The 2026 Texas high school football season is right around the corner, and while we here at Dave Campbell’s Texas Football have been locked in on all things TXHSFB year-round, we understand that many folks are just now reengaging with the sport. No problem — let’s get you up to speed in our “TXHSFB, ICYMI” series.

Today: 25 Coaching Changes You Need To Know About

Alamo Heights’ Rittimann retires; Nerio promoted

Ron Rittimann announced his retirement in March after a decorated career in San Antonio, including five 10-win seasons in his six years at Alamo Heights. The Mules didn’t have to look far for their next guy, tabbing assistant coach Rudy Nerio to take the reins of one of the Alamo City’s most consistent programs.

Celina hires Wichita Falls Memorial’s Bindel

When Celina’s Bill Elliott announced his retirement in January in the wake of scandal, it left one of the state’s most decorated programs needing a new coach. Enter Marc Bindel, a stalwart at Wichita Falls Rider and most recently Wichita Falls Memorial, boasting a 99-53 record as a head coach. He’s tasked not only with navigating Celina’s move to 5A, but also helping stabilize a reeling community. Celina ISD officially named Bindel its new head coach in March.

Falls City keeps it in the family, hires Will Kirchhoff

Mark Kirchhoff has been at the helm of 2A power Falls City for 22 of the last 30 years, retiring with a 283-122 overall record in 33 years as a head coach. The good news is they won’t have to change the name on the office: Will Kirchhoff, Mark’s son, returns to his alma mater after an impressive seven-year run at Lovelady.

Garrison lures state champion coach Therwhanger out of retirement

In a bit of a surprise, Brandon Alvarez departed Garrison after 47 wins in six seasons to become an assistant coach at Center. But the Bulldogs made a surprise of their own with his replacement, hiring Kerry Therwhanger — who retired after leading Timpson to a state title in 2023 — with a 185-83 career record to his name.

Stump retires at Atascocita; Eagles pluck College Park’s Coats

Humble Atascocita is one of the most prominent 6A programs in Houston, so it was big news when head coach Craig Stump announced his retirement after 139 wins in 14 seasons at the helm of the Eagles. After a highly competitive search, Atascocita nabbed Kyle Coats from The Woodlands College Park — the former DeSoto defensive coordinator had just led the Cavaliers to their best season in program history. College Park, in turn, hired fast-rising San Antonio Johnson offensive coordinator Michael Buro as head coach.

Hutto makes splash hire with Alvarado’s Walraven; Sims returns to alma mater

Hutto’s been in the news a lot lately. The Hippos made a splash hire in 2025 when they grabbed fast-rising talent Eli Reinhart to be their head coach after his stint as OC for North Crowley’s record-setting 2024 offense. He was so fast-rising, in fact, that after a strong debut season, Reinhart left to become offensive coordinator at Division II Grand Valley State.

No matter: the Hippos hired Alvarado’s Casey Walraven, who was at the controls of the state’s highest-scoring offense in 2025. The Indians didn’t have to look far for his replacement, hiring Alvarado alum Aubrey Sims from Weatherford to take over at his alma mater. Weatherford then made a splash of its own, hiring Lovejoy offensive coordinator Marshall Williams as the new head Kangaroo.

Lancaster lands West Mesquite’s Jackson; Wranglers grab Sam Houston’s Williams

When Leon Paul was not retained at Lancaster after five years, WEBO went west — the Tigers hired West Mesquite’s Stephen Jackson, who went a stunning 22-3 in two seasons with the Wranglers. Mesquite ISD added to its recent reputation for savvy hires by bringing in San Antonio Sam Houston head coach and former Baylor standout Jeremy Williams. Sam Houston landed on its feet by hiring Aldine Nimitz offensive coordinator Rashard Colquitt.

North Crowley promotes Harris after Gates joins North Texas’ staff

Just 13 months after guiding North Crowley to the 6A Division I state championship, Panthers head coach Ray Gates made the leap to the college ranks, joining Neal Brown’s staff at North Texas. It was a coup for the Mean Green and left a huge vacancy at one of the state’s premier programs. Crowley ISD abided by the “ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rule, promoting defensive coordinator Demarcus Harris to the big chair. He’s got head coaching experience of his own, guiding Mesquite for three seasons from 2021-23.

