Franklin has hired Gallatin assistant Josh Adkins to take over as the Admirals’ new head football coach for the 2024 season.
For the past five years, Adkins was the Green Wave’s defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. He also served as Gallatin’s head wrestling coach. Gallatin went 7-4 last season, falling 38-3 at Oakland in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.
“We are excited to be able to bring Josh to Franklin,” athletic director Jay Johnson said in a release. “We feel he is one of the best young coaches in the mid-state and brings an enthusiasm that we feel will carry over to our players. He is a very hard worker and is always working to find some way to make his team better.”
Before his time at Gallatin, Adkins was an assistant in the college ranks, with stops at McNeese State, Florida Tech, and Middle Tennessee State University. Adkins also served in the U.S. Army from 2010-2014, with a deployment in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
“We really liked the energy and excitement we thought Josh could bring to our program,” Franklin executive principal Dr. Shane Pantall said in the release. “We look forward to him leading and growing our student-athletes.”
Donnie Webb filled in on an interim basis at Franklin at the end of the 2023 season after Alex Melton was relieved of his duties on Oct. 2. The Admirals won two of their final three games under Webb, including a 21-7 victory over then-unbeaten Mt. Juliet on Oct. 20, and finished with a 2-8 record.
Webb stepped down following the 2020 season, with Franklin hiring Melton to take the job in January of 2021. The Admirals went 1-26 during Melton’s tenure after hiring the former Summit defensive coordinator, with that lone win coming against McGavock during the 2021 season.
Franklin dropped several close contests during that time – they lost six games by seven or fewer points in 2022 and 2023 and were within two scores at the finish of four others during the past two seasons under Melton.
Adkins’ hiring leaves six head coaching positions currently open in the 615 Preps coverage area: Antioch, Battle Ground Academy, Cannon County, Donelson Christian Academy, Montgomery Central, and Clarksville Northwest.