GRAY DEYOSports Writer

Caleb Olive, who is an eight-year member of the Tullahoma football coaching staff and son of former Wildcat head coach John Olive, is on the move. Olive has coached football for the last decade and just landed his first head coaching position at Seymour High School.

The two-year offensive coordinator and assistant under the current head coach of Tullahoma Coy Sisk started his road to this moment at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He was the offensive quality control coach for the Mocs for two years when he then decided to return to his old stomping grounds to coach at THS and join his dad’s coaching staff. He was once a player for his dad, but he then stood on the sideline beside him, as they were both wired into the game coaching the Tullahoma Wildcats. 

“Being with family, my brother on staff as well, it was definitely special I think for all three of us to get to spend that much time together. Obviously, my dad is a big mentor of mine, and to get to learn from him, and I’m still learning. I will still call him and ask him questions. It was just special, I tried to enjoy every little moment because I knew it wasn’t gonna last forever, ” Olive said when reminiscing on some of his time coaching alongside his dad and brother.

He knew how rare of an opportunity it was to coach with his dad and brother, so when he tied the knot with his now wife he asked for one favor—to coach with his dad until he decided to retire from coaching.  He knew his dad was getting close to calling it a career, he just didn’t know when.

Well, why not after the team’s first state title in school history?

In the 2021-2022 season, Tullahoma ended the regular season with an undefeated record of 10-0. They then weaved their way through the playoffs, beating five teams, to eventually be crowned state champs with a 21-14 overtime win against Elizabethton High School. His dad then decided to then hang up his 29-year coaching career at the fairytale ending, but Caleb continued to coach the Wildcats for two more seasons until he got a call that his ten years of coaching rightfully earned him.

Seymour High School called and asked him if he’d be their head coach.

“It was pretty surreal. You know, you go into the interview planning to get the job, but it still takes you by surprise when they actually offer it to you,” Olive said regarding his initial reaction to getting the job at Seymour.

“It’s a childhood dream come true and it’s really exciting obviously, and it’s an opportunity I felt like I couldn’t pass up.”

The task for Olive to turn the Seymour program around will be a big one. In the last four seasons, they have had one winning season, and over the last two years, they have a combined record of 2-18.  There is without a doubt work to be done, but the mindset Olive is bringing is the right one to have to establish a new winning culture at the high school.

“When I talked to the players the first day I felt like one of the biggest things we had to establish was a competitiveness that it didn’t matter who we played, that we were gonna go out there and battle with everything that we had. I think you gotta find a way to win in every aspect before you can win on Friday night. You have to win in the classroom, community, the weight room, and the locker room. So just establishing an expectation and standard that needs to be held” said Olive.

“I told them we have to establish a program. A team is year to year, but a program does not graduate. So, that’s what we are looking to install. A team that is gonna work hard and do things the right way. We are gonna worry about the things we can control like attitude and effort, and trying to get it to where all the guys who want to wear the Seymour Eagle are gonna go fight with everything they have and try to win some football games.”