KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Ian Fuller has been hired as the next head coach of One Knox SC, the team announced Wednesday.
Fuller steps into his first head coaching job after spending the last 12 years as an MLS assistant coach, and he has served as an assistant for Minnesota United since 2016.
"These guys reached out to me, and we kind of clicked immediately," Fuller said. "[They're] some wonderful people. The project that's going on here is something that I want in my life right now, and I've kind of gone through two of those projects before, on a maybe much bigger scale into the MLS, but it's perfect for me and where I'm at in my life, where my wife and I, and, you know, these guys have been absolutely perfect in the situation, couldn't be better."
Fuller played college soccer at Clemson and went on to enjoy an 11-year professional career. His playing and coaching career even overlapped for a short time, both with the USL's Charleston Battery (2010) and Orlando City (2011-2013). In 2013, he retired as a player to become a full-time assistant for Orlando City.
Fuller becomes just the second-ever head coach in One Knox SC history and he said the club felt like a great fit as the coaching search was underway.
"I put some feelers out there to quite a few clubs, and when I met Drew [McKenna] things rapidly increased in terms of Knox being on my radar," he said. "We had similar visions. We got along well and I think that that's when things just really started to click."
Fuller is a native of the Pacific Northwest and grew up in Washington state and Oregon and said the scenery in East Tennessee got him excited to make Knoxville home.
"I think the beauty of the mountains, I think it hits you in the face," Fuller said. "You can see it on the badge and Drew and I went and looked over the mountains, and it's just beautiful. I think the city has got a bit of grit, and so you've got the great grittiness with some beauty in the mountains. And it's just a lovely place to be. We've had some good food. I'm really looking forward to getting my boots on the ground and enjoying the city."
One Knoxville SC will play at Covenant Health Park next season, something Fuller is looking forward to.
"It's about the environment you create and the environment we're going to create in that building with the fans, with the quality of soccer, with the sight lines, the location, the bars and restaurants that are down here — it's going to be great for the city," he said. "It's going to be great for the club. And I know the players itching to get on."
This is Fuller's first-ever head coaching job and only the second head coach in One Knox history. One Knoxville SC agreed to mutually part ways with head coach Mark McKeever in August.