NEW MAN AT HELM
Pearland’s new head coach James Farmer comes with an interim tag.
Newly appointed Pearland head coach James Farmer made the trek to the 7-on-7 state tournament last week in College Station, just like he has every year they’ve qualified over the last 13 years.
It was a welcome respite from the attention he’s received since he was selected as the successor to longtime coach Tony Heath, who decided last month to resign after 20 years leading the program.
Now Farmer, the former defensive coordinator, is eager to join his players on the sideline.
“I’m ready to get going,” Farmer said.
“After all this (attention), a million questions, people asking me all different things, I’m just ready to get going, get in a football mindset and do the Xs and Os. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Up for challenge
Farmer, who worked with Heath for 13 years at Pearland, will have an interim tag next to his new title for 2017, making a job that’s already high-stress more nerve-wracking for him, and his staff.
But the La Porte native is up for the challenge.
“Basically, I told all the guys we’re interviewing for our jobs right now, so we have to do the best we can, try to be successful, work with the kids and let everything else take care of itself,” Farmer said.
The 47-year-old was an offensive lineman at La Porte and Southwest Texas State (now Texas State) before coaching.
He worked on both sides early on, but former Brazoswood coach Dean DeAtley hired him to coach defensive ends and he stayed on defense, working his way up to Pearland’s defensive coordinator the past three years.
Farmer earned Heath’s, and everyone else’s, respect along the way.
“In our group of coaches, nobody understands our philosophy and culture better than James Farmer,” said Heath, whose resignation to pursue other opportunities is effective July 31. “Not only will the kids rally around him, so will the coaches. He has the support of every coach on our staff.”
Caught by surprise
Farmer was surprised by the timing of Heath’s decision.
He knew the veteran coach, who led the Oilers for 20 years, was considering a change, but he didn’t know when.
“We talked about it when his kids were graduating, and he was at that point,” Farmer said. “That was the kind of the plan as we went on.
“But (June) 19th, when he told me he was going to resign, it was like, ‘Well, it’s here.”
And so is Heath’s support for Farmer, who also coached inside linebackers and defensive ends at Pearland.
“It means a lot because of all the time that we’ve invested here,” Farmer said. “We’ve been together 13 years, and learning from him, and the whole La Marque system, (with) Coach (Allen) Waddell, and Coach DeAtley at Brazoswood.
“Having their support is huge.”
Now the returning and new Oilers have Farmer’s full support.
Still defensive-minded
Pearland endured one of its roughest seasons in recent memory last year after quarterback Connor Blumrick, who signed with Texas A&M, went down with a knee injury on the third play of the opener.
The season included Pearland’s first shutout loss in 19 years in a 36-0 setback to Manvel.
But with defense leading the way, the Oilers kept their long playoff streak alive, then beat Clear Springs in bi-district.
Farmer will continue to coordinate the defense this season.
“We rotate a lot of guys on our side of the ball, and we had plenty of guys get playing time last year,” he said. “Of course, we lost Jordan Crawford, who was our big (defensive tackle), but we have a few other guys who are going to fill in, and then there’s Gilbert Ibeneme, who’s being looked at by a bunch of people.
“And we’ve got some guys who were hurt last year, who are going to be sophomores and juniors, a couple seniors. So it’s a good group. They work hard and they played well together last year.”
New blood on offense
The Oilers’ play in College Station gives Farmer hope for an offensive resurgence under Dustin Dyer, whom Heath named as former offensive coordinator Philip Roberts’s replacement before announcing his resignation.
With new QB Austin Landry leading the way, Pearland squeaked into the Division I championship bracket before falling to eventual 7-on-7 state champion Lake Travis in the first round.
Incoming junior Censai Pinkston was the top receiver this summer.
“Of course, 7-on-7 is an offensive thing, and not necessarily a defensive thing,” Farmer said. “There are things you can’t do on the defensive side. You can’t touch them, you can’t jam them at the line of scrimmage, and things like that. But as far as running routes and catching balls, they got better at that.”
Now he’s ready to help the rest of his charges improve in a new, more stressful role, starting with August two-a-days.
“The only difference, really, is Coach Heath’s not going to be here,” Farmer said. “With everything else, we’re going to pick up where we left off.”