Former West football coach Lamar Brown hired by Maryville as defensive assistant
Former West football coach Lamar Brown has been hired by Maryville and will serve as a defensive assistant. It's a quick turnaround for Brown after he was released from his job at West on June 17.
"We are very excited to have a championship caliber coach join our staff," Maryville coach Derek Hunt told Knox News on June 17. "We have been friends for a while now and he is an outstanding football coach, and an even better person."
Knox County Schools initially placed Brown on leave in May after a scandal involving two West assistant coaches. Chad Antwan Brooks and Richard Scott Shaver were charged with sexual battery as an authority figure an aggravated statutory rape in separate cases.
Although Brown was not implicated in the charges, Knox County Schools Superintendent Jon Rysewk put him on leave due to a "significant lack of oversight of the West High School football program."
Then, on June 17, West announced former defensive coordinator Barron Chandler as the new coach.
Brown and Chandler came to West together in 2017 after leaving Morristown West. They won repeat 5A state championships in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, West's first undefeated season earned Brown honors as the Tennessee Titans Coach of the Year.
West football coach Lamar Brown leads his team onto the field to start the TSSAA high school football game against Powell on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn.
Brown now joins one of the preeminent football programs in the state at Maryville in adjacent Blount County. The Rebels have won 17 state championships and 45 playoff appearances, including 28 straight.
Adding some additional intrigue to the matchup, West will play at Maryville on Aug. 29. Last season, Maryville won at West, 35-14.
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @WyntonJackson.
