James Brown once boldly proclaimed, "It's a Man's Man's Man's World."  But his seemingly chauvinistic 1966 hit also said that none of it would be possible without a "woman or a girl."  However, Tracy Stephens knows she'll always be operating in a man's world. 

"Call 'em out.  Tell 'em I'm coming after you," Stephens yelled out.

On a cool fall evening, the smell of football is in the air.  The aroma of excited fans, the stench of underclassmen hungry for playing time and the pungency of both teams desperate for a win.

As a parent hears the announcer call out their kid’s name on a tackle or the sensation of goose bumps crawling up their arms on a touchdown, but the human senses can't help but see something a little out of the ordinary of an otherwise normal football experience.

"I know that it's a guy's sport," said East Ridge's Offensive Line Coach Tracy Stephens.  "I know that a lot people would have a problem with it so I'm kind of on edge that I'm going to meet that person doesn't like it and is going to have a problem with it."

Her husband, Jeff, happens to be the defensive coordinator and head coach for the Knights.  He asked his wife Tracy to join him on the sideline because he needed more coaches for his junior varsity squad during the spring since some coaches couldn't commit to football year-round.  She's been with him for the last three seasons at East Ridge.

"She's still very much stuck in that stigma of it being a good ol' boy type of sport, but she just hasn't accepted the fact that she's accepted," he said.

"At first it was unusual, I wouldn't say bad because the O-Line is the bigger, tougher, more grueling position," said Alec Moretti, the Knights Offensive Guard.  "At first you'd think for a woman to be coaching, wow, it's kind of weird.  But once you get to know her, once she starts coaching you, you see it's really not that much different from any other coach there is out there."

"She knows what she's talking about.  She's pretty much been there and done everything.  She plays in a professional women's league and she plays the same position as me," said the Knights Center Kevin Tufts.

Just as they teach players to make adjustments on the field, both Tracy and Jeff had to make some changes on the sidelines. 

"It used to be Coach Stephens and we would both say 'what?'  So now it's Coach Guy Stephens and Coach Lady Stephens," she said.

The lady graduated from Lake Brantley and the guy is an Evans High alum.  The lady is the offensive mind, and the guy is the defensive genius.

Curious to know what life is like at home as opposed to the sidelines?

"There's an offseason and there's an ‘on’ season.  The ‘on’ season is all about football, the off season, everything else," Coach 'Guy' Stephens jumped to answer.

Both jokingly say they use Thursday nights as date nights because that's when they can spend time together doing something they love.  And with the family's new addition, Caleb, the couple's time together is even more precious.

She took a few mommy moments before the game for a big hug and kiss.  The two are using their football principles to coach their child through life.  Both their parents keep the little fellow during the day while Jeff teaches math at East Ridge. 

'In addition to coaching, I'm an attorney.  When we made the decision that I was going to go to law school, he had to step up and do more at home and kind of switch those roles where he was doing more of the laundry and the cooking and cleaning," said Coach 'Lady' Stephens.

"Some people think a woman would be really nice and won't do anything, but she's not like that.  She still brings intensity to the field," Moretti said candidly.

We asked a few coaches in Central Florida had they ever seen a woman on the sideline coaching football.  Well most of them just took a pause for a second but couldn't come up with anything.  Apopka's Head Coach Rick Darlington probably summed it up best by saying in one word -- WOW!

Tufts revealed, "I used to think that women were good but they weren't as good as men, but with having Mrs. Stephens as a coach it just says they can do everything, there's no limit."

"I think it brings a great dynamic to our kids because they see a female in a different role.  In a role they respect," said Coach 'Lady' Stephens.

"A lot of guys go ‘man I wish my wife liked football,’ much less coached it, much less played it, much less knows what she's talking about.  I'm kind of lucky in that aspect because when we do go home, it's pretty normal.  We're friends and coaches and husband and wife," said Coach 'Guy' Stephens as he blows a kiss to his wife.