Hurst L.D. Bell defensive coordinator Eric Vance has been named the next head football coach at Keller Central High School, Keller ISD announced on Wednesday.  

He takes over a struggling Keller Central program that is mired in a 16-game losing streak and has won just three games the last three seasons.

Vance, who has spent the last three seasons at his alma mater L.D. Bell as the Blue Raiders defensive coordinator, has a decorated career as a player and coach. Vance, who played collegiately at Vanderbilt after a stellar high school career at Bell, spent six seasons playing in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots.

After his playing career wrapped up, Vance spent six seasons in Tampa Bay in the Bucs player development department. In 2013, he was hired to a football operations position for the University of Miami.

In 2014, Vance returned to Texas where he joined the staff at Southlake Carroll and then he spent time at Trophy Club Nelson and Saginaw Chisholm Trail as an assistant coach before coming to Bell with head coach T.J. Dibble in 2021.

Priority one for Vance, who met his team this morning, will be trying to rebuild numbers in the Central program that’s seen key players leave for private schools over the past couple of years during the Chargers struggles.