Teykl takes ride on crowded coaching carousel
Tim Teykl’s smorgasbord of a football career brought him to a moment even he couldn’t quite grasp.
He’d never completed an online application before taking the Alvin football head coaching job last month. Teykl, 63, didn’t have to turn in a résumé but didn’t want to cheat the process just because a few people might know his name.
Then he realized he hadn’t brushed up his résumé in nearly 30 years. The 41-year veteran and his wife Brenda found it amusing, especially when it came time to update references.
“The vast majority of my references are dead,” said Teykl.
Alvin ISD hired one coach and offered another — both withdrew — before arriving at arguably the best man for the job.
There really is no way to predict the inconsistent world of Texas high school football coaching moves, especially in an era where mobility has never been greater.
The number of head coaching changes in the Houston area reached the 30s for a second year in a row.
Both schools in Magnolia ISD have a new face at the helm with Temple offensive coordinator Craig Martin replacing Sterling Doty at Magnolia and Blake Joseph replacing J.D. Berna at Magnolia West. Berna is the district’s new athletic director, while Doty moved to his alma mater Stephenville.
There’s a crop of new faces across Pasadena ISD, too. David Zapien is in for Jeff Ganske at Pasadena, James Crocker replaces Chris Quillian at Pasadena Memorial and Demond Stafford takes over for Shaun Wynn at Rayburn.
Big headsets to fill
There are moves with plenty of pop, like Gene Johnson moving up Highway 290 from Cypress Ranch to Waller and Cypress Ranch replacing him with Converse Judson’s Sean McAuliffe.
There are plenty of big headsets to fill elsewhere, like at Kashmere where the now-retired Garry Dunham was replaced by assistant James Laster. Dunham was a steadying presence for 16 years, much like Don Clayton was at Cinco Ranch for the last 20 years. Katy Taylor defensive coordinator Chris Dudley is replacing the retired Clayton.
Teykl was on the way to Clayton’s retirement party on Wednesday and for comparison, Clayton is 62. Teykl had been out of coaching, so to speak, spending the last two years as the director of high school relations on the University of Houston staff. New coach Dana Holgorsen’s hiring at UH led to Teykl’s release and a door opened for him to get back into the prep game, where he was last at Terry for 26 seasons.
Alvin was 0-10 last year and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2005, but Teykl has done turnarounds before.
He used to combat new Lamar Consolidated ISD schools Foster and George Ranch eating into his attendance zone by running the split back veer at Terry, and it kept the program afloat. Prepare for something closer to the wishbone at Alvin.
Prepare for Crosby to keep scoring a lot of points, too.
New coach Jerry Prieto commanded a Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial offense to 44 points per game last year. He replaces Jeff Riordan, who helped turn Crosby into a marquee program before leaving for Tyler Chapel Hill.
Crosby ISD was embroiled in financial turmoil over the last year, which saw employees losing jobs and staffs being cut. But on the way out, Riordan said Crosby will still be Crosby.
Prieto, a Cypress Springs graduate and Houston native, subscribes to that same belief.
“I think Crosby is definitely on the mend from all of those issues that went on,” Prieto said. “It’s just something we’ll work through. I’ve never looked at any place and let that keep me away if I thought it was a good place and has a chance to be a successful place, and I think Crosby has been and hopefully will continue to be a successful place.”
Homecoming for Hickey
You could call Michael Hickey’s move to Yates a homecoming, but the 1991 graduate never truly left. The former Summer Creek assistant is part of four generations of Yates graduates, including his son, who is a 2012 graduate. Hickey also is a former Yates assistant.
It has been a turbulent year for one of Houston’s proudest programs. Yates forfeited two wins after the Lions used two ineligible players last year.
That led to coach Michael Watkins’ exit and he was replaced by former Hightower coach Padriac McGinnis this offseason, but those two parties decided to go their separate ways
Hickey already had interviewed for the job but was then called back in. He definitely wanted this job.
After 38 straight postseason berths, Yates has missed the playoffs two of the last four years.
Times have changed. Populations have dwindled in innercity neighborhoods like Third Ward. There are many outside factors contributing to Yates not being Yates of old anymore.
Hickey isn’t deterred. There is a certain allure about the Yates’ job that suggests the program’s resurrection is only possible through one of its own leading the way.
“We’re going to try to do the best we can with what we’ve got,” Hickey said. “I’m not delusional. If I’m practicing on Thanksgiving Day, I feel like that would be a huge accomplishment. That’s the goal for the season. If we can get to Thanksgiving and still be practicing and go from there, then I think we will have set a standard.”