Coach Graham Clark

For 21 maroon-filled years, I spent Fall Friday nights with Graham Clark. Sure, he was on the football field and I was in the stands, but I’d like to think he could hear me help him “call plays” from row F19 at J. Fred Johnson Stadium—just kidding (kind of)!

There is no spectacle quite like a Friday Night in J. Fred—if you’ve been, you understand—and that was in part because of the incredible teams that Coach Graham Clark and company put together over his years as “Chief of the Tribe.”

But more than talented teams and fourth-quarter finishes, Graham Clark instilled something in his players that they will carry with them forever: character.

Coach welcomed kids from every background imaginable to the football field. Regardless of the trials they faced at home and in the classroom, he treated them as equals and emulated a fatherly disposition that they didn’t always have at home.

Beyond the football field, Coach Clark invested in the total health of his players. Graham would make home visits for players who needed a little extra help, and his school office was unlike any other football coach’s in the state, perhaps

even the nation: it also operated as a food pantry for his team.

Win or lose on the football field, Coach Clark’s “kids” were winners. They left their time at Dobyns-Bennett changed men—men who were resilient & respectful, and (most importantly) who knew they were valued.

For what it’s worth, though, they won. A lot. Coach Clark coached 18 conference championship teams, 5 NFL players, and 100 athletic scholarship recipients. His teams qualified for the TSSAA state playoffs every single year. He was personally named Conference Coach of the Year twelve times. To perhaps nobody’s surprise, Coach Clark is the winningest football coach in Dobyns-Bennett High School history. His induction into the Dobyns-Bennett Hall of Fame this year was more than warranted (see below).

From his postgame interview quips to his at-home player visits, Graham Clark is a Profile in Commitment: someone who inspires me to be the most committed and compassionate person that I can be.

As a member of our Board of Education, I will work to ensure that our entire school system emulates the excellence and empathy of Graham Clark—that each of our KCS students feels they are uniquely valued the way Graham’s players did.

Thank you, Graham Clark, for being an unforgettable part of Our Tribe.