Texas Football

By Travis Stewart/Texas Football --  Two schools lose offensive coordinators, one school gains one.

Click here for the full chart of coaching changes.

So we understand that's it hard enough to track head coaching movement — essentially meaning following things like offensive coordinators is completely impossible. But we've got several head coaching changes here that involve those wizards of the offense. Just something to look over, for ya'.

Ozona's new coach
Our first such example today of OC movement. Ray Brown, formerly the offensive coordinator at potent Pflugerville Hendrickson, has taken over at Ozona as both the head coach and athletic director. He replaces Robert Hernandez, who stayed for just one season. A little continuity will help the players here quite a bit. Let's hope Brown is there to stay for a little while. 

Petrolia's new coach
Superficially, it's actually a pretty similar situation to Ozona. Petrolia has hired Billy Cook (a former Midwestern State player) as its new coach, making him the fourth head man in as many years. He comes from the OC position at Burnet and replaces Chris McWilliams, who left after a playoff season to become an assistant at Odessa High.

Flatonia needs a coach
Rodney Dowell, the head coach and athletic director, has resigned his post just weeks before two-a-days are supposed to start. But even though the move was technically voluntary, the motivations behind it likely weren't. Dowell stepped down after the softball team — a state contending one — forfeited most of its season due to an ineligible player. Like Dowell said to the Victoria Advocate, the blame had to fall somewhere. Fairly or not, it landed with him. He will now take over as OC for new Van Vleck coach Greg Bagby.

Palestine Westwood finally hires
It's about time! Westwood has finally replaced Kevin Anderson, and former Deer Park quarterbacks coach Bryan Price is the guy. This is actually his second head coaching job, since he served two years at Commerce a little ways back. Westwood's search was a long one, so it's good to see it finally come to a close.

Just in case you missed it ...
Scott Ponder, who had enjoyed great success at Wichita Falls Rider, has left for nearby Iowa Park. As far as school size and recognition go, that's a pretty substantial drop down on a state-wide level. But I'm sure he has his reasons. He has been replaced by Jim Garfield, the former defensive coordinator. 

FBISD has another change (5/15/10)

Sure, it's mid-may, but that doesn't mean there aren't a few schools left out there that still have a coaching change left in their system. The last few openings in the state are starting to fill up, but even as they close, a few more are  joining the list before the movement finally stops. Here's a breakdown of all the recent happenings ...

Fort Bend changes: This massive ISD has been tirelessly changing this offseason — first the change at Willowridge (still open), then the change at Hightower, and now Tom Stuart is retiring from Fort Bend Austin. Austin hasn't announced yet who his successor will be, but Hightower has managed to fill its opening by promoting assistant Barry Abercrombie, who has been with the program for several years. His immediate task at hand? Rebuilding a defense that returns just one starter.

Alpine hires: We thought 2A Alpine would have a hard time replacing Shad Hanna, who's wide-open offense made the Bucks one of the region's tougher teams, especially in the regular season. He left for Midland Greenwood a little ways back. But Alpine didn't waste much time, bringing in Coahoma's Stacey Martin to lead the program. 

Try, try again: Buckholts, the six-man school that was burned by four-day coach Mike Pagliaro earlier this year, has officially corrected the error and brought in Cory Schwartz, a middle school 11-man coach with no six-man experience. That's a tough situation there, and Schwartz becomes Buckholts' ninth coach in 11 years. 

Van Vleck hires: The complicated situation with Michael O'Guin at Van Vleck has finally come to a close, and V-V has replaced him with Greg Bagby, Ganado's offensive coordinator. Ganado has been a top 1A program recently, so this is a good move for a program that's been dealing with a change for quite some time now. Bagby was briefly the head coach at 1A Gorman, but a difference in philosophy led him back to Ganado before he ever coached a game. Hopefully this will turn out better.

Rio Vista hires: This one had been open for a while, too, but Rio Vista has finally made the call — South Garland OC Seth Hobbs. South Garland was one of 5A's most surprising programs last year, and even if it was the defense that really impressed, Hobbs will hopefully bring some magic with him.

La Grange hires: Replacing Wayne Walker was never going to be easy, but La Grange has gone with Matt Kates, who was an assistant at FW Arlington Heights under new Hutto coach Steve Hale. La Grange graduated a lot of talent off of last year's team, so Kates is going to have some building to do right away.

Speaking of Hutto ...: Bloomington coach Paul Baird is resigning to take an administrative role with Hutto ISD.

One last one: Hyde Park Baptist has hired Dean Campbell, a former UT football player, has been hired at Hyde Park Baptist. 

Cayuga's Allison on the move (4/26/10)

Before coach Tomy Allison really hit his stride at tiny 1A Cayuga, the Wildcats really didn't have much of a football history to speak of. Before 2006, the last time Cayuga had qualified for the postseason was 1994 — and before that, nothing. It was pretty much an anonymous football program.

Then came Allison, and with him a handful of program-changing players that not only got the Wildcats into the postseason, but it into two straight title games, including a win in 2009. Those kids (Traylon Shead, Malcome Kennedey, etc.) have now graduated. Now Allison has made the choice to leave, too.

Allison is leaving his post at Cayuga for Jacksboro, a playoff team in recent years that needs a bit of an identity. Allison, with his magnetic personality and growing reputation to develop athletes, is an excellent choice for such a role. It would not be surprising to see him keep advancing up the coaching ladder over the next decade and eventually become one of the state's most well-known names. Keep an eye out.

Speaking of 1A teams, Marfa has also completed a change, hiring Crane offensive coordinator Jeff Jones to take over the program. If you want to go the offensive route, Jones was a very good choice. The Golden Cranes have been one of 2A's top scoring programs for years, and I would be surprised if Marfa didn't adopt the same wide-open passing attack that worked so well for Crane. 

Here's two quick ones from way out West, too — EP Socorro has hired Ronnie Hernandez, who seems to want to spend the rest of his career in the area, and Clint Horizon has brought in David Telas, who has been an assistant at EP Del Valle for nine years. And in slightly older news, Houston Spring Woods, down to Class 4A for the first time in as long as I can remember, has replaced Dwayne Eggerman with Keith Cripps. 

Craig Carpenter heads back to Midlothian (4/16/10)

Sometimes, the long-awaited goal of being a head football coach has to be put on hold if a better opportunity becomes available. For Rio Vista's Craig Carpenter, that opportunity has arrived.

Carpenter, the HC at Rio Vista for one year, is leaving the program to take an assistant coaching job at Midlothian, where he was an assistant before he left for RV the first time. Carpenter finished 1-9 in his only season as the lead man, but Midlothian could sure use his help -- Midlo also finished 1-9 last year and now has to cope with a head coaching change and a move up to Class 5A. A guy who knows the school and students like Carpenter is worth his weight in gold.

And Brownfield also settled its search, hiring Steve Taylor, who resigned at Midland Greenwood last month. As the summer progresses, we're seeing fewer and fewer jobs opening up and more and more being filled. Expect more of the same over the next two or three weeks.

Bullet points from April (4/15/10):

Here's a few rapid thoughts and news bullets from the world of high school coaching ...

Lineweaver to stay?: It was looking like Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver was surely going to retire soon when his Trojans lifted their third 5A state title in six years back in December. After all, Lineweaver wasn't getting any younger and sooner or later he'd have to step aside. But it's become apparent we may have Lineweaver in the mix for the immediate future, since his young Trinity boys shows some tangible promise and could very well be title bound again in another year.

SA Lee back open: Here's one I haven't seen before -- SA Lee, after hiring a deserving Danny Kloza from SA MacArthur, has abruptly reopened the search after it was determined that the position "required" a master's degree, something Kloza did not have. So the search is on again, and Kloza, who has battled cancer for years, has reapplied. If he doesn't get the job (again), then this is a bit of a crime, if you ask me.

Rankin hires: Rankin, which enjoyed a pretty successful decade through the 00's, has hired its coach of the future -- Shannon Williams, the head coach at Sidney since 2004. Williams won 35 games at Sidney and made a regional final in 2008.

Chester hires, too: Eric Holton, who was the football coach at Beaumont Legacy Christian, has been recommended at Chester. 

Quanah is last up: And Quanah has hired Jason Sims, who was an assistant at Wichita Falls High. 

Buckholts has to change (4/12/10)

A few days back, I wrote a short blog detailing some rapid switcheroos of judgment -- from Kingsville to La Feria, there were plenty of mid-changing stories to explore. Well here's another one: recently hired Buckholts coach Mike Pagliaro is already gone.

Buckholts, a six-man school trying mightily to find a permanent option at the HC spot, accepted Pagliaro's resignation just three days after he was unanimously voted to take over. The reasons haven't really been discussed yet, and there's a chance we'll never fully know. But whenever a newly hired coach is out in less than a week, it's a blow thats tough to take. It's back to the drawing board now for the embattled program.

Also, Denton Ryan OC Jared Moffatt has taken over one of the best jobs left open right now -- 3A Van, which is replacing Brady Pennington. Van has an up-and-down history of success, including producing OU signee Jermie Calhoun, but the pieces are there to build a strong regional contender. And Moffatt, who I've spoken to a number of times and really like, seems to have his I's dotted and his T's crossed. His offense should be explosive and his program sharp -- any protege of Joey Florence at Ryan has a leg up on the competition.

The last change today is an interesting one -- former CC West Oso coach Mark Guess is taking over at new school Brownsville Veteran's Memorial. Guess was replaced by Joe Salinas at Oso earlier this year, but he'll be welcomed at Memorial, where his veteran experience can help the program start off right. 

By the way, it's been reported that Ricky Lock, the coach at Gonzales, is back from administrative leave after he was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Further decisions are pending, but for now, he's back in charge.

Getting up to date (4/8/10)

Outside of the Mike Vallery resignation at Kilgore, there really haven't been any major moves on the Coaching Changes market -- it's just been a quiet time of year, and it looks like this will be a relatively tame year all together. But there are a number of moves over the past few weeks that we missed worth reporting. You can either review the full chart on the link above or read the list here ...

>> Brownsville Hanna has promoted OC Tom Campos
>> Los Fresnos has hired Victoria Memorial DC Clint Finley
>> SA Lee has replaced long-time coach Jimmy Ramos with Danny Kloza
>> SA Southwest has hired Pete Wagner
>> EP Riverside has hired Eric Frontz
>> FW Arlington Heights has hired Ged Kates
>> FW Trimble Tech's John Naylor has taken over at FW Western Hills
>> Manor has hired Austin Johnson assistant Sad Jackson
>> Hamshire-Fannett has hired former Barbers Hill coach Don Price
>> Midland Greenwood's Steve Taylor has resigned
>> Chris Henson has been reassigned at Pecos
>> Van Vleck's Michael O'Guin has been reassigned
>> Jacksboro's Brandon Brown has taken over at Clifton
>> Valley View has hired Pilot Point DC Kurtis Kloiber
>> Bremond has hired Bruce Brignac
>> Gruver has hired Valley View's Terry Felderhoff
>> Van Horn has promoted OC Domingo Vento
>> Wink has hired Andy Hrncir

Kilgore coach steps down (4/6/10)

Out East, one of the legends of the sports has decided to call it a career.

Kilgore's Mike Vallery, who has been with the Bulldogs since 1995, is retiring for family reasons, looking to do things outside of coaching that he's never really had an opportunity to do. He spoke with David Smoak of Smoaky.com about the decision, and his reasons are understandable. But this leaves a big hole on Kilgore's sidelines, one that isn't going to be filled overnight -- after all, Vallery has more than 220 career wins and a state title on the resume.

Smoaky mentions that Kilgore ISD is hoping to hire out of the current pool of assistants, which I think is a great call -- that East Texas 4A area is so balanced, and all the teams are so even, that bringing in a guy that already has experience dealing with them would be a huge boost. Any given team can win on any given night out there -- any competitive edge should be welcomed. This will be an interesting hiring process to follow.

A few changes worth discussing (4/1/10)

Everyone has the right to choose certain things: Your friends, your dinner, even your job. But recently we've had a few situations where guys have either had a hard time choosing or had someone else make the call for them. You don't see it all that often in the high school ranks, but every now and again, drama makes itself known.

Kingsville looked like it had its new coach all locked up -- Marcus Booker, the former Cotulla coach and current defensive coordinator at Corpus Christi Carroll. But almost at the same time the board unanimously approved his hiring, Booker unexpectedly and somewhat unexplicably withdrew from the process. His short statement spoke of his family and students, and how he didn't want to put them through any uncertainty. I guess that makes sense -- although saying your leaving is pretty certain, right? Either way, Booker stays at Carroll and Kingsville is back in the search column.

La Feria isn't looking much better. Elifonso Esquivel, who had been there for three seasons, had his contract extended, then rescinded -- without a reason -- by a school board that didn't seem interested in discussing why. His current contract is up at the end of the year, so that means he's pretty much out once the 11th hour hits. Talk about confusion -- from extended to out in the snap of a finger.

Barbay family taking over! (3/25/10)

Last season, the talk of the town was that the McCoy family (Brad, Colt and Case) and Shipley family (Bob, Jordan and Jaxon) were the preeminent families Texas football -- the ones that you always think of first when heritage and haskmarks collide. Before them, it was the Harrells (Sam, Graham and Clark). But you'd be hard-pressed to find a situation as unusual as the Barbay's -- three coaches from one family, all in the same district.

Warren, a 2A school, has hired rookie head coach Kevin Barbay, meaning Kevin will spend have of his 10-2A district schedule fighting his cousin, Darrell, who coaches at Anahuac, and his uncle, legend Curtis, who resides at Newton. So I ask you -- have you ever heard of such a thing before? I know I haven't. And while Warren is taking a leap of faith by hiring a guy with no head coaching experience, the writing is on the wall that he comes from a football family and should be well-prepared for the rigors of the job. Besides -- it's not like last year's struggles weren't obvious. The defense gave up more than 36 points per game. I think Kevin knows where to start!

Greenville has also hired, tapping into its past by bringing in Chawn Cooper as its head new head coach. Cooper, who was selected out of a pool of 92 applicants, is currently the OC at Caddo Mills. But he has worked at Greenville twice before as both an assistant football coach and head powerlifting coach, where he has had great success with both individuals and teams.

Seguin hires Walker (3/15/10)

Sometimes, even the most unexpected of problems can turn out to a positive resolution.

When Seguin coach Jim Carson surprisingly stepped down early this year to deal with some personal issues, the Matadors were suddenly left without a coach heading into s year laden with expectations. Though Seguin is an attractive coaching job, conducting a candidate search without any prior planning can be daunting.

But Seguin made a smart choice by turning to the small school ranks and found a man who's quietly turned his program into a consistent contender -- La Grange's Wayne Walker. When Walker first got to the Leopards in '05, they were just a 2-8 group. He leaves them in '09 as a 12-3 state semifinalist with some strong offensive credentials. After all, he was the offensive coordinator for Ennis back when they were winning all those state championships.

Odds are, the new-look Seguin program will be throwing the ball, a lot, and will be relying on a potent offense to win football games. Things may not get turned around over night, but once Walker finds a QB that he can trust -- like Josh Schneider at La Grange -- expect the Matadors to grow steadily more competitive, perhaps culminating in some lengthy playoff runs.

Moves at SA Lee, Teague (3/15/10)

In an offseason that has seemed marked by marquee coaching losses, SA Lee has added another drop to the bucket -- longtime coach Jimmy Ramos is stepping down due to health issues.

As David Flores, a fantastic area writer, outlines in his story from last week, Ramos was doing some very difficult work, taking a low-enrollment school and trying to make it competitive against some of the largest and most talented schools in Class 5A. His efforts were rarely rewarded in the win column, but the man deserves praise for taking and holding a job that a lot of other coaches wouldn't want. Replacing him will be difficult.

Maud also has a tough road ahead of it after coach Josh Finney departed for 2A Teague. Finney oversaw the Cardinals in what may eventually be their most famous era ever -- the Maud Squad era, in which James Dunbar, Bryant House and Ray Burns dominated 1A competition to produce some of Maud's best-ever season results. I went out to Maud a few years back, and Finney was a perfect match for the program. Even asked me to stay over and go fishing. I was sorely tempted. Only a social engagement held me back. But that's the kind of guy he is. Teague got a good one, and he'll surely spread his reputation as a talent developer.

