James Lawson football tabs Brentwood Academy defensive coordinator Brian Lilly as coach

Tom Kreager, Nashville Tennessean
·3 min read

Brian Lilly can see the end product in his mind and he wants to be part of it.

There is plenty of construction remaining to be done at James Lawson High, Metro Nashville Public Schools' newest school to be opened for the 2023-24 school year. The football field is mud. The home bleachers are missing except for a concrete foundation.

But Lilly sees past that.

The Brentwood Academy defensive coordinator was announced as Lawson' first football coach Monday on the football field by principal Stephen Sheaffer and athletic director Pete Froedden, who will both move over to Lawson from their same roles at Hillwood.

"When I spoke to them about their dreams and aspirations that they have for Lawson High School it matched perfectly with mine," said Lilly, 32, who takes on his first head coaching position. "Being able to impact these young men to be better men than we've ever been is 100% one of the main reasons. I think that when people come out to Lawson High School and see this campus and how beautiful it is and see the first-class facilities, they are going to be second to none.

"But at the same time we are impacting these young men."

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James Lawson's opening replaces Hillwood, which is set to close at the conclusion of the current school year. Lilly replaces Tom Moore, who announced his resignation at Hillwood in November.

James Lawson, which will be nicknamed the Lightning, is a $150 million school that will be located in Bellevue on a 273-acre hilly campus on Highway 70S off Interstate 40.

Brian Lilly, center, was named the first James Lawson football coach. To his left is athletic director Pete Froedden and to his right is principal Stephen Sheaffer.
Brian Lilly, center, was named the first James Lawson football coach. To his left is athletic director Pete Froedden and to his right is principal Stephen Sheaffer.

"Being a visual person, even the mock website walk through doesn't give it justice when you are out here," Lilly said. "It's a beautiful campus. People are going to be in awe."

Sheaffer said he believes Lilly was the perfect fit from more than 100 applicants the school had for the job.

"He was the best guy that could connect to our kids, our parents and our community," Sheaffer said. "At the end of the day, we wanted to go play some football for him. He has a passion and knowledge of the game. He's coming from a program that has done it for years and had success at the highest level.

"Yes, he's coming from a private school, and there are some things we can't emulate here, but high quality can happen in every building, public or private."

The football program will compete in Region 6-5A this season as a varsity program against Centennial, Glencliff, Hillsboro, Nolensville and Page. Page has reached the Class 5A championship game the past two seasons.

Lilly spent the past two seasons as defensive coordinator at Brentwood Academy. He has been at the Williamson County private school a total of eight years in two different stints. He spent the 2020 season at Cisco College as the defensive coordinator at the Texas junior college.

The majority of Lawson's enrollment will be from Hillwood. But Sheaffer said he believes the school may grow as students from Bellevue may choose Lawson due to its proximity over magnet or private schools.

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: James Lawson football: Brentwood Academy assistant Brian Lilly first coach