A pair of Pflugerville jobs among area openings for high school football coaches

Thomas Jones, Austin American-Statesman
·3 min read

Mike McEachern hasn’t exactly eased into his position as the athletic director of Pflugerville’s school district. The longtime Huffman Hargrave athletic director and head football coach who took over the PISD job nine months ago will soon make his second and third hires for the school district’s four head-coaching spots.

Last summer, McEachern promoted Doug Pearce to replace longtime Hendrickson coach Chip Killian. This Monday and Tuesday, he interviewed almost a combined 10 candidates for the vacant head coaching jobs at Weiss and Connally. Steve Van Meter resigned from the Weiss job in December after three successful seasons, and Jason Cecil stepped down at Connally after nine seasons.

More:Steve Van Meter resigns after three seasons coaching Weiss football

“I’m not one to sit on my hands,” McEachern said. “I want to move fast. The student-athletes, the community and the schools deserve to have someone in here as soon as possible.”

As soon as possible ideally means by the end of next week, McEachern said.

Weiss and Connally may share a school district but not many other similarities, which makes for different approaches to the hires, said McEachern.

Pflugerville athletic director Mike McEachern will soon make his second and third hirings of a head football coach in his nine months on the job. Weiss and Connally both had coaches step down over the past six weeks. “It’s Central Texas; who doesn’t want to live here?” McEachern said.
Pflugerville athletic director Mike McEachern will soon make his second and third hirings of a head football coach in his nine months on the job. Weiss and Connally both had coaches step down over the past six weeks. “It’s Central Texas; who doesn’t want to live here?” McEachern said.

The easternmost high school in the school district, Weiss is Pflugerville’s newest school and has the district’s highest growth rate in enrollment. That growth won’t change anytime soon as housing subdivisions spring up around Texas 130, which is about a mile west of the Weiss campus. The Class 6A school began varsity play in 2018 and has gone 27-17 with three playoff berths over the past four seasons. The Wolves won a district title in Class 5A Division I in 2021 under Van Meter before moving up to Class 6A this past season.

More:Vandegrift's Miles Coleman, Westlake's Colton Vasek lead All-Central Texas football team

In comparison, Connally has struggled with enrollment and has dropped down into Class 5A Division II after previously competing in the state’s highest classification as well as Class 5A Division I. The district’s westernmost high school not only serves southern Pflugerville, but its enrollment zone stretches across multiple working-class neighborhoods in North Austin.

Cecil, who spent two seasons as McCallum’s head coach in 2012 and 2013 before taking the Connally job, went 23-58 as the Cougars’ head coach but did lead the 2019 team to the second round of the state playoffs and helped develop multiple collegiate players, including current Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron.

Weiss head football coach Steve Van Meter, who has 204 career wins, resigned after three seasons as the Wolves' head coach in December. It's one of two Pflugerville ISD football programs that's looking for a head coach.
Weiss head football coach Steve Van Meter, who has 204 career wins, resigned after three seasons as the Wolves' head coach in December. It's one of two Pflugerville ISD football programs that's looking for a head coach.

Both coaches have spent decades in education, but neither is yet planning to retire. Van Meter told the American-Statesman that “I always leave the door open for something” while Cecil on Tuesday said it’s “just time for something new.”

While acknowledging that the cost of living in the Austin area impacts new hires in many local school districts, McEachern said he’s excited about the quality of candidates for both jobs.

“It’s Central Texas; who doesn’t want to live here?” he said. “Pflugerville is in a unique situation, being right outside of Austin. We have great kids, great coaches and a great administration. And we have great facilities, and we’re going to keep working on getting them even better.”

Area coaching searches

Coaching searches in high school football are in full swing across the state, including the Austin area. Here’s a look at open head coaching jobs in Central Texas.

Weiss: Steve Van Meter, a coaching veteran with 204 career wins, left after three seasons and a 5-6 record in 2022 in the school's first Class 6A campaign.

Lehman: Bruce Salmon couldn’t find much traction in his five years at the long-struggling Hays school district program, going 7-43 there as a Class 5A DI team.

Connally: Jason Cecil left after nine seasons and a 23-58 record at the Class 5A DII program in the Pflugerville school district.

Bartlett: Brian Kozma went 6-37 in four seasons at the Class 2A DII school but helped the Bulldogs snap a 26-game losing streak in 2020.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: A pair of Pflugerville schools top list of area teams seeking coaches

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