Carrollton Smith head coach Robert Boone has been named the next head coach at Mesquite Horn, Mesquite ISD announced on Monday. This follows a brief search following the departure of Vernon Hughes, who accepted the head coaching position at Converse Judson.

Boone inherits a Horn program in desperate need of stability as the Jaguars are on their third head coach in three seasons after going 2-7 in 2025.

“When I got into coaching back in 2012, I put together a short-list of schools I’d like to be a head coach at and Horn was on that list because the first game I ever coached was against them when I was at Boyd and I saw what kind of talent and what the program could be,” Boone said. “Horn’s on the highest level of football and they play against the best and I wanted to be a part of that.”

The new head Jaguar arrives in Mesquite after five solid seasons at Newman Smith where he posted a 33-23 record and led the Trojans to playoff appearances in three consecutive seasons. Prior to his time in Carrollton, Boone was an offensive coordinator at McKinney and Lubbock Estacado and he also served as an assistant coach at McKinney Boyd.

“This is an opportunity to restore Horn back to where it should be," he said. "Mesquite is an unbelievable district. There’s room for growth in Horn’s attendance zone and this is just an exciting opportunity. “I’m forever indebted to CFBISD for giving me my first shot. Newman Smith is near and dear to my heart because there’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears we’ve put into this place and it’s really an emotional experience to leave this place.”

Coach Boone is a native of Allen and joins his two high school teammates, Marcus Shavers (North Forney HC) and Casey Dick (Rockwall-Heath HC), in the new District 10-6A. Boone says he plans on meeting his new team on Tuesday morning and his official start date with Horn will be on Wednesday.

Newman Smith, who posted a 6-5 record a year ago, will be looking for just its third head coach in 20 years as Paul Ressa held that post for 14 seasons before Boone's arrival in 2021.