Another Duncanville Assistant Gets a Head Coaching Gig

Beaumont native Marcus Graham returns to his hometown and will take over at Beaumont United as the school’s second head coach. The Timberwolves posted a 5-5 mark a year ago in 6A and have high hopes with the drop to Class 5A-Division I. Graham spent 2019 as an offensive assistant, focusing on the offensive line at Duncanville. He has nine seasons of head coaching experience at El Paso Burges and El Paso Socorro, he led the Mustangs of Burges to a 10-3 mark in 2012 when he coached UTEP legend and current Green Bay Packer running back Aaron Jones. Graham becomes the third Duncanville assistant coach to get a head coaching job this off-season.

Expect Keller Fossil Ridge to Move Quickly

Keller ISD is expected to interview candidates for the vacant head football coach spot at Keller Fossil Ridge during the first week of March. The interview committee will use Spring Break to mull over the candidates and if one candidate stands out above the field, they will likely be named as the head coach when the district returns on March 16, if a second round of interviews is needed then those interviews will be conducted that week and a decision shortly thereafter. In Keller ISD, a board meeting does not need to be called to hire a head coach as the superintendent can make the hire without board approval.

Plano Still Without a Head Coach

It appeared that Plano Senior High had their next head football coach last week as Plano ISD named Denton Braswell head coach Cody Moore as the Wildcats next head coach at a school board meeting. However, in a surprising change of heart Moore decided on the next day to remain at Braswell and leave Plano still without a head coach. PISD reposted the job opening this week and will restart the process immediately to get a new coach.

San Antonio Warren Hires Waldorf University Head Coach Josh Littrell

Northside ISD hired Waldorf University head coach Josh Littrell as the new head coach at San Antonio Warren last week. Littrell spent three seasons leading the NAIA program in Iowa and was named conference coach of the year in 2018. Littrell is familiar with the lay of the land at Warren as he served as the Warriors offensive coordinator from 2007-2013.

Jon Kitna Returns to TXHSFB

After two seasons away from TXHSFB, Jon Kitna is returning to the sidelines of Texas high school football. He was named the next head football coach at Burleson High School on Monday. Kitna, who spent 2019 as an assistant coach on the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff, was the head coach at Waxahachie High School from 2015-2017 where he posted a 20-13 overall record and led Waxahachie to the third round of the playoffs in his final season. Kitna also will bring his son, three-star QB Jalen Kitna, who spent last season as the QB at Frisco Reedy.

Breckenridge Alum Casey Pearce Returns Home

Longview defensive coordinator Casey Pearce returned to his alma mater this week to take over as HFC/AD at Breckenridge after a successful run in East Texas on John King’s staff. Pearce coordinated the Lobos defense in 2018 as Longview brought home the 6A-Division II state title. Pearce will return home to Breckenridge where his father served as head coach from 1981-1983 and still serves as an athletic trainer in Breckenridge ISD.

Abernathy Promotes DC Justin Wiley

Abernathy ISD rewarded the success of its football program the past few seasons as defensive coordinator Justin Wiley was promoted to head football coach/athletic director on February 28. Wiley, who has spent the past five years as the defensive coordinator at Abernathy, has eight years of head coaching experience with stints at Smithville and Ballinger. He takes over a team that went 12-2 a year ago but was hit hard by graduation.

Kyle Freeman Resigns at Ozona

Kyle Freeman elected to resign his post at Ozona after four seasons at the helm despite a renewal from the school board. “I don’t have a job lined up at the moment,” Freeman told Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. “The people here have treated me great, but I knew I wasn’t going to be back so I wanted to be fair to the district and give them plenty of time to find a quality candidate.” Freeman led the Lions to an 8-4 mark in 2019. He went 44-26 in six seasons as a head coach; in his two seasons at Bruni he posted an impressive 22-5 record and led the Badgers to the regional finals in 2015. Freeman’s teams posted a winning record in three of his four seasons at Ozona.

Freer Hires Robert Williams

Freer promoted defensive assistant Robert Williams to head football coach on February 26. Williams, who has spent time as an assistant at Freer, Somerset and San Antonio Lanier, is a 15-year coaching veteran and will be leading a program for the first time.

Peaster Added to District 4-3A Division I

After electing to not play varsity football in a UIL football district in October, Peaster had a change of heart after realignment and petitioned to join District 4-3A Division I and play varsity football in 2020. A big part of this change had to be the hiring of new head coach Gary McElroy from Burleson. McElroy took a look at the program and felt they could compete in varsity football next year and didn’t want to play two more years of an outlaw schedule.

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It’s officially clinic season in the state of Texas and if you have coaching clinic information that we are missing below by all means send it our way! You can email it to me at matt.stepp@texasfootball.com or reach out to me on twitter @Matt_Stepp817.

May 1-2: El Paso Football Clinic, El Paso

May 15-16: I-45 Clinic, The Woodlands

June 11-13: Angelo Football Clinic, San Angelo

June 11-13: Dos Amigos Clinic, Eagle Pass

July 19-21: 2020 THSCA Coaches Convention & Coaching School, San Antonio

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Matt Stepp is the Texas High School Football Inside for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. Find him on Twitter: @Matt_Stepp817.