Football: Ozona wants to hire a head coach this week

The Crockett County CCSD was scheduled to complete its final interview for an athletic director and head coach of Ozona High's football team Tuesday.

Two candidates - Bronte head coach Kevin Burns and Rocksprings head coach Robert Hernandez - interviewed Monday, while Pflugerville Hendrickson head coach Ray Brown was set to interview Tuesday, superintendent Chris duBois said.

DuBois said he would like to hire a new coach this week and could make a recommendation to the school board today at the earliest. He could also make the recommendation at school board meetings 6:30 p.m. Wednesday or 7 a.m. Friday.

"All three are good candidates, but if things do not work out we'll go to a second tier of candidates," duBois said.

The Lions participate in District 4-2A, along with Crane, Alpine and Kermit.

Former coach Matt Gutierrez, who resigned coaching and athletic director duties May 28, stayed as dean of students. Ozona went 3-17 in Gutierrez's two years at the helm of the program, including last season's 0-10 mark.

"They fell on hard times lately but they've always had a great athletic tradition," Hernandez said. "They've got some great kids there, good athletes. The kids play hard."

Hernandez has been head coach at Rocksprings in each of his 10 years at the school, and the team played Ozona in non-district games and scrimmages earlier in his tenure, he said.

A few Permian Basin area coaches applied for the position, the salary of which is negotiable, according to duBois - including Kermit offensive coordinator Brian Gibson, McCamey defensive coordinator Brad Hale and Greenwood head coach Steve Taylor.

Taylor, however, withdrew from consideration after Crockett County CCSD did not meet all his requirements, he said.

But even if the district did, "I just promised to look at it," said Taylor, adding that the district contacted him first. "It wasn't a done deal."

Taylor was head coach at Ozona from 1999 to 2003 and served as high school principal in 2004 before moving to Greenwood.

Taylor said he received strong community support while he was at Ozona, and he can see why a coach would take the job despite last season's record.

"Sometimes you come in somewhere that's been 0-10 and there's nowhere to go but up," Taylor said. "I think they'll have pretty good guys look at it as a challenge to bring it back."

>> Ozona Applicants

Danny Adams                head coach       Winfield, Ala.

Brad Ballard                assistant coach                Richardson Berkner

Marcus Booker                former athletic director                Cotulla

Ray Brown                offensive coordinator                Pflugerville Hendrickson

Kevin Burns                head coach       Bronte

Lonnie Cook                n/a

Ricky Coon                defensive coordinator                Ellsworth Community College, Iowa

Jason Fowler                offensive coordinator                Oak Park High, Kan.

Trey Gardner                assistant coach                Pflugerville Hendrickson

Gary Garvin                defensive coordinator                Lavernia

Matt Garvin                defensive coordinator                DeKalb

Michael Gaston                head coach       San Antonio Holmes

Brian Gibson                offensive coordinator                Kermit

Butch Gonzales                assistant coach       San Jacinto Junior High, Midland

x-Hector Guevara   athletic director   Bovina

Toby Guy                offensive coordinator                San Angelo Grape Creek

Brad Hale                defensive coordinaor                McCamey

Randy Hawkins                head coach                Lawrenceville High, Ill.

Daryl Hayes                offensive line coach                Shepherd University, W.Va.

Robert Hernandez                head coach                Rocksprings

William Jehling                assistant coach       Griffin Middle School, Frisco

Wesley Johnson                defensive coordinator                Seymour

Darren Kight                defensive coordinator                Round Rock Westwood

Chad Lanier                offensive coordinator                North Mesquite

Todd Lawdermilk                athletic director   Hart

Wade Lawrence                offensive coordinator                Kenedy

Gordon Martin                defensive coordinator                Lindsay

Bob McLeroy                consultant               Bryan

Nicholas Morales                coach                Eisenhower (Houston)

Doug Odum                coach                Chula Vista, Calif.

Fortino Patino                defensive coordinator                Rocksprings

Phil Pettey                self-employed                Corpus Christi

Samuel Pratt                offensive line coach                Lumberton

Torrey Price                defensive coordinator                Collinsville

Michael Riddle                athletic director   Webutuck schools, Pa.

Rock Stanley                assistant sophomore coach                Garland

Roderick Taylor                assistant program director                Mesquite

x-Steve Taylor                head coach                Greenwood

Peter Wagner                offensive coordinator                San Antonio Southwest

Ken Wallace                asssistant coach    Pecos

Nicholas Williams                assistant coach       Trinity University

Ron Young                defensive coordinator                Mineral Wells

Rick Mazza                teacher                Salisbury, N.C.

Hugh Farmer                head coach Frederick, Okla.

Matthew Loafman  receivers coach       DeSoto

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