Barnes stepping down at Soddy-Daisy to take OC job at Murfreesboro Riverdale
Jan. 24—Justin Barnes, one of the most successful coaches in the history of the program, has stepped down as Soddy-Daisy High School's head football coach after nine seasons. Barnes, who guided the Trojans to consecutive Region 4-5A championships in 2018-19, has agreed to become the offensive coordinator at perennial state power Murfreesboro Riverdale.
"It's just a good time personally for me to take a step back from all the responsibilities that come with being a head coach and get to concentrate solely on coaching football," Barnes said. "A lot of people don't realize the amount of time it takes to oversee a program, so after talking it over with my wife we made the decision that this was best for our family.
"It's been nine very good years at Soddy-Daisy. A lot of work went into the program, but it just felt like this was the right move for me professionally and personally."
During Barnes' tenure, Soddy-Daisy reached the playoffs seven times in nine years and although his overall record with the program is 42-55, his teams finished with a winning record in four of the five seasons between 2015-19. His tenure was the second-longest in program history and he leaves with the third-most overall wins by a Trojans coach.
Barnes' offenses were among the first in the area to adopt the wide-open style and typically produced some of the city's top passing totals. The 2018 region title was the first for the Trojans in 22 years.
"Justin came in and turned some things around almost immediately in terms of the expectations and outlook for the players," said Soddy-Daisy athletic director Jared Hensley. "He tutored quarterbacks who led the city or set passing records and made the offense fun for the kids and kept us competitive against really tough competition.
"The biggest thing that people forget about sometimes is, although we've had some great players and some playoff runs here and there, we've only won four region titles in program history and he coached us to two of those. It's definitely a loss for our school and athletic department.
"I'm very grateful for the time he spent here with us and how he helped the kids in our community. If this is what's best for him and his family, I 100% support that, even if I don't like losing him."
Hensley added that current offensive assistant and former Boyd Buchanan head coach Carter Cardwell will serve as the school's interim head coach while the administration begins the process of finding a permanent replacement.
A 1999 Red Bank High graduate and three-year multi-sport letterman, Barnes went on to play football at the University f Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he set school and Southern Conference records by throwing for six touchdowns in one game.
He returned to Chattanooga to take over the Trojans program in 2013 after one season as the head coach at Georgia's Dacula High.
"Looking those kids and the people I've worked with in the eye and telling them I was leaving, that was the toughest part," Barnes said. "But from where the program was when we got there to now, changing so much and becoming competitive pretty much every season, and sending so many kids on to play at the collegiate level, that's something I'm proud of."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis
