Scott Blade
Photo: Carl Edmondson, Jr.

Scott Blade returned to familiar territory when he was rehired as Independence’s football coach Friday.

He coached the Eagles for nine seasons before resigning in 2021 after winning a state championship in 2015 and finishing second the next year.

“It feels like I’m coming home to a place my family and I have loved and we cherish, and we have incredible memories and relationships there, so it’s nice to come back,” Blade said. “It’s a community I love; it’s a community that I live in.”

Blade, 51, lives in Spring Hill and all three of his daughters graduated from Independence.

He got a job as a financial adviser at Peachtree Planning for two years before returning to coaching as Lipscomb Academy’s defensive coordinator this season.

“When I left, it was time for a much-needed break after grinding for so many years,” Blade said. “I just needed a break from it all and was able to (work) in the financial world and had a great experience there.”

When the Lipscomb opportunity developed, Blade decided to get back into coaching in a different role coaching linebackers and leading the defense.

He was an All-Western Athletic Conference linebacker at San Diego State in 1994 and an All-American linebacker at Glendale Community College in California two seasons earlier.

Returning to football at Lipscomb “drove the fire and got the juices flowing again to ultimately try my hand at the head coaching role one more time,” Blade said.

Blade led the Eagles to 29 straight wins from 2015 to 2016 in Class 5A.

He is Indy’s winningest coach, owning a 74-37 record that included nine playoff appearances, but Blade inherits a team that has suffered four straight losing seasons.

Scott Stidham was fired last week after going 13-20 the past three seasons.

“I’ve got a new perspective and the time off really helped me get in line with what I think will need to be our mantra moving forward,” Blade said. “If we can put great coaches in front of these guys and the kids and parents will buy into a different way of approaching things, I think that gives us a shot.”

Blade owns a 146-57 career record with a 71.9% winning percentage in 16 seasons. He went 35-15 in four seasons at Oak Ridge prior to his time at Indy.

His first head coaching job was at Hillsboro, where he posted a 37-5 record in three seasons, highlighted by a Class 4A title in 2008. The Burros ended Maryville’s 74-game winning streak with a 10-7 upset that season in the championship. He also led Hillsboro to a state runner-up showing in 2006.

Blade has been in rebuilding situations before.

“Indy was coming off, maybe a down year (in 2012) and the year before (his arrival) at Oak Ridge was the same way,” Blade said. “Hillsboro, not so much, but we completely changed everything when I arrived, but they had a tradition of pretty of consistent success.”

Blade enters a difficult league, Region 6-6A, which features powerhouse programs like Ravenwood and Brentwood and newcomer Shelbyville, 21-4 the past two seasons in 5A.

“We think it’s one of the better ones in the state,” Blade said. “The challenge is always there.”

Blade has done well coaching both sides of the ball.

“I spent 16 years coordinating the offense, I just coordinated a defense, I spent my first nine years coordinating a defense,” Blade said. “I think I understand football pretty well, so I’ve done it all.”

He typically runs a multiple spread offense and a 4-4 defense, but tweaks them both based on the personnel.

Early in Blade’s coaching career, he helped lead his high school alma mater, Canyon County, to a California state championship in 2005 as an assistant. His parents retired in Tennessee, leading him to the Volunteer State.

Blade is optimistic about what lies ahead.

“If (the kids) are willing to work hard and take a chance to see how good they can be, then let the cards fall where they may; let’s go,” Blade said.