Navarro New HC/AD

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They were kind of opposite. Warren was pretty bad at first, but he has really put it together the last two years.

(Disclaimer: We will not be good next year.)

By district play Wimbo will be good.

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Rod Blount pending board approval

Congrats on the hire, I'm sure he'll continue the Panthers winning tradition.

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(Geronimo) – Navarro has its man, and yes, Panther fans, your favorite high school football team will still bludgeon opposing defenses with the Slot-T next season.

The Navarro ISD Board of Trustees approved the hiring of former Mathis head coach and Slot-T practitioner Rod Blount as Navarro High School’s new head football coach and district athletic director by a unanimous 7-0 vote Monday evening.

Blount spent the past five seasons at Mathis, the last four of those as the Pirates’ head coach. He led Mathis to a 33-18 record and seven playoff wins over those four seasons, including a 12-3 mark and a trip to the 3A Division I state semifinals in 2015. Blount served a long stint as an assistant at George West before moving to Mathis.

Navarro’s previous head coach Les Goad resigned in February to take the head football job at Buda-Hays after guiding the Panthers to unprecedented heights over the course of 11 seasons. Blount understands that he's inheriting a turnkey program with lofty expectations.

“Coach Goad and his staff have done an excellent job, and set a great foundation for us,” Blount said. “It’s great that we come from a similar background and worked with some of the same coaches coming up, and look forward to building on what he’s already set, and what the kids have done, and just going to work, and doing some great things from there.”

Blount’s 2015 state semifinal team at Mathis averaged 409 rushing yards per game and over eight per carry, and the Pirates scored 32.4 points per game over the course of his four years as head coach.

Blount looks forward to tailoring his variation of the Slot-T to the personnel of a Navarro team that returns five All-District honorees on the offensive side of the ball in 2018.

“We’ve got to see what we have, what are our strengths, and what we can do, and there’s a lot of different changes you can run through it, but we’ll see what the strengths are of the team and go from there,” the coach said. “The great thing about the Slot-T is it really sets the tone for our whole program, teaching discipline, work ethic, effort, and hustle. It just builds the whole program.”

The Panthers report to practice on August 6 and open Blount’s first season on August 31 against Gonzales at Erwin-Lee Field. In the more immediate future, Blount and his wife, son, and daughter will be busy with the transition and relocation process.

“I’m excited about it, and want to get on campus as soon as I can,” Blount said. “I’m excited for my family to be a part of the community, and to build great things together.”