Former JUCO national champ Pippin takes over Palestine Westwood

Not many programs can say they hired a national championship head coach, but Palestine Westwood is one of them. The Panthers hired Brazoswood defensive coordinator Randy Pippin as their next head coach; his most notable résumé bullet point is guiding Trinity Valley Community College to the NJCAA national championship in 1994. He takes over a program with huge expectations, especially with blue-chip quarterback Kavian Bryant back for his senior year.

Pleasant Grove promotes Darby after Gibson’s stunning resignation

Perhaps the biggest bombshell of the offseason came in the first week of the new year, when Pleasant Grove coach Josh Gibson announced his departure after 12 years in charge. The architect of the Hawks’ rise to statewide prominence, Gibson guided PG to two state championships and a 124-39 record.

A week later, Pleasant Grove promoted defensive coordinator Johnathan Darby to head coach. He’s got big shoes to fill, but a bevy of talent at his disposal.

Boxell takes the reins at Refugio after Cox’s retirement

It’s always a big deal when the fifth-winningest program in Texas high school football history makes a coaching change, and such is the case with Refugio, which stands at 811 all-time victories. Drew Cox announced his retirement after two seasons, and defensive coordinator Eli Boxell was quickly promoted, keeping Refugio’s reputation for continuity intact. Cox went 24-3 in his two seasons after taking over for Jason Herring.

After Webb’s retirement, Rockwall-Heath nabs Arkansas state champ Dick

Rodney Webb called it a career in early February, finishing his Hall of Honor run with a 181-91 record as a Texas high school football coach, most notably at Rockwall and, to finish his career, rival Rockwall-Heath.

Heath’s search was far and wide and landed on a big name: Casey Dick, the former Allen standout and Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback, who most recently won a state championship as head coach at Fayetteville (Ark.) High School.

Alamo City intrigue: Salas takes over at Pieper; McKinney promoted at Harlan

San Antonio Pieper has quickly become one of the Alamo City’s most fearsome programs, so when coach Nick Rogers — the only head coach in program history — stepped down, there was plenty of chatter about who would be next.

Enter Eddie Salas, who has plenty of experience as a program builder himself, launching the San Antonio Harlan program in 2017 and quickly guiding it to statewide prominence. Harlan kept it in-house for Salas’ replacement, tabbing offensive coordinator Matt McKinney as the Hawks’ next head coach.

Dodge departs Southlake Carroll for SMU, paving way for Munn promotion

It was a Christmas Eve blockbuster when Riley Dodge announced he was leaving his alma mater to join the staff at SMU. Dodge was the fastest coach in Texas high school football history to reach 100 wins, finishing his eight-year run as the Dragons’ head coach with a staggering 107-10 record.

Carroll ISD took its time with a diligent search and landed close to home, promoting longtime defensive coordinator Lee Munn to the big chair. Needless to say, expectations are extremely high, but few know the program as intimately as Munn.

Panhandle shuffle: new coaches at Canyon, West Plains, Stratford

The hotbed of Texas high school football coaching changes was arguably … the Panhandle? Believe it!

The biggest stunner came from Canyon West Plains, which quickly rose to statewide contention under coach Adam Cummings, only for Cummings to take a job in Canyon ISD administration. That cleared the way for assistant Jeff Lofton — formerly an extremely successful coach at Idalou — to take the reins.

Speaking of Canyon ISD, Canyon High has a new man at the helm in Matt Lovorn, who served as interim coach for the latter part of the 2025 season. Lovorn, who won a state championship as head coach at Stratford, needed an offensive coordinator and found one in Stratford head coach Jon Murphy, leaving one of the state’s top small-school jobs open. Amarillo offensive coordinator Stacey Alexander was hired to lead the Elks.

Williams promoted at top-ranked Waxahachie after Tolleson returns to Denton Ryan

One of the state’s most impactful shake-ups started Jan. 8, when Denton Ryan head coach Dave Henigan announced his retirement. A state championship coach, Henigan posted a 141-23 record in 12 seasons leading the Raiders.

Speculation quickly swirled around Waxahachie head coach and former Ryan defensive coordinator Shane Tolleson, and his return to Denton Ryan became official two weeks later.

That left open one of the state’s most attractive jobs in Waxahachie — to wit: the Indians are ranked No. 1 in Dave Campbell’s preseason Class 6A rankings. Waxahachie opted to stay in-house, promoting defensive coordinator Lawrence Williams to lead the top-ranked Indians.