Butler resigns as TCA football coach

Blake Butler is leaving Trinity Christian Academy.

The Lions’ football coach who took over the program in 2011 informed his team Wednesday morning of his intentions to resign and become the new head football coach at Evangelical Christian School in Memphis.

When Butler came to TCA, he’d been an assistant coach at ECS.

“It’s obviously tough to leave a place after being here for 12 years, but going back to ECS does feel like I’m going home in a way,” Butler said about the move. “ECS has a similar mission to TCA’s, and the people I know down there will make the transition smoother.”

In his 12 seasons leading the program, TCA went 74-66 with the highlights coming from 2013-15 with two appearances in the Class 2A semifinals flanking a second-round loss that went down to the wire to the eventual state champion Peabody in 2014. The 2015 team had a memorable run to the semifinals before falling to eventual champion Trezevant and quarterback Andrew Goldsmith was named Mr. Football Back of the Year.

In Butler’s tenure as coach, the program moved into its current fieldhouse, initiated a formal strength and conditioning program for all student-athletes and navigated the move to Division II.

“For everything we’ve accomplished here – semifinals, quarterfinals, sending kids to college – one thing that really stays with me is when former athletes come back and just catch me up on what they’re doing in their lives,” Butler said. "We’ve got former players who’ve gone on, gotten married and started their own families.

“I’ve been here long enough to have kids who were in our camp my first year here in Kindergarten who are playing on the high school team now. TCA has been good for me and my family, and we’re appreciative of everyone who’s been here with us.”