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A former University of Tennessee running back who briefly coached at Florida State and Alabama has been fired from his job as a high school football coach following his arrest for statutory rape among other charges.
Now-former Centennial High School head coach Jay Graham was detained on Wednesday on charges of patronizing prostitution with a minor and solicitation of a minor for aggravated statutory rape, according to The Tennessean.
The 50-year-old was arrested at a motel in Nashville after Metro Nashville Police's Special Investigations Division and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conducted a sting operation where detectives posted ads on adult escort websites.
In a press release on Thursday, Metro Nashville Police revealed, 'Graham is alleged to have responded to one of those ads and then engaged in a text conversation with an undercover officer who was posing as a juvenile.'
'During the conversation, the undercover officer said that she was 16. The two agreed upon a price of $120 for sex.
'Graham responded to a Nashville hotel room, gave the female undercover officer $120, and was immediately taken into custody.'
Centennial (TN) High School football coach Jay Graham has been fired from his job with the team after being arrested in an underage prostitution sting by Metro Nashville Police this week
According to The Tennessean, Graham's bond has been set at $45,000.
While he was fired from his Centennial coaching job after his arrest, he has not been fired as a teacher because - according to a statement provided to The Tennessean - Williamson County Schools (WCS) 'has different obligations that govern teachers'.
He has instead been suspended without pay and is not allowed on the school's campus.
The school district added that when he was hired in February, a background check did not reveal any criminal history tied to Graham. He was hired in March as a coach and a substitute teacher, becoming a full-time teacher in July.
Centennial's principal informed the school's families and staff of the news of Graham's arrest on the night of October 15.
'Law enforcement has not indicated that there should be any concern for Centennial families,' a spokesperson for WCS wrote in an email to The Tennessean.
'However, we encourage anyone with information or concerns to share that with law enforcement.'
Graham was a star in college for the Volunteers - running for a career 2,609 yards and finishing sixth on the all-time Tennessee rushing list. In his four seasons, he was a second-team All-SEC selection twice and won the 1994 Gator Bowl and the 1996 and 1997 Citrus Bowl with the Vols.
Graham was a star running back with Tennessee and played six seasons in the NFL
He went on to coach in college - most notably at Florida State, where he won a title in 2013
Graham was picked in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He went on to spend six years in the league with the Ravens, the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers before ending his career with the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL.
From there, he bounced around multiple college football jobs - beginning with a grad assistant job at his alma mater before serving as the running backs coach at UT Chattanooga, UT Martin, Miami (OH), and South Carolina.
He returned to Knoxville for one season as running backs coach before spending time as the RB coach at Florida State during their 2013 national championship season.
Graham spent four years with the Seminoles from 2013-2017. Eventually, he left with head coach Jimbo Fisher to go to Texas A&M in 2018.
Another return to Tennessee was followed by a brief stint as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach under Nick Saban at Alabama.
Graham then stepped away from college coaching in 2022, citing mental health struggles. He worked as a middle school coach before spending the 2024 season as an assistant at East Tennessee State.