Mexia has also hired, closing a search that had everyone curious. Paul Weaver was the choice -- Weaver, who was the offensive coordinator at Keller Fossil Ridge, is taking his first head coaching job at the right time. Mexia is returning some potent talent for the 2010 season, which means Weaver has a chance to win immediately.

And West Oso has also hired, bringing in Van Horn's Joe Salinas to replace Mark Guess. Salinas had an immediate impact on Van Horn when he took over in 2007, bumping the program up one win in his first year and taking it to the playoffs with winning seasons in each of his next two. West Oso has missed the postseason two years in a row. Salinas will be expected to turn that around quickly.

Hightower loses Hallmark (3/12/10)

Apparently, Fort Bend ISD is not the place to be right now.

Last season, arguably the top two teams in the district were Fort Bend Hightower, which made the 5A DI state finals in 2008, and Fort Bend Willowridge, which enjoyed a miraculous one-year turnaround under first-year coach Keeath McGee. Witht hose programs still rising, the whole area looked to be on the way up. But in the span of a few months, both Hightower's Shane Hallmark and Willowridge's McGee have left their posts for other positions.

Hallmark is leaving for Klein High -- our Army Strong 5A Team of the Year -- to fill the job vacated by long-time coach Stan Labay, who is retiring at the end of the year. Hallmark is a very good fit for Klein -- he's an excellent defensive football coach who can put together an effective running offense. Both of those things have been Klein staples under Labay, especially in 2009, one of the best years in program history. But Hallmark won't have quite the abundance of elite FBS talent he had at Hightower, which is one of the state's premier producers. We'll see whether or not that changes his style or his results. But Klein should be ecstatic -- replacing Labay was one of the hardest jobs in the state this year, but this is as good as you're ever going to do.

Plenty of moves to discuss (3/08/10)

With all the recent changes to TexasFootball.com, it's been a little tough to hit every blog consistently. I'll freely admit that this time it was the Coaching Changes world that got the raw deal. Though the chart was updated, this blog was a little behind. I'll catch you back up, bullet point-style.

Hutto hires: Steven Hale is off to Hutto to replace Lee Penland. Hale comes from Fort Worth Arlington Heights, where he has built a consistent winner. His school is oft-overlooked because the Fort Worth city area rarely makes a big impact in playoff football (Aledo isn't included in there, mind you), but his teams have played strong defense throughout his tenure. He should be a great fit at Hutto -- and how's this for a headline: Hustlin' Hippos Hire Heights' Hale!

Three Centex schools set: Little River Academy has brought in Mike Nichols, the DC from South Garland. LRA should be overjoyed with this hire -- Nichols headed up a brilliant defense at SG, which drove deep into the playoffs after they were left for dead in the first round. Cedar Creek, a new school in Bastrop, has hired Mike Ferrell, who was with EP Socorro beforehand. And San Marcos Baptist Academy gets Les Davis, who had been with New Braunfels Canyon for years. That's also an exemplary hire -- well done by all four Centex programs.

Early hires Bowden: No, not THAT Bowden. Brad Bowden, who had been the head coach at San Angelo Grape Creek, is leaving for Early, which is coming off a disappointing 2-8 campaign. Bowden will be expected to get the ship righted immediately, but that shouldn't be a Herculean task -- the Longhorns have been a consistent playoff contender over the past few years, and inexperience really hurt them in 2009. This season is shaping up to be much better.

Lamar replaces Peach: This story happened a few days ago, but it's worth mentioning, even belatedly. Eddy Peach, the long-time coach at Arlington Lamar, now has a successor after he retired following the 2009 season -- Trent Fuller, the offensive coordinator at Arlington Bowie. This is a very good move for Lamar; Fuller's offenses have been extremely successful for the Vols, and he's worked with a lot of FBS talent in his years there. Lamar has been stuck at or around .500 for the past few seasons, but this move may help them improve. Peach, of course, will be missed. But Fuller's new blood might help provide Lamar with a fresh start.

