Mike Turner
Mike Turner
Title: Head Coach
Phone: (865) 471-3364
Email: mturner@cn.edu
Previous College: Carson-Newman '73
Year: 35th

Mike Turner is the architect of one of the most potent offenses in college football and Carson-Newman's 18th head football coach. He was named the Eagles' head man on Nov. 15, 2016 following Ken Sparks' retirement.  He is in his second season as head coach but his 35th with the program.  

In his first year at the helm of the program, Turner put together an 8-3 campaign that saw Carson-Newman narrowly miss out on the NCAA Division II playoffs.  Safety Darius Williams earned All-American honors at the end of the campaign and 10 Eagles were named All-South Atlantic Conference

Over the last nine easons, Turner has led the Eagles to an unprecedented run at the top of the NCAA offensive rankings. Since 2007, the Carson-Newman offense has averaged 330.6 yards rushing per game and scored an average of 38.4 points.  Over those eight seasons, Carson-Newman has produced an All-American offensive lineman seven times.  The Eagles have also been lauded twice with the Rimington Award winner, which goes to the best center in all Division II.

Turner's offense cracked the 60-point threshold on three occasions and the 50-point threshold on two more occasions.  The 2015 season was tied with the 2007 team for the most 50-point games in a single year, while the trio of 60-point efforts marked the first time in school history that had ever occured.  Derek Evans earned All-American honors on the offensive line en route to attaining the Rimington Trophy.  Damian Baker became a consensus All-American while becoming the program's fourth Harlon Hill Trophy finalist and its second consecutive.  

The 2014 season saw Carson-Newman chew up more than 350 yards on the ground a game. Turner tutored guard Robby Ignagni to All-America honors while running back Andy Hibbett became the program's third Harlon Hill Trophy finalist.  Carson-Newman ranked in the top five in the nation in rushing yards per game for a seventh consecutive year. 

In 2013, Turner's offense took a turn toward the air.  Quarterback De'Andre Thomas set single season records Sparks-era records for passing completions and completion percentage while the veer-option attack continued to churn up yards on the ground in a hurry to the tune of 350 yards per game.  It was the sixth consecutive year the Eagles' rushing game ranked in the top five nationally. 

The 2012 season turned out to be the best of the bunch for the Eagles' ground game. C-N averaged 378.6 yards a contest and scored 52 rushing touchdowns.  The yards a game led Division II and were more than any other school in all division's save the Football Championship Subdivision's Georgia Southern Eagles.  No one in collegiate football at any level had more rushing touchdowns than the Eagles 52.  

Turner saw great individual success among his players in 2012.  Senior center Kevin Day took home the SAC's Jacobs Blocking Award and became the Eagles' seventh consensus all-American.  Quaterback Brandon Haywood was first team all-league and the co-offensive player of the year.  Running back Brandon Baker took home all-region and all-America honors after leading the league in rushing with 122.3 yards/game.  

Though 2011 was a rare down season for the Eagles, Carson-Newman still finished the year as the No. 5 ranked rushing offense in the county, averaging 277.4 yards per game. The Eagles were the No. 8 redzone offense, scoring 89 percent of the time.

In 2010, Carson-Newman was the second-ranked rushing attack, with 311.2 yards per game. The Eagles offensive line was ranked No. 17 in the nation in sacks allowed, surrendering on 1.18 sacks per game. Four Eagles earned All-South Atlantic Conference honors on offense, while offensive tackle Michael Tribue was named a first team All-American by Daktronics for a second consecutive season.

The Eagles led NCAA Division II in rushing offense in 2009, gaining 336.7 yards per game and were the No. 8-ranked total offense with 471.9 yards per game. C-N was eighth in scoring offense (33.36 points per game) and set a single-game total offense record with 803 yards in a 70-35 victory over Tusculum College, including a school-record 671 yards on the ground.

Turner’s 2007 Eagles offense was the first team in SAC history to average 49 points per conference game. His 2004 offense boasted three All-Americans; offensive linemen Caleb Crothers and Reggie Perkins as well as former Philadelphia Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver.

A 1973 graduate of C-N, Turner was a standout center for the Eagles and key member of the 1972 NAIA Champion Bowl runner-up team, the first Carson-Newman squad to reach a national title game.

Turner got a chance to win those national titles when he returned to Carson-Newman, after stints as an assistant coach at Randleman (N.C.) High School, Lees-McRae College and Catawba College. Turner coached the offensive line at C-N from 1980-1984, helping the Eagles win two NAIA National Championships. 

In 1985-86, Turner served as offensive coordinator for the University of North Alabama, guiding the offense that finished as the NCAA Division II runner-up in 1985.

Turner returned to the Eagles as offensive coordinator in 1987, helping spark another run of championships. Turner left C-N for a second time to take over the football program at Science Hill High School in 1992.

Returning to Carson-Newman in 1994 as the chief fundraiser for the Eagle Club, Turner once again took command of the Eagles offense in 1995.

Turner was named the AFCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003. He and his wife, Conni, reside in Jefferson City, Tenn. They have two children; Jenni and Josh.