Johnny Moxen
01-07-2005, 05:22 PM
Head football coach to become AD for Odessa school system
ABILENE, TX - Gary Gaines, who was hired in January 2000 to turn around a stagnant Abilene Christian University football program, announced his resignation Friday to take the job as the executive director of athletics for the Ector County Independent School District in Odessa.
Gaines was in Odessa on Friday where the ECISD school board voted unanimously (7-0) to approve his hiring, replacing interim director of athletics John Wilkins. He will begin his duties in Odessa sometime next week, although he will be in Abilene in the early part of the week to meet with his former ACU players one last time.
ACU director of athletics Jared Mosley said a search committee is already in place and that he hopes to move quickly to hire Gaines' replacement before Feb. 2, the first day high school players can sign binding national letters-of-intent.
"Obviously that's an important day, and we'd like to move quickly enough so that we don't lose any momentum in our recruiting efforts," Mosley said. "Our coaches have already done a tremendous job in recruiting junior college players, and we want to continue that with our high school signing class."
Gaines said the decision to leave ACU was one that he and his family talked about through the Christmas holidays.
"My wife (Sharon) and I have really wrestled with this decision for the last two weeks," Gaines said. "The first thing I had to decide was whether or not I could live without coaching. That's obviously been a big part of our lives for the last 34 years. But this affords us a chance to go in a little bit of a different direction, but obviously still remain tied to athletics. There are some big challenges involved this new job."
His biggest challenge might be to help try to revive the football programs at both Odessa Permian and Odessa High. The Panthers and Bronchos combined to finish 8-12 overall and 1-9 in District 3-5A play in 2004.
Permian -- where Gaines was the head coach from 1986-89 -- was 4-6 overall and 0-5 in 2004, enduring the school's first winless district season and suffering through a school-record six-game losing streak to end the season. Permian hasn't reached the Class 5A state playoffs since 1998, while the Bronchos -- who beat Permian in 2004 for only the fourth time in school history -- were 4-6 in 2004 and haven't reached the post-season since 1997.
Those were the kind of daunting obstacles facing Gaines five years ago when he was tabbed to take over a Wildcat program that had gone 25-27 in the five seasons before his arrival and hadn't won a conference football title of any kind since winning the Lone Star Conference crown in 1977.
After posting 1-9 and 3-8 records in his first two seasons (2000 and 2001), Gaines directed the Wildcats to records of 6-4, 6-4 and 5-5 in his final three seasons. The 2002 team won a share of the LSC South Division title, and the 2003 team finished second, losing the division title game to Texas A&M-Kingsville, 10-7.
Last year's team finished 5-5, but gave Gaines a huge going-away gift with a stunning 17-10 road win over the No. 2-ranked Javelinas in Kingsville, snapping a 20-year losing streak to A&M-Kingsville.
"I've certainly enjoyed my five years here," said Gaines, who exits ACU with a 21-30 record in five years. "We've had a lot of fun, and I've had the opportunity to coach some great kids and had a great staff to work with. I've certainly enjoyed watching some of these young guys grow and develop, and that's always gratifying as a coach."
Prior to becoming the head coach at ACU, Gaines had been a head coach at the high school level for 17 years and an assistant coach at Texas Tech for five seasons (1990-94). He made his name at Odessa Permian for more than just what he did on the field, which was substantial. In his four seasons as the Panthers' head coach, Permian was 47-6-1 overall and 20-4 in District 4-5A play. Gaines led the Panthers to three playoff trips with the 1989 team finishing 16-0 and winning both the Class 5A state title and a mythical national championship.
But it was the 1988 Permian team that will live in infamy as the squad that was chronicled in the controversial best-selling book "Friday Night Lights" by H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger. The book about that team -- which finished 13-2 and lost to Dallas Carter in the state semifinals -- was made into a movie that was released in the fall of 2004 and starred Billy Bob Thornton as Gaines. The movie was a critical and commercial success, and will be released on DVD and video on Jan. 18.
Prior to coaching at Odessa Permian, Gaines coached at both Petersburg and Monahans, winning district titles at both of those stops. After winning the state title in 1989 at Permian, Gaines moved on to Texas Tech where he served as the linebackers coach under head coach Spike Dyes from 1990-94. During those five years, he recruited and coached Zach Thomas into an all-America player for the Red Raiders. Thomas went on to become an NFL All-Pro with the Miami Dolphins.
He returned to the high school ranks in 1994, though, taking over a moribund Abilene High program that had gone 9-49 in the six years prior to his arrival. Although he was only 4-15 in two seasons at AHS, most observers credit Gaines for setting the foundation that would eventually lead the Eagles to a 1999 trip to the Class 5A Division II quarterfinals. Under the direction of Steve Warren -- whom Gaines hired as the defensive coordinator in 1994 -- the Eagles have reached the playoffs each year since 1999 and in 2004 won the school's first outright district title in almost 50 years.
After leaving Abilene High prior to the 1996 season, he moved on to San Angelo Central where he led the Bobcats to back-to-back playoff appearances in 1998 and 1999, their first post-season experience since the 1992 season. He was then hired as the 17th head coach in ACU football history on Jan. 18, 2000.
"Coach Gaines has obviously done things the right way," Mosley said. "He's upgraded our talent level and gotten quality kids in here who understand what ACU is all about. We're all very appreciative of the tremendous job he's done, taking a program from 1-9 to a team that has had a chance to win the LSC South Division championship in each of the last three years. Plus, he's leaving a lot of talent for the next coach to work with. We all wish Coach Gaines the best as he moves on to his new position with the Ector County school district."
