KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Karns High School in Knoxville, Tenn., will look for a new head football coach after Lee Warren stepped down Friday, Nov. 6, closing a four-season run leading the Beavers.
The move follows a state penalty handed down in October. The TSSAA barred Karns from this fall’s postseason after its investigation concluded that an assistant, acting at Warren’s direction, had reached out to try to bring a student from another school to Karns to play football. The association classified it as a Level 3 recruiting violation, its category for targeted recruiting of an athlete enrolled elsewhere. Warren sat out one game as part of the penalty, and a group of parents circulated a petition asking the school to keep him.
Warren spent seven seasons on the Karns staff in all. He came to the program in 2020 as defensive coordinator and strength coach, working under Brad Taylor, and took over the top job in July 2023 after Taylor resigned. His teams reached the playoffs in 2024. This season Karns went 3-7, beating Campbell County, William Blount and Morristown West.
The school said in a statement that it accepted the resignation, thanked Warren for his leadership and said it would start searching for the next coach ahead of the 2027 season. Karns moves up to Class 6A football starting in 2027.
Whoever takes over inherits a program that has not posted a winning record since 2022. Before becoming head coach, Warren spent three years as Taylor’s defensive coordinator. School leaders said they want a coach who will build on what is already in place and strengthen the culture around Karns football.
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