Maryville coach George Quarles accepts Furman job

Dylan Hopkins reflected on the conversation Tuesday afternoon, revisiting it between the slew of phone calls he received.

Some four hours earlier, Hopkins and his Maryville High School football teammates glared with misty eyes at George Quarles, who delivered news that many wondered would ever happen.

Quarles, who took a championship program to unthinkable heights in 18 seasons as coach of the Blount County power, is taking his stellar offensive prowess to the college game. He told Hopkins and his teammates on Tuesday he would join the staff at Furman University, the school for which he helped win an FCS national championship as a standout wide receiver in 1988.

"They said: 'Hey everybody on the football team, meet in Coach (Nick) White's Room,' " said Hopkins, an all-state junior quarterback. "Coach Quarles walked in. Before he could say anything, you could tell something wrong had happened. He started tearing up, and he told us he was taking (an assistant) job at Furman.

"I started tearing up. Everybody was tearing up."

Attempts to reach Quarles were unsuccessful on Tuesday. 

His departure comes a day after Furman introduced new coach Clay Hendrix, the Air Force Academy's associate head coach who roomed with Quarles for two years when Hendrix was on the staff at Furman and Quarles was a graduate assistant. 

"He said he turned down a lot of (college) coaching opportunities in the past," Hopkins said. "He said this one felt right. He said he talked to his family about it. He said this one was the right decision. He said this was one of the hardest things he ever had to do."

The move ends an unwavering run of success at Maryville. Quarles, with his twin-spread offense, guided the Rebels to 11 state championships since replacing Tim Hammontree in 1999. He finishes 250-16 as coach of the Rebels, including 15 BlueCross Bowl appearances and 16 consecutive region titles. The past three titles came in Class 6A, the state's largest classification.

Quarles, also the school's athletic director, was named Tennessee Titans Coach of the Year in 2005 and PrepXtra Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2013. He's the winningest coach in the country the past 10 years, losing just nine of his final 249 games.  His teams reeled off separate winning streaks of 74 games (2004-08) and 44 games (2013-15), building a reputation that reached national circles.

In 2010, Quarles coached the East team in the prestigious Army All-American Bowl, an elite all-star game for the top senior football players in the country. He served as an assistant in the annual game prior to that.  

"I know it’s a shock because he’s such a fixture in the Maryville community," said Patton Robinette, a former Maryville quarterback who played at Vanderbilt from 2012-14. "It’s going to be a little different, but definitely not surprised."

The mystique with Quarles centered around his even-keeled persona and penchant for timely play-calling. He maximized the potential of his teams, proving FBS talent isn't required to win championships.  There were budding stars - most notably former Tennessee and Alabama offensive lineman Aaron Douglas, and current college players Dylan Jackson (Stanford defensive lineman) and Jay Guillermo (Clemson center) - but most years the Rebels accomplished more by being physically superior and executing at the highest level. 

"Everybody talks about Maryville athletics," Maryville principal Greg Roach said, "but he cared about the arts and made sure his kids were well rounded. 

"The culture he built is going to be his legacy here. Very community involved, and willing to give to a fault sometimes. He’s so willing to give to those around him."

Roach said he'll first look internally at Maryville's coaching staff, which includes five former head coaches, while searching for Quarles' replacement. An interim coach has not been named. 

"We'll do a real tight evaluation," Roach said. "The thing we have going for us is the people George surrounded himself with are all great coaches." 

Chris Thomas covers high school sports. Follow him on Twitter: @christhomasKNS.

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