Riverdale girls basketball coach Randy Coffman leaving after 3 straight state titles

It's tough to leave a program at which you've just won your third straight state championship.

That tells you how enticing an offer it was for Riverdale girls basketball coach Randy Coffman to leave the Lady Warriors to take a similar position in East Tennessee.

Coffman announced his resignation from Riverdale on Thursday morning. He is leaving to take the girls basketball position at Lakeway Christian Academy, which will open in August 2019. The school is located in Morristown.

"The most important thing is that it improves the quality of life for my family," Coffman said of the new position. "I had to weigh that out, as opposed to staying at Riverdale with selfish inhibitions of being here because we’re going to be good and going to win.

"At some point you have to make a decision family-based. The timing was no good, and I kept denying the job over the course of two weeks. But it kept returning to me. It was a burden on me because I know it was the best move for my family. Sometime God’s plan and timing (are) not your timing."

Coffman came to Riverdale prior to the 2015-16 season and guided the Lady Warriors to three consecutive Class AAA state championships, including a 77-50 win over Houston in the 2018 state title game.

The 52-year-old Coffman came to Riverdale from Dyersburg, where he coached for 17 years.

While at Riverdale, he was named the Naismith National Coach of the Year in 2017 as his team finished ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today.

His three-year record with the Lady Warriors was 102-5.

More:DNJ All-Sports Coach of the Year: Riverdale's Randy Coffman

Three starters — DNJ All-Area Player of the Year and Vanderbilt signee Brinae Alexander and MTSU signees Alexis and Amanda Whittington — from the 2018 state champion team will graduate, but several key players return along with a talented incoming freshman class.

"I know I’m leaving Riverdale in a great spot," Coffman said. "They have a great team returning. They'll have an opportunity to defend the state titles. I'm not leaving because the cupboard is bare at Riverdale."

Riverdale will be seeking its fourth head coach since 2015, when Cory Barrett resigned and Wendi Scott, who was hired to replace him, resigned before coaching a game.

The tradition of the program should bring in a horde of quality candidates.

"We’ve had a very successful program," Riverdale principal Ryan Nance said. "Randy’s done a good job for us here. We hope the next coach will do the same."

Added Coffman, "I've been blessed at Riverdale. It's a great school with a great administration. I wish them nothing but the best. It doesn't matter if I’m there or someone else, they’re going to defend the state championship."

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.