Burleson area has two new names: Both Burleson and Burleson Centennial, a new program, have head coaches on the way. Burleson has hired Jason Tucker, who was an OL and DB coach at Southlake Carroll. And Centennial has hired Kyle Geller, who comes from Carrollton Creekview.

BROWNSVILLE ISD ACTIVE 

After the end of one the city's better performances in recent memory, Brownsville still found itself facing wholesale changes. Hanna had just completed a 9-2 district title campaign, and Pace, which finished a step or two off the pace at 7-4, won five district games. Rivera, Lopez and Porter all struggled, but sporting two solid playoff programs is an achievement for any city of Brownsville's size.

But that still left BISD searching for four head coaching candidates at season's end -- Hanna, Porter, Rivera and newly-opening Veterans Memorial. Consider two of the four filled. Porter and Rivera have both had their new coaches, Hector Garcia and David Cantu, respectively, approved by the school board and will be in place for the upcoming season. Hanna and VM, on the other hand, had their selections voted down, which means its back to the drawing board.

Another Valley program suddenly faces a change -- Los Fresnos, who is losing coach Scotty Ford to Nacogdoches. Ford's tenure at Los Fresnos, while a big fragmented between one very short stint as HC and a second, longer one, was highly successful, so maybe that will translate over to a Nacogdoches program that is still in search of a breakout year. Ford takes over for Bill Harper, who retired at season's end.

A few smaller schools have settled on new coaches as well -- 3A Canton has promoted Wes Rhoten from within to take over for Lance Angel, and Overton, which lost Ty Robinson to retirement months ago, has filled the void with Bo Talkington, who coached there for almost a decade in the 80s.

CANEY CREEK HIRES (2/22/10)
After several seasons of flux, Conroe Caney Creek may have finally found the stability it's looking for.

Caney Creek has hired Brent Verzwyvelt, who comes from the offensive coordinator spot at The Woodlands College Park. Verzwyvelt now becomes the third coach in three years for Caney Creek after Dan Burk resigned with just one year on the resume. Before him, Glenn Hill left for San Antonio Churchill. Last season, Caney Creek was winless on the field, only to have a loss rescinded when an opponent fielded an ineligible player. But still -- 0-10 on the field and taking over a program with almost no coaching stability? This is a tough gig.

The biggest positive for Caney Creek moving forward, however, is its district -- the newly realigned 18-4A is without an area super power, and even Huntsville, arguably the top name in the group will be changing head coaches. So even though the path will be the rocky, it is not impassable.

And by the way, the greater Marshall area is planting its flag in the six man ranks -- both Karnack and Marshall Christian Academy will be fielding six-man teams this upcoming season, with Karnack playing amongst the UIL ranks and MCA lining up in TCAL. Previously, the only six-man team out that direction was Phoenix Charter in Greenville.

JIM CARSON STEPS DOWN (2/12/10)
There's been yet another prominent resignation handed up to a school board this week. Unlike Brad McCoy's, it wasn't to join the Flippen Group. Unlike Stan Labay's, it wasn't to retire. This time, Seguin's Jim Carson needed to relocate for family reasons.

And just like that, the Matadors are unexpectedly in the market for a new head football coach after the man that led them since 2003 had to make a change. Seguin, despite some recent on-field struggles, is immediately one of the most attractive jobs out there for prospective coaches. It has an involved fan base, a built-in rivalry with New Braunfels and a good support system. So if you're in the market for a gig, here's a good place to start.

2A Clifton has also opened up after Shawn Bell was pegged as the new man at 4A Magnolia West. Bell spent just one year at Clifton -- and if the name sounds familiar, it should. He's the former Baylor quarterback we came to know and love after several years of prolific passing. Though Clifton went just 3-7 this season, there were some positives. Bell should help build the MW program from the ground up.

McCOY LEAVES; SA-AREA FILLS UP (2/12/10)
Another week (and change), another wave of coaching moves -- some big, some small, and all important to a select group of fans and students.

