Decatur's New Head Coach Arrives With a Track Record of Success
After 10 seasons and two state semifinals appearances at Glen Rose, Cliff Watkins is headed to the Decatur Eagles to replace Steve Huff as head coach and athletic director.
Watkins built the Tigers into a state power in his 10 seasons in charge, including trips to the state semifinals in 2022 and 2023, the Tigers first ever regional titles. He posted five seasons of 10 wins or more and guided the Tigers to four other regional semifinal appearances, Glen Rose won ten straight district titles and posted an impressive 46-0 record in district play during Coach Watkins' tenure.
“This decision is so hard because Glen Rose is such a wonderful place," Watkins said. "I’ve got two girls who are athletes and Decatur’s success in all sports, especially on the girls side, definitely played a role in the decision after I was contacted. You add in Decatur’s football success, the community support, a great school district in a community that’s got a great location and it really intrigued me."
Prior to coming to Glen Rose, Watkins served two seasons as Eastland’s head coach where he posted an impressive 21-5 record. Overall, he has a 114-40 record in 12 seasons as a head coach. Prior to getting the Eastland job, Watkins served as an assistant coach with stops at Stephenville, Midland Lee, Breckenridge and Cisco.
Coach Watkins said his ten years in Glen Rose made the decision incredibly tough. “This was the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my career," he said. "This is such a great place. Glen Rose has unbelievable community support and its hard to leave a great place. I think we’ve elevated Glen Rose since I’ve been here and I hope the community feels like we left it better than we found it."
Watkins said the timing of the hire makes things tough and he knows he’ll need to hit the ground running. “It’s late. I need to get in there and get to know the kids, start building relationships," he said. "We just have a couple of months before August and the expectations are high.”
Glen Rose, which posted a 6-6 record a year ago, has a good core returning and expects to be a heavy favorite to win the district title. The question will be, considering the timing and recent run of success, do the Tigers stay inside or do they open the job up in mid-May?
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