Coach Ron Crawford addresses his team after its Nov. 5 win over Independence.

The distinctive husky voice, forever marred by years of coaching, will no longer be heard on the sidelines of Brentwood High's James C. Parker Stadium. On Tuesday, longtime Brentwood High School football coach Ron Crawford resigned as the school's head football coach. He is heading to Cleveland High School where he will lead the Blue Raiders, a 5A program.

Yesterday afternoon, he gathered the team together after school to make the announcement -- one BHS principal Kevin Keidel only learned about earlier in the day.

“It’s certainly been a gut-wrenching decision to get to,” Crawford said. “It’s been the best 10 years of my life. (Principal) Kevin Keidel has become a mentor and friend; it’s definitely a tough job to leave.”

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Crawford said he had always heard “a one school system is where you want to be” and Cleveland fits that description. The city school district has only one high school, similar to other systems with football powerhouses like Maryville and Alcoa.

Cleveland High School also has a rich football tradition though in recent years it has struggled. Crawford replaces E.K. Slaughter, who resigned at the end of the 2011 season. The Blue Raiders went 5-5 last year and missed the playoffs. The team went 6-5 in 2010 and 3-8 in 2009, Slaughter’s first season.

Cleveland assistant principal and athletic director Mike Collier said he is thrilled to have Crawford coming on board. “We’re just really glad we got him. We’re just excited also about what he’s going to bring to our school and our football program.”

Crawford will be Cleveland’s fourth head coach in the past nine years. However he will be only the seventh coach in the school’s 48-year history – a history that includes three straight state championships in 1993, 1994 and 1995. The Blue Raiders at one time held the state’s longest winning record – 54 games – and have only had two losing seasons in the school’s 48 years, Collier said.

A school like Cleveland will give him the “ability to rally the troops and move in the right direction,” Crawford said. He said he hopes to bring the program back to point of stability and consistency had under former head coach Benny Monroe. In fact, he hopes to talk Monroe into returning to the program in some capacity.  The former coach would feel right at home, since the field is named in his honor.

In 2010, Monroe retired from Ooltewah High School, which he led to two state semifinals.

The move will also give Crawford and his wife of five years, Diane, the ability to live and work in the same town, he added.

“We’re very blessed to have had Coach Crawford for 10 years,” Keidel said. “He’s been a magnificent football coach, a great teacher and a complete school person.”

Keidel said he was surprised when Crawford turned in his resignation but only wishes him well. “We wish he weren’t going, but be obviously support his decision. Ron Crawford will do a great job in any school or any program he puts his mind to.”

The principal was with the coach when Crawford addressed his team, one that went 8-5 last season and lost to Mount Juliet in the Class 6A quarterfinals.

“The team’s reaction is exactly what you would expect from a Coach Crawford team. They were obviously disappointed but gave him a standing ovation. As disappointed as they were themselves, they appreciated Coach Crawford enough to wish him well no matter where he is.”

Crawford’s father, Tom Crawford, was the first assistant coach Ron Crawford hired after he took the Brentwood position. Keidel said he hopes the elder Crawford will remain at Brentwood. “Of course, it depends upon who the next head coach is, but we hope Tom Crawford will remain with us, he said.

Ron Crawford said he doubted his parents would move. “My mama’s moved a lot,” he said, alluding to the many coaching jobs his dad held throughout his career before “retiring” to join his son.

“I want Dad to do what makes Dad happy.”

The search for Crawford’s replacement will begin immediately Keidel said, but he won’t have to name someone tomorrow. Crawford plans to stay through March.

Crawford praised the entire Brentwood High athletic program. “The reason we’ve been successful has very little to do with Ron Crawford,” he said. “It’s Kevin Keidel and the coaching staff and the type of kids we have here. I’m just a small piece of this thing.”

Current and past players are invited to share their comments here or to email them to us at news@brentwoodhomepage.com.