The most breaking news is that Graham coach Brad McCoy, the father of former UT QB Colt and future QB Case, is resigning just months after he took the Steers to the 3A DII finals. McCoy is signing on with the Flippen Group -- an organization our magazine detailed in the 2009 summer edition in our Colt-centric main feature -- to talk to youth about how to grow into leaders. The strain of being at Longhorn games for Case and pro games a day later for Colt make coaching a near impossibility. The move hurts Graham, which has a lot of rebuilding to do next season, but it's an understandable one for perhaps now the most famous football family in Texas.

Two major San Antonio schools have both gone within for their new head coaches -- SA Clark has hired former player and longtime assistant Steve McGee, whose college-bound playing career was cut short due to a severe neck injury, and SA O'Connor has turned to David Malesky, who had been with the program for years under former coach Danny Padron. The appeal to both of these hires is consistency -- both schools have been routinely near or at the top of the district standings, so keeping as many pieces in place as possible is key.

One story that has been circulating for about 10 days or so that we haven't hit on is the retirement of Klein coach Stan Labay, who decided to call it quits at the end of January, a few weeks after he took the Bearkats to arguably the top season in program history. His team's success earned it the recently announced Army Strong 5A Team of the Year Award, but odds are he'll have more than just as a good memory from his 40-year coaching career. With Sonny Karas also stepping down at Spring, two of the Houston area's longest-tenured and most respected coaches will be gone from the sidelines in 2010-2011.

Victoris is also going through a change, and Victoria Memorial is a thing of the past. Now there are two schools -- Victoria East and Victoria West, both 4A schools in the same South Texas district. Former Memorial coach Mickey Finley will stay on board at East, whereas former Justin Northwest head man Leonard McAngus will take over at West. One other school in the large South region struck gold -- Ganado, which is bringing in Jimmy Thompson, formerly of Mount Pleasant. Ganado has been a great program recently, and Thompson is the right kind of man to keep it moving forward.

There's been a little movemet out West, as El Paso Riverside's J.J. Calderon has been announced as the new coach at El Paso Eastlake, which doesn't open until August. At the same time, El Paso Eastwood has hired, as well -- David Satcher, the former Clear Lake defensive coordinator.

EDDY PEACH RETIRES (2/8/10)
It's been a while since our last post here, and in the interim, a lot has happened -- bot nothing more important than one of just nine three-hundred game winners in state history stepping down.

Arlington Lamar's Eddy Peach is retiring after 40 seasons with Lamar, and his 311 career wins put him in the state's top ten coaches of all time. Peach is a coach that has both enjoyed his own success and bred that of others, and his son, Scott Peach, hs helped Arlington High become one of the area's top programs. Peach is a rare man -- he's only the second coach ever to win 300 games at one program (Charlie Johnston, at Childress, is the other) and he was the first to win that many at the state's highest classification level. Here's one way to look at it -- kids he coaches in his debut season -- also the school's debut season -- would now be about 57 or 58. That's a wow moment.

There has been some other noteworthy moves, like Mexia's Lee Wiginton moving up to take over Midlothian, which is moving up to Class 5A for the first time. Wiginton is a brave man -- Midlothian struggled to just a 1-9 finish last season in Class 4A, so the jump up could be difficult. But Midlo has some excellent facilities and a solid support staff, and Wiginton has turned Mexia into an area powerhouse. If there's a right man for the job, it's probably him.

Huntsville coach Mitchell Coey is resigning for health reasons, which is a substantial loss for the Hornets. But defensive coordinator Shane Martin has been promoted to fill his shoes, which is a great move -- Huntsville has routinely employed some excellent defenses and a number of the program's recent FBS signings have come from that side of the ball. Realignment away from a tough district will help as well.

And lastly, FB Willowridge's Keeath McGee is leaving for North Crowley after just one season. McGee took a Willowridge program that hadn't enjoyed a winning season since 2004 and took it to the playoffs in his first chance -- a daunting task, with Willowridge stuck with nearly 1,000 students less than most of its district and ISD rivals. Whichever coach takes that job should be ready for a challenge.

There's plenty more additions to the list -- weeks and months worth, really -- so browse below to see what we didn't touch on here. We'll add a few thoughts on some of the other moves as the week moves along.

LAKE TRAVIS HIRES (2/01/10)
From interim to full-time -- talk about a vertical coaching move.

