Former Jefferson Middle coach ready to lead Bobcats
Rodney Ellison
Rodney Ellison was tapped to take the helm for the Bobcats, and he said he’s grateful to be taking his next coaching job in Oliver Springs.
“Oliver Springs has a great football tradition. Oliver Springs has always been a place that appealed to me,” said Ellison, who was offensive coordinator at Knoxville’s West High School in 2025 after spending the previous three seasons as head coach at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge. “When I was the head coach in Wartburg, I was always impressed with their program when we played against them.”
Ellison replaces Tyler Harper, who resigned over the winter, and he’s looking forward to building on what the former coach achieved.
“Oliver Springs has a great tradition, and Coach Harper has had the team competing at a high level, and it’s our goal to continue that tradition and compete for championships,” Ellison said. “I want to compete for state championships, and they have shown that they want to take it to the next level.
“I feel like God has put me here to develop these young men and help them compete for championships. I feel like God opened this door for me at the right time.”
In addition to coaching at Jefferson, West and Wartburg Central, Ellison has coached at Clinton, Oak Ridge and Knoxville Catholic. He also was head coach at Powell High School from 2015-17 and went 5-5 in his final season with the Panthers. Powell was a team loaded with underclassmen.
“My last year at Powell, we went 5-5, and we had a bunch of sophomores,” Ellison said.