ABILENE, TX - Gary Gaines, who was hired in January 2000 to turn around a stagnant Abilene Christian University football program, announced his resignation Friday to take the job as the executive director of athletics for the Ector County Independent School District in Odessa.
Gaines was in Odessa on Friday where the ECISD school board voted unanimously (7-0) to approve his hiring, replacing interim director of athletics John Wilkins. He will begin his duties in Odessa sometime next week, although he will be in Abilene in the early part of the week to meet with his former ACU players one last time.
ACU director of athletics Jared Mosley said a search committee is already in place and that he hopes to move quickly to hire Gaines' replacement before Feb. 2, the first day high school players can sign binding national letters-of-intent.
"Obviously that's an important day, and we'd like to move quickly enough so that we don't lose any momentum in our recruiting efforts," Mosley said. "Our coaches have already done a tremendous job in recruiting junior college players, and we want to continue that with our high school signing class."
Gaines said the decision to leave ACU was one that he and his family talked about through the Christmas holidays.
"My wife (Sharon) and I have really wrestled with this decision for the last two weeks," Gaines said. "The first thing I had to decide was whether or not I could live without coaching. That's obviously been a big part of our lives for the last 34 years. But this affords us a chance to go in a little bit of a different direction, but obviously still remain tied to athletics. There are some big challenges involved this new job."
His biggest challenge might be to help try to revive the football programs at both Odessa Permian and Odessa High. The Panthers and Bronchos combined to finish 8-12 overall and 1-9 in District 3-5A play in 2004.
Permian -- where Gaines was the head coach from 1986-89 -- was 4-6 overall and 0-5 in 2004, enduring the school's first winless district season and suffering through a school-record six-game losing streak to end the season. Permian hasn't reached the Class 5A state playoffs since 1998, while the Bronchos -- who beat Permian in 2004 for only the fourth time in school history -- were 4-6 in 2004 and haven't reached the post-season since 1997.
Those were the kind of daunting obstacles facing Gaines five years ago when he was tabbed to take over a Wildcat program that had gone 25-27 in the five seasons before his arrival and hadn't won a conference football title of any kind since winning the Lone Star Conference crown in 1977.
After posting 1-9 and 3-8 records in his first two seasons (2000 and 2001), Gaines directed the Wildcats to records of 6-4, 6-4 and 5-5 in his final three seasons. The 2002 team won a share of the LSC South Division title, and the 2003 team finished second, losing the division title game to Texas A&M-Kingsville, 10-7.
Last year's team finished 5-5, but gave Gaines a huge going-away gift with a stunning 17-10 road win over the No. 2-ranked Javelinas in Kingsville, snapping a 20-year losing streak to A&M-Kingsville.
"I've certainly enjoyed my five years here," said Gaines, who exits ACU with a 21-30 record in five years. "We've had a lot of fun, and I've had the opportunity to coach some great kids and had a great staff to work with. I've certainly enjoyed watching some of these young guys grow and develop, and that's always gratifying as a coach."
Prior to becoming the head coach at ACU, Gaines had been a head coach at the high school level for 17 years and an assistant coach at Texas Tech for five seasons (1990-94). He made his name at Odessa Permian for more than just what he did on the field, which was substantial. In his four seasons as the Panthers' head coach, Permian was 47-6-1 overall and 20-4 in District 4-5A play. Gaines led the Panthers to three playoff trips with the 1989 team finishing 16-0 and winning both the Class 5A state title and a mythical national championship.
But it was the 1988 Permian team that will live in infamy as the squad that was chronicled in the controversial best-selling book "Friday Night Lights" by H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger. The book about that team -- which finished 13-2 and lost to Dallas Carter in the state semifinals -- was made into a movie that was released in the fall of 2004 and starred Billy Bob Thornton as Gaines. The movie was a critical and commercial success, and will be released on DVD and video on Jan. 18.
Prior to coaching at Odessa Permian, Gaines coached at both Petersburg and Monahans, winning district titles at both of those stops. After winning the state title in 1989 at Permian, Gaines moved on to Texas Tech where he served as the linebackers coach under head coach Spike Dyes from 1990-94. During those five years, he recruited and coached Zach Thomas into an all-America player for the Red Raiders. Thomas went on to become an NFL All-Pro with the Miami Dolphins.
He returned to the high school ranks in 1994, though, taking over a moribund Abilene High program that had gone 9-49 in the six years prior to his arrival. Although he was only 4-15 in two seasons at AHS, most observers credit Gaines for setting the foundation that would eventually lead the Eagles to a 1999 trip to the Class 5A Division II quarterfinals. Under the direction of Steve Warren -- whom Gaines hired as the defensive coordinator in 1994 -- the Eagles have reached the playoffs each year since 1999 and in 2004 won the school's first outright district title in almost 50 years.
After leaving Abilene High prior to the 1996 season, he moved on to San Angelo Central where he led the Bobcats to back-to-back playoff appearances in 1998 and 1999, their first post-season experience since the 1992 season. He was then hired as the 17th head coach in ACU football history on Jan. 18, 2000.
"Coach Gaines has obviously done things the right way," Mosley said. "He's upgraded our talent level and gotten quality kids in here who understand what ACU is all about. We're all very appreciative of the tremendous job he's done, taking a program from 1-9 to a team that has had a chance to win the LSC South Division championship in each of the last three years. Plus, he's leaving a lot of talent for the next coach to work with. We all wish Coach Gaines the best as he moves on to his new position with the Ector County school district."