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Metro Nashville to have 6 new football coaches in 2019 after Glencliff, RePublic openings

Tom Kreager
The Tennessean

Metro Nashville has two more high school football openings.

Glencliff’s Tate Thigpen and RePublic’s Ron Lambert have resigned to take coordinator jobs elsewhere.

Thigpen resigned after two years to be an offensive coordinator in Mississippi. Lambert is headed to defending Division II-A state champion Davidson Academy to be the defensive coordinator.

And Metro will now have six new faces on the sidelines among their 14 programs in 2019.

First-year Whites Creek coach Ron Lambert

Lambert, whose RePublic squad went 4-6 competing in Region 4-1A, cited a lack of commitment from the school’s administration and players as his reason for leaving. RePublic started the 2018 season with 23 players and finished with 17. The Trailblazers, a charter school, are moving up to Region 5-3A in 2019.

“Metro is a tough place to get a commitment,” said Lambert, who added that the school has about a 700-student enrollment.

Lambert said he had talked to Davidson Academy coach Jonathan Quinn in previous years about being part of his staff.

“We have a great relationship,” Lambert said. “It’s the right challenge for me. It’s a step up, not a step down to me.”

First-year Glencliff coach Tate Thigpen

Thigpen will be the offensive coordinator at Philadelphia High, a Class 2A school in Mississippi. Thigpen is from Mississippi.

“It’s an opportunity to get back to home,” said Thigpen, who plans to live about 30 minutes from his parents. “I haven’t lived less than two hours from home in over 21 years.”

Glencliff went 2-18 over the past two years.

Other Nashville programs that will have new coaches include Antioch (Ian Marshall), Hillwood (Tom Moore), Hunters Lane (Preston Scott) and Overton (Cole Peeples).

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.