Throughout his career, one aspect of coaching that has distinguished Ralph Potter as elite is his timing for when to make the right call.
Less than a week after guiding McCallie to its fifth TSSAA Division II-AAA football state championship, Potter decided now was the right time to step down as head coach at his high school alma mater.
Potter met with Blue Tornado players and coaches Wednesday afternoon to inform them of his decision.
During the same meeting, Lee Burns, McCallie’s head of school, introduced Joel Bradford as the program’s new head coach.
Bradford, a 2007 McCallie graduate who was an All-America receiver at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has been the Blue Tornado’s offensive coordinator the past five seasons. Potter will remain on staff as Bradford’s defensive coordinator.
“Ralph Potter has built a program that reflects the values and ideals of McCallie,” Burns said. “His teams are hard-working, disciplined and committed to excellence. He uses football as a platform to build men of character, integrity and service. Championships are a natural outgrowth of how he builds men and teams.”
A 1981 McCallie graduate, Potter has compiled a 248-109 overall record as a head football coach that includes a 181-77 mark in two stints at his alma mater, which makes him the program’s all-time wins leader. His late father, Pete, went 155-67 from 1973 to 1993, and the school’s football field is named in his honor.
Under Ralph’s direction, the Blue Tornado won DII-AAA state titles in 2001, 2019, 2020, 2021 and this past season, with a runner-up finish in 2006. He admitted last week’s 34-28 BlueCross Bowl victory over rival Baylor inside a packed and electric Finley Stadium would go down as his favorite title.
“Every year that I’ve coached, I’ve considered whether I’m able to make the sacrifices necessary to continue as the leader of our program,” Potter said. “Last spring, I decided that the time had come for me to step aside. I think, for me, I never really wanted to coach much past 60, so I had that in my mind as an end point. Also, I’ve been a head coach for 30 years, and it’s been 50 years since my dad came to McCallie, so there were just a lot of round numbers that seemed to add up to this being the right time.
“The other thing that’s right about the timing is Coach Bradford. It’s been a great pleasure for me to see him progress as a coach, a man, a husband and father. You don’t want to pick the fruit too early, but you also don’t want to leave it on the vine too long either. This has been in the works for some time. He’s ready.”
McCallie School photo / Joel Bradford, pictured, a former McCallie football star player and the Blue Tornado's offensive coordinator the past five seasons, has been promoted to head coach. Ralph Potter announced Wednesday that he would step down as head coach but remain on staff as Bradford's defensive coordinator.Knew it was coming
Potter, 60, did not want his decision to be a distraction to the team or for the focus to be on him during the season, so it remained a carefully guarded secret.
“I very much still enjoy coaching. The strategy of the game and implementing that with the boys is still a highlight for me,” Potter said. “Being a head coach, for me, has been a sacrifice internally because I put so much of myself into it. I do want to have time to be a better husband, to be a grandfather and find out who I am outside of being a head coach.
“The job of a head coach has grown immensely and continues to change and evolve. I could still do it, but this phase is going to extend beyond how long I want to continue coaching. I consider it a great blessing to pass the responsibility on to Coach Bradford. I am very fortunate to end my career by working for a man who I love and respect. All my confidence is in him.”
Potter gave up offensive play-calling duties prior to the 2019 season, choosing to take over the defense while handing the offense over to Bradford. That was the first step toward this transition, and in the five seasons since that change, the Blue Tornado are 53-9 with four state titles.
With Bradford overseeing an offense that was modified each year to fit the talent on the roster, McCallie has averaged 36 points per game.
“It’s surreal,” said Bradford, who was a defensive back and all-state receiver at McCallie and helped the 2006 team reach the championship game. “As a McCallie alum and playing for him, there are mixed emotions that Ralph Potter is stepping down. That chapter is ending, and I never really thought this day would come.
“The second part of that is that I’m the next guy. Obviously it’s a dream job. I love this place and I’m passionate about everything about this school, so I am excited and humbled to serve as McCallie’s next head football coach. I want the kids I coach to have a similar experience I’ve had. I am looking forward to building on the success of Coach Potter’s leadership, and I am grateful that he will remain as the defensive coordinator.”
Since joining the McCallie faculty in 2012, Bradford has taught Bible and helped coach soccer and golf in addition to working on the football staff.
“I played for him and never thought I would be a coach or back here working,” Bradford said. “When I came back, he obviously had a huge hand in molding me into who I am today. Coach Potter has gone from being my coach to mentor and now is a great friend and someone I can lean on and continue to learn from.
“We have a great trusting relationship.”
Staff photo / McCallie football coach Ralph Potter leaves the locker room at Tennessee Tech before the Blue Tornado's TSSAA Division II-AAA BlueCross Bowl state championship game against Nashville's Montgomery Bell Academy on Dec. 5, 2019 in Cookeville, Tenn.‘Demands excellence’
Potter began his head coaching career with three seasons at rival Baylor (1994-96), then led McCallie from 1997 to 2006 before leaving to take over at Brentwood Academy, where in five seasons as coach he guided the Eagles to two state runner-up finishes and two state semifinal appearances in which they lost by a point.
He returned to his alma mater in 2012. Within two years, Potter led McCallie to a nine-win season and eventually helped build what has become, despite playing in the TSSAA’s toughest classification, one of the most successful prep football programs in Tennessee.
His teams reached at least the semifinals the past seven seasons, going 71-15 overall, including 45-12 against DII-AAA competition.
He completes his head coaching career with an 18-6 record against Baylor and was 20-7 overall in the series (including his three seasons as Red Raiders coach).
The Blue Tornado have been ranked among the top 25 teams nationally by MaxPreps.
“I’ve coached football with Ralph most of our adult lives,” said Kenny Sholl, McCallie’s athletic director and special assistant to the head of school. “He demands excellence and brings out the best in his players. His work ethic and dedication is extraordinary.
“I’ve never in my life been around anyone more competitive. He hates to lose. It’s incredible how much that motivates him, even more so than the joy of winning. The work he puts in and the creativity to have the best chance to win and create lifelong memories for the kids is what motivates him.
“I really am excited about Joel. He’s an innovator at such a young age. The head coaching position at McCallie is one of the country’s premier high school football jobs. While hundreds of high school and college coaches would have sought this job, we knew we had the right man already here.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.