Longtime coach, AD announces retirement
Robbinsville – One could argue that Dee Walsh has spent more time coaching Black Knights football than in the comfort of his own recliner.
Friday, he decided it was time to turn the tables in his favor.
Working his way up the food chain from player to assistant coach, to head coach and athletic director, Walsh’s retirement was publicly announced in a press release issued by Robbinsville High School around 4 p.m., Friday. The school confirmed to The Graham Star that his retirement would become effective Friday, Jan. 31.
Walsh was the quarterback of the 1973 and 1974 Black Knights state championship football teams, just the third and fourth in the school’s dynasty. He later returned as an assistant midway through Robbinsville’s improbable run of five consecutive 1A crowns, coaching under the legendary Bob Colvin from 1981-85. The Knights won state titles with Walsh as an assistant from 1981-83.
After being named Colvin’s successor, Walsh went 5-6 in his debut season at the helm in 1986. He clinched his first winning season in 1987, as Robbinsville went 6-4. His first stint ended after the 1989 campaign.
Walsh later stepped in as the head coach of the Cherokee Braves from 1992-94, before joining the Hayesville coaching staff as an assistant for a number of years. Robbinsville brought him back aboard in 2008, where he went 12-2 in his returning season and only had two seasons thereafter where the Black Knights would finish under .500. His 22 seasons as the head coach for Robbinsville concludes with an overall mark of 189-80. Remarkably, the Black Knights only failed to qualify for the playoffs three times on his watch.
For his career, he was 210-91 (.697 winning percentage). His 200th career victory came in the first round of the state playoffs two seasons ago: a 55-7 win over Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy on Nov. 3, 2023.
The championship resume also speaks volumes: seven Smoky Mountain Conference championships (2009, 2014-15, 2019-21, 2023); three Western Regional Championships (2014-15, 2019); four Western Regional Runner-Up trophies (2009, 2020-21, 2023); and a pair of 1A state championships, acquired by the undefeated 2014 and 2019 Robbinsville Black Knights.
Walsh was also inducted into the Graham County Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005; and was named to both the 2009 East-West All-Star Game and 2022 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas coaching staffs.
His time as a Black Knight was best summed up in The Graham Star’s 2020 publication, Another Crown for Title Town. The magazine was released shortly before the pandemic and captures the magic of Robbinsville’s 2019 state-title run.
Each player and coach was asked to summarize what it meant to them to be a Black Knight. This was Walsh’s reply:
“Being a Black Knight means that you are a small part of a great tradition, like no other. You have sacrificed and dedicated to a cause much bigger than yourself.
“We not me; the team always first. You have to understand you are representing a strong, proud community. Give your all! Respect everyone! Fear no one!”