Slover Excited To Begin New Era Of West Greene Football

Caleb Slover began his coaching career in Greene County two decades ago, and now he is back in Greene County with a new mission and renewed energy as he takes over the head coaching role of the West Greene football program.

“It’s been a whirlwind the last few days, we’ve just been trying to get a lot of things done that you usually do over a couple months and do them in a couple of days,” Slover said. “I’m excited to be here, and I think that is the big thing. Starting something new brings a lot of energy to me as a coach. We want to find ways to build up this school, this community and our program. I want people to be excited about West Greene football.”

Slover first arrived in Greene County in 2000 as a quarterback at Tusculum University. He still sits near the top of the record books in nearly every passing category and was inducted in the Tusculum Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

He got his start in coaching at Tusculum shortly after his playing days ended, and since then he has been the head coach at Cocke County, Morristown East and Sweetwater. Most recently he was an assistant coach at Karns. Now he is excited to return to Greene County where he has family, and his son, Austin, is set to join the Tusculum football program in the fall.

“My family is from here, my wife is from here and Greene County is going to be our home for the rest of the way,” Slover said. “I’ve got about 20 years of coaching in and every stop has been different. I’ve spent a lot of time in Greeneville and Greene County. It has been like home in the past, and coming back people have been so welcoming once again.”

West Greene is coming off a 1-9 season and three straight losing seasons. Slover knows that getting things going back in the right direction will be a challenge, but it is something he has done before. In his final season at Cocke County, in 2018, Slover led the team to a 7-4 record before they fell to eventual state champion Knox Central in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. It was Cocke County’s first and only winning season since 1996.

“It all starts with the community and the kids, and if they believe in what you are doing,” Slover said. “When I was at Cocke County we had to build it. When I first got there, there wasn’t a lot of trust. But we got a group of kids that bought in, and by the time we left they had set a new standard for the program. It was something that grew over time with how they practiced and how they worked over the summer, and that is what it is going to take here. We have to have kids that are committed to being here every day ready to work.”

Slover has been known for his spread formations and high-flying offense in his previous stops, and fans in Mosheim should expect similar things in the near future, but the coach was quick to point out that he will adapt what he runs to what fits his personnel best.

“We’re going to be installing a new defense and new offense, and usually you get a spring practice to work on that,” Slover said. “I have traditionally gone out of spread look, four and five wide most of the time. But this offense is very capable of going to two backs. We’re going to be an RPO team, and a screen team, but we will do what our personnel does best. We’re not going to have 200 plays in the playbook, we want to get lined up quickly on offense and defense and play fast.”

Slover will meet with players and parents for the first time on Thursday as the team begins preparations for the 2026 campaign that is now less than three months away. The first step will be getting the team to buy in to new leadership and a new system. The faster that happens the quicker Slover expects the on-field things like implementing new offensive and defensive schemes will come together.

“The big thing for us right now is getting the kids to trust us. We have some returning coaches, and there is already a bond there. But it’s hard to get teenagers to trust you. So, I have to make sure they understand that this is not about me, it’s about them having a great experience playing high school football. All we’re going to ask of them is to come in and work hard every day, and get a little better every day. Hopefully by the time the fall rolls around that means we are good enough to win a few games.”

Playing in the four-team Region 1-2A West Greene is already guaranteed a playoff spot, but Slover is looking to build a winning program and a program that advances in the postseason. West Greene’s only playoff win came in 2012, and the program has not had consecutive winning seasons since 2010-2011.

“My first goal is always that we are producing good kids. We want them to be good students in classroom and good members of the community when they leave,” Slover said. “I want our kids to be leaders in the school. I want people saying good things about West Greene football. Then on the field we are going to try win every game. Right now we are fortunate to be in the playoffs, but the next step is winning ball games in the playoffs. That is what we are working toward.”