Lake Travis defensive coordinator Hank Carter has been named the Cavaliers' new head coach after serving as an interim man during the limbo period after Chad Morris' departure for Tulsa. This is a great move for LT -- it gets to rely on someone that already knows the system, knows the kids, and most of all, has been highly successful for years.

Though Lake Travis' offense has been talked about for three years now, the defense has been every bit as good, and all-state linebackers seem to be growing on trees in the Austin suburb. In winning its third straight state title this year, LT shut down potent offenses in Cibolo Steele, Pearland Dawson and Longview. And let's not forget that 40+ game winning streak the program is on, too.

Rarely do coaches inherit a situation like Carter is. Teams winning at the Cavaliers' rate don't often face a coaching change ... much less two. When Jeff Dicus left after the first title, it was a shock. But when Morris left a few weeks ago, it was a bombshell. Now Carter, a 33-year old in his first head coaching job, gets a chance to make history -- a fourth-straight title, and maybe the second-logest winning streak in state history.

SEVERAL SCHOOLS HIRE (1/29/10)

La Joya is one of the Valley's largest and most recognizable programs. Around the turn of the century, it was also one of the best, winning double-digit game twice and qualifying for the playoffs more often than not. So when the Coyotes stumbled to a 1-9 finish last season, the team's worst record since 1990, it wasn't a good thing for RGV football in general.

But the Coyotes have made a new hire to fill out the head coach spot vacated by Leonel Casas -- Ray Trdla, McAllen Memorial's former defensive coordinator. He had been at Memorial for 12 years and served as the team's DC for the past six. Reports indicate he'll be offered a two-year contract with La Joya, which hasn't made the playoffs now since 2007. Under Trdla, Memorial's defense was one of the best in the district.

Round Rock McNeil has also hired, but at Hutto's expense. McNeil's head coaching spot had been open since Robert Wilcox stepped down at the end of the '09 season, but now long-time Hippo coach Lee Penland will be stepping in. Penland, who had been with Hutto since '98, ran a run-centric offense that took the Hippos to a 3A state title game in 2005. He also helped tutor Jeremy Kerley, now a standout athlete for TCU. The Hutto is now open, of course.

SA Jefferson is in the market for a new coach after Brian Clancy left the job to take an assistant athletic director's position for San Antonio ISD. Clancy's overall record at Jefferson was well below .500, but he had made the playoffs in both of the past two seasons. He's part of a fair amount of change for SAISD, which is also losing the Fox Tech football program from here on out.

And finally, Waskom has found a new coach after hiring Whitney Keeling, the wide receivers coach from 3A Texarkana Pleasant Grove. Keeling will also serve as the school's athletic director. This is Keeling's first head coaching job after assistant roles at Pleasant Grove, Kilgore and Jacksonville. He replaces Brian Lowe, who resigned after just a year on the job.

CUERO JOB FILLED (1/28/09)

A while back, Mark Reeve leaving Cuero for Texas Lutheran was the biggest news (and maybe the biggest shock) of the young offseason. We knew replacing a coach like him would be tough. Well, the Gobblers opted not to look very far.

Cuero has hired assistant Rick Owens as the school's new athletic director and head football coach, granting him a two year contract after five years of service with the Gobblers as an assistant. Owens had been the offensive line coach, which may be a good place to look for continued success -- Cuero has a marquee running back in Trent Jackson, and building the offense around him for the foreseeable future would be a smart move. Under Reeve, Cuero was the power of Region IV -- it'll be up to Owens to keep that flame alive.

Bullard is very close to a hire as well, and the only thing keeping Southlake Carroll defensive coordinator Shannon Wilson from becoming the new head man is a board approval tonight. Once the BISD board approves his hiring, he'll be all set. Under Wilson, Carroll quietly built a very good defense, and as many as five of his 2009 players may be signing FBS scholarship offers. The Dragons have always been offense-first, but Wilson's tutelage was building a culture change that had Southlake in contention once again.

And finally, Van's Brady Pennington has reportedly resigned to take an assistant job at New Caney Porter, a new school opening its doors in 2010. New Caney is a growing suburb in the north Houston area.

 If you have an update, please e-mail us.