Way back when, before the all wins and state titles accumulated, Jody Wright and David Meske were roommates at Green Tree Condominiums near Papermill Drive, just trying to cut their teeth as coaches and find some semblance of job stability within their respective professions.
So it’s only fitting they enter the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame together this summer.
Wright, the longtime boys’ basketball coach and athletics director at Fulton, and Meske, the longtime football coach and athletics director at Webb School of Knoxville, will be inducted as part of the 2019 Class during a July 25 ceremony in Knoxville. Duke head football coach David Cutcliffe, a former Tennessee offensive coordinator, will be the guest speaker.
“Stuff like that usually happens when you’re done coaching,” Wright said of the induction. “I was very honored. There have been some very heavy-hitters that have been in there.
“It’s neat to go in with my old roommate Dave Meske. He shot me a text today to congratulate me. I said, ‘Thanks, Dave.’ Then I looked at the list (of inductees). I hadn’t said jack squat to him. I said, ‘Well, man. I feel like a dog. I didn’t even congratulate you.’
“He said (jokingly), ‘Yeah, we’ve come a long way since being the two losing-est coaches in Knoxville.'”
Indeed, they have.
Meske and Wright wound up as roommates in the mid-80s through a mutual friend, Clark Wormsley — with whom Wright had grown up with in Lake City and with whom Meske had coached alongside.
While roommates, they both began their head-coaching careers in 1985. Meske won two games his first fall. Wright went 2-22 his first season with the Falcons.
Laying the foundation for future success can often produce trying seasons like that, and Meske and Wright loved the players they had for enduring those tough times.
“We had a lot to learn (as coaches). We weren’t very successful that first year,” said Meske. “But, at the same time, it was fun and we had the opportunity to bounce things off each other.”
Meske has led Webb to seven of its eight all-time football state championships, his first coming in 1996 and second 10 years later. He won consecutive titles in 2009-10 and three in a row from 2012-14. Known for his Wing-T offense, Meske has won 266 career games. The Spartans also have three state runner-up finishes and 10 Mr. Football winners under Meske.
“I’m just proud that I represent a lot of kids who have worked really hard at our school,” said Meske. “And a lot of coaches who have worked really hard at our school. And a community that has backed us. All those things have to happen for you to have success — and I’m just a part of that.”
Wright now coaches in a gym that bears his name. He led the Falcons to Class AA state titles in 2008, 2009 and 2016 to go with runner-up finishes in 1996, 1998, 2015, 2018 and 2019.
The first of his 18 state tournament appearances came in 1990, and he has won 730 games against 322 losses. Former Mississippi State guard Jalen Steele, as a senior at Fulton in 2010, was Wright’s lone Class AA Mr. Basketball winner, and Fulton has one losing season in the last 25 years.
When these honors come, Wright tries to find a balance between appreciation and also not getting too enthralled by it. He wants to keep his coaching edge.
“(Reflecting) is hard to do when you’re still in the arena,” said Wright. “I’ve said before, when we won our 700th game and all that, I did not spend a whole lot of time reflecting on it. To me, that stuff — while it’s nice — it makes you a little complacent. And complacency in the coaching world is a death sentence.”
Though they sought coaching paths in different sports, Meske’s career and Wright’s share a similarity in that they’re a rarity in the coaching world nowadays, having each spent more than three decades coaching the same program.
“I was just lucky to get into a place where I loved to work at,” said Meske. “Sometimes, you find the right place early in life. And you’re smart enough not to leave.”