Cookeville’s Hennigan Leaning On Family

For Cookeville Cavaliers head coach Taylor Hennigan, two things are important: family and football, so he combined them.

The Cavs have four Hennigans listed on their coaching staff: Taylor, his two brothers Zac and Michael and his father Mike. Hennigan said that picking them as support staff was easy due to their football knowledge and the close bond they all share.

“It’s been really fun,” Hennigan said. “It’s been one of the highlights of coaching here. An opportunity to coach with Zac, who is a phenomenal coach. He completely runs our offense and has done a phenomenal job kind of building our offensive structure and scheme. And has been a really dynamic play-caller.”

The two brothers live just a few minutes from each other and Hennigan said that their families and kids are close and they spend lots of time together. Hennigan said that his brother Zac’s role expands beyond just the offense.

“He helps me with game planning, he helps me with practice planning, he’s kind of the first guy I go to to bounce ideas off of,” Hennigan said. “Whether it’s culture stuff, practice schedule, or whatever. So, we’ve got a really good relationship.”

Hennigan’s other brother Michael is an assistant coach for Franklin Road Academy in Nashville, but is still used as an advisor. Hennigan said he and Michael stay in constant communication with each other to talk shop and ways to improve both programs.

His father Mike Hennigan is a Putnam County football icon. After playing at Tech as a standout linebacker, he was selected in the fourth round of the 1973 NFL draft and spent the next six seasons playing for the Lions and Jets.

After his playing career, he began coaching and spent nearly 20 seasons as an assistant and then head coach for Tennessee Tech football. Though he’s taken a step back from his role with the Cavs this season, Hennigan said his father still plays an influence in the program.

“He’s somebody that I lean heavily on,” Hennigan said. “Just from the head coaching experience that he has, the special teams experience for sure that he has. A lot of the things we are doing special teams wise are things that my dad presented to me.”