By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Del Rio High School is in search of a new head football coach.
San Felipe Del Rio CISD Athletic Director Frenchey McCrea Jr. confirmed this morning that former head football coach Roderick “Rod” Taylor had been reassigned and would no longer serve as head coach effective immediately.
“The decision to remove Coach Taylor as head coach was made by administration. He will remain employed by the school district in an as of yet to be determined role, but it is my understanding it will be in special education,” McCrea said.
McCrea added that first assistant head coach Martin Sandate would serve as the interim head coach until a permanent replacement is found.
“The rest of the coaching staff will stay intact,” McCrea said.
When reached for a comment, Taylor said via text message, “I will have comments … just not ready at this time.”
Taylor was hired as head football coach in January 2019. He had previously been the Rams offensive coordinator under McCrea before leaving to accept a position coaching in college following the 2016 season.
While Taylor guided the Rams to the playoffs in three of his four seasons as head coach, he failed to achieve a winning record in any of his seasons as head coach. In four seasons Taylor posted a 12-29 record including a 0-3 mark in the postseason.
Del Rio’s 2022 campaign ended Saturday afternoon with a 42-3 loss to San Antonio Harlan in the Bi-District round of the playoffs. The Rams reached the postseason with a 2-8 record leading many people in the community to question how and why Del Rio deserved to be in the playoffs.
The head coaching vacancy was posted on the school district’s official website Monday. According to the posting, candidates should have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, a valid Texas teaching certificate, knowledge of the operations of an athletic program, knowledge of state and UIL policies governing athletics, ability to interpret policy, procedures, and data, ability to manage budget, personnel, and coordinate district function, and strong communication, pubic relations, and interpersonal skills.
Candidates should also have five years of successful teaching and coaching experience. There was no mention of what level of coaching, such as Class 6A or other, mentioned.
McCrea said the position would remain open as long as it took to find the right person. He anticipated the search for a new head coach could take a few months.
“We want to be thorough. I know we don’t want to do anything fast. We want to take our time and find the right person to lead our program,” McCrea said. “As always, when trying to fill those positions, we always look for a high character person, a knowledgable person, someone who will treat our kids right and push them to get the most out of them. They need someone they can rely on. I’m not saying Coach Taylor wasn’t any of those things. That’s just what we’re looking for.”
While McCrea would not comment on why Taylor was reassigned, he did thank Taylor for his time as the Rams’ head football coach.
“As always we want to thank him for the time he spent and the dedication he showed to the kids. There was never doubt about his passion and devotion to this program,” McCrea said.
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