When you think of Allen’s football dynasty, the squads from 2003 and 2004 really kick-started things for the Eagles.

These days, though, those teams may be better known for the quality of head coaches it produced.

The 2026 season will produce a unique confluence of events as three Class of 2005 teammates from those Allen teams will be Texas high school football head coaches. Even more amazing is the fact all three will be in the same district in 10-6A in North Forney’s Marcus Shavers, Rockwall-Heath’s Casey Dick and Mesquite Horn’s Robert Boone.

“I feel like we knew back then, we knew if we didn’t get the league we’d coach,” Shavers said. “Me and Boone had some great conversations about coaching together and we did end up being together at Estacado and McKinney. Casey was such a great leader. I know it comes with the QB position, so I always saw him in that frame as a leader and as a coach, but man he was tough too!”

Shavers is now the veteran of this crew as the former Allen defensive tackle enters his third season leading North Forney. He’s also the defending district champion as the Falcons are fresh off a 10-2 campaign.

He said the impact his coaches had on him is the reason he got into coaching, particularly his head coach at Allen, Joe Martin, who is now the THSCA’s president and was the Eagles’ coach in 2003 when they went 13-2 and made it to the state semifinals in his final season.

“Coach Martin was such a great coach,” Shavers said. “I got into coaching because of the experience I got from him and my defensive coordinator, coach Terry Gambill. A lot of what we do goes back to Coach Martin and what we learned at Allen.”

As for the games against Rockwall-Heath and Mesquite Horn, Shavers said he’s excited for the challenge.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun but extremely competitive when we play,” he said. “I’m going to coach against guys that I’m friends with but also have a ton of respect for, because I know what kind of people they are and they’ve got the blueprint to get the best out of their team. I know we’ll get their best shot because we are the district champions so we have the target on our backs.”

Dick, who was hired on Thursday, was a college teammate and roommate of Shavers when the two played collegiately at Arkansas. He jumps into this tough district after spending the past 10-plus years in coaching in Arkansas.

“When you look at Coach Martin and the impact he’s made, it made a lot of his players want to be coaches,” Dick said. “The experience we had at Allen was just incredible. I am sure the things that Marcus and Robert do in their programs have roots and trace back to Coach Martin, and the same can be said for my program from offseason to the pregame script.”

The new Rockwall-Heath head coach said he’s fired up for his former teammates and to be able to coach against them.

“Marcus was an amazing teammate; talkative, enthusiastic and energetic. We were college roommates also and so we’ve got a really special bond,” Dick said. “Boone was one of my receivers. He was awesome and we had a great connection as well. He shared a lot of similarities with Marcus with his energy and how competitive he was. Boone told me he had the game against us circled twice, so I told him ‘Come On!’ I’m sure Marcus has it circled as well. It’s going to be really fun and competitive. They are great coaches, but great people as well.”

Boone is the most recent hire of the bunch as he was named Mesquite Horn’s head coach on Monday evening after a successful first head coaching stint at Carrollton Smith. He previously served as Shavers’ offensive coordinator at Lubbock Estacado and McKinney.

“My mind is blown and I’m trying to get my head around the fact that 24 years ago we were all incoming freshman at Allen,” Boone said. “If you would have told me that we’d be in this place I would have laughed at you.

“Marcus and Casey and my life-long friends. We accomplished a lot at Allen, and we’ve done so much in our careers. I really can’t wait for the challenge; we competed a lot in high school and we’ll compete in this setting. Both of those guys were dynamic leaders on our team back at Allen. So now that I look back it’s not a surprise they got into coaching. They were both leaders by example and they were able to make the guys around them better and that’s what coaching is all about.”

You can hear the pride in Joe Martin’s voice when he talks about his former players who are now having such success as head coaches.

“I’m so proud, thrilled to death, so excited to watch those guys,” he said. “They are all outstanding coaches and more importantly outstanding people. They all had that ‘it’ factor, even as sophomores.

Martin distinctly remembers Dick expressing interest in coaching back in the day.

“I think him being a quarterback helped in that because you have to be a leader,” Martin said. “With Marcus, I don’t know if he ever openly talked about coaching with me, but he was such a competitor and vocal leader in addition to being a great player. I know coaches had a major impact in his life when he was young and I imagine when he finished playing, he wanted to have a similar impact on kids lives. Boonie (Robert Boone) fell in love with the game I think once he got to college at Angelo State. That’s where he maybe caught the coaching bug.”

Martin couldn’t help but crack a smile when he was told of the fondness his players had for him and how his coaching has rubbed off on them.

“I think when I hear that it just reaffirms that what we did all those years ago worked,” Martin said. “All three of those guys believed in the WE WILL WIN culture and it’s a common rallying cry, even today. They believed in what we did and the values we instilled as a program and I’m so happy to see that living on in this generation of coaches.

I know one day guys that played for them will do the same thing. It’s really what coaching is all about.”

Martin said he plans on being at a few of the games in 10-6A when his former players are coaching against each other.

“I’m definitely going to be attending a couple of the games,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch those guys compete.”