge looking for new challenges.
School officials announced Monday that he is returning to the Secret City.
“I’m thrilled to be back,” Gaddis said Thursday. “I love it. it’s home.”
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