Danville High School fires title-winning football coach Clay Clevenger
Danville football coach Clay Clevenger, an alum who led the Admirals to a state championship just three years ago, confirmed he had been fired as head coach by the school district In a social media post on Friday afternoon,
“Hey guys I wanted to send this out before the rumor mill started. At about 2:45 today The Superintendent and Principal called me in and told me I was fired as Head Football Coach at DHS,” the post from Clevenger’s @AdsFootball11 Twitter account read. “They said they wanted to go in a different direction!”
Danville Independent Schools has not issued an official statement about the dismissal. An email to athletics director Lisa Fisher seeking comment had not been returned.
Clevenger has led the program since 2013, taking the Admirals to 2017 Class 2A state championship in his fifth season after runs to the finals and semifinals the two years prior. Danville has struggled over the years since, going 5-7 in 2018 and 3-7 in 2019 before a COVID-19 shortened 4-3 season this past year. His overall record at Danville was 65-32 over eight seasons.
The news shocked many in Danville.
“I don’t typically give my opinion about stuff on here. I try to just report facts. But... since day 1 I’ve worked with Clevenger. I’ve done morning interviews, pregame interviews & called their games the last 5 seasons, This is an atrocious and embarrassing decision by Danville,” tweeted Danville WHIR-AM radio host Joe Mathis, the Admirals’ football broadcaster.
“Still just stunned that Danville fired football coach Clay Clevenger today,” tweeted Danville-based sports columnist Larry Vaught, a former longtime sports editor at the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
In his tweet directed to his football family of players parents and former players, Clevenger also wrote, “I wanted you to know I love you and I appreciate all your hard work! I had a lot of fun being around you all and was fortunate to be your coach!! I will be around and hope to talk to you all fact to face at some points! Go Ads Coach Clev.”
Clevenger was an all-state lineman for Sam Harp on Danville’s state title teams in 1992 and 1994. He played college ball at Carson-Newman, then was an assistant at Lincoln County and the University of the Cumberlands.
His first head coaching job came at Henderson County, where he went 45-27 in six seasons before Harp’s departure from Danville in 2013 opened up the Admirals’ job.
In addition to adding to the community’s “Title Town” lore in 2017 by bringing Danville its 11th state title and first since 2003, Clevenger had the Admirals’ first Mr. Football winner in running back D’mauriae VanCleave.
