Meeks, 54, is the all-time winningest coach in Shawnee history, going 152-94 during his tenure that included a state runner-up finish in 2011.
“It was hard to make that decision even though it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” Meeks said. “I’ve never been divorced, but it feels like you’re getting divorced from something you’ve been married to for a long period of time. … It’s bittersweet.”
He may have stepped down a year earlier if his son had decided to play farther from home, he said.
“I wasn’t going to miss (T.J.’s games),” Meeks said. “There’s no way I could’ve done it. With him going to Wittenberg, I could still (coach at Shawnee), but it was hard at times. He got to play some and traveled and I wanted to make sure I was there. It was a pain at times, but doable.”
When Tigers coach Jim Collins approached him about joining the staff for the 2025 season, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“I get to get back on the field with T.J. for just a couple more years to be on the same team in a competitive environment,” Meeks said. “You can’t buy that. It doesn’t matter — even millions of dollars can’t buy that.”
Meeks has two years before he can retire from teaching and may return to prep football in the future, he said.
“I’m not done,” Meeks said. “We’ll see what happens at Wittenberg, but my plan is to return back to high school ball in some form or fashion.”
Meeks, a 1988 Shawnee grad, served as an assistant coach at Fairborn and Kenton Ridge before becoming the Braves offensive coordinator from 2000 to 2002. A year later, he was hired as head coach at his alma mater.
He guided the Braves to 12 playoff appearances, earning 19 postseason victories. The program also won five Central Buckeye Conference championships (2004, 2005, 2010, 2011 and 2023).
“We had a great run,” Meeks said. “It was a great staff. We had consistent guys like Devin Spitzer, Matt Warrington, Dave Driskill, Joe Vanuch, Jon Stewart, Kelly Frost — those guys were stalwarts. For years and years, we had a consistent staff. That’s what it took. I was blessed to have those guys and I always tried to say that what I was good at was keeping those guys around. We’re all like family.”
Shawnee advanced to the Division III state championship game in 2011, falling to Youngstown Cardinal Mooney 21-14. They also advanced to the regional finals in 2005, 2009 and 2020.
The Braves went 11-2 in 2023, advancing to the D-IV, Region 16 semifinal game. It was the fifth time in Meeks’ tenure the Braves won 10 or more games.
Shawnee finished 1-9 in 2024 — just the fourth losing season in the Meeks era.
“We made it consistent and it just became the norm,” Meeks said. “That’s what I’m most proud of — making it consistently competitive. I felt like after we went to the state finals in 2011 that we put Shawnee football on the map. It hadn’t been on the map at all. I was proud of that.”
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