Pending board approval on Thursday night, Merkel ISD will name Snyder athletic director/head football coach Wes Wood to the same position.

He will replace Will Kates, who resigned from Merkel in March to take over as the offensive coordinator at Class 4A Eagle Mountain High School. 

“Coach Kates did a great job at Merkel," Wood said. "He built consistency in the program and made this a really attractive job."

Wood, a Muleshoe native, has spent the past five seasons at Snyder where led the Tigers to the playoffs three times, including a run to the 4A-Division II regional semifinals in 2021.

Wood began his coaching career at his alma mater, Muleshoe, where he spent four seasons on staff, including the final two seasons as the Mules offensive coordinator. From there Wood spent one season each at Grandview and Azle before being named to his first head coaching gig in early 2019.

"Merkel is in a great location," Wood said. "I grew up in a school about this size and it is very familiar for me. It’s right time and the right fit. Merkel ISD administration is amazing. This was one of the most fun interview processes I’ve been part of. I actually interviewed during the eclipse and some of the admin were dressed up as the sun and the moon and we went outside with the kids and at the moment it just felt like the right place to be. They seemed genuine and that they wanted me to come be a part of what they are building.

“There’s a lot of great people in Snyder, people that I love dearly. I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity. We are blessed for our time here."

Expect Snyder ISD to post the opening quickly and try to move on this job opening with the offseason running short on time. Snyder’s good facilities and location equidistant between Abilene, Lubbock and Midland will make it an intriguing late job opening in the Big Country.