Marble Falls ISD outlines plan for next athletic director, head football coach

The Marble Falls Independent School District is on the hunt for a new athletic director and football head coach. Brian Herman resigned the position Nov. 7.

“He made the choice to resign of his own accord,” Dr. Jeff Gasaway, Marble Falls ISD superintendent, said Nov. 9, “and did so in a manner by announcing early puts us in a position to look early to find the person to replace him. I’m appreciative of how quickly (it happened).”

The job was posted Nov. 8 and the closing date is Dec. 4.

Gasaway said the school district isn’t targeting a specific coach. But he does have a timeline of when he wants to present that individual to the board of trustees and ask to approve the hire. That date is the regular board meeting Monday, Dec. 18.

“But we also have a backup plan should we not have a rich applicant pool,” he said. “We’re going to have a very open process. I think Marble Falls is a good job because we have so much potential in what we’re capable of doing with the right person at the helm. We will have our numbers grow. There are homes and apartments being built. We’re building up success in academics and fine arts. Marble Falls is attractive to younger families. For a coach looking at this as a potential job, they will enjoy what potential is there and see a vision of success of what’s on the horizon.”

In the coming days, the school district will invite community members to a meeting where they can tell leaders the traits of what they want to see in the next coach. The tentative date for that meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 29, at Marble Falls High School.

Gasaway noted that some aren’t waiting until a meeting to tell him the traits they want to see. It’s been happening at different places around Marble Falls. And some aren’t waiting to run into him.

“We’re getting some phone calls regarding people’s thoughts,” he said with a smile. “We’re going to have a robust process. We’re hoping the community helps us narrow down our top candidates.”

Three interview rounds are planned. The first is 15-minute phone interviews. Those conversations will help officials drop the candidates to eight. Those eight will be invited to interview in person in front of a committee. The third round will be a smaller group of candidates that includes Gasaway, his top staff members, and the high school and middle school principals.

“I want to find the best candidate who’ll be the best fit for our community and our kids,” the superintendent said.

Starting salary is $95,595 though Gasaway said experience “will help us land on the right salary.”

He said one trait he wants is a head coach who will be involved in middle school football and be available to Marble Falls Youth Football and Cheer, the community’s youth program. Offensive coordinator Richard Scales taught the association the program’s base offense, the slot-T, he said. The association installed it on every team.

“Our middle school teams had some success this year,” Gasaway said. “Our numbers are good. I hope the new coach will take what he has at the high school and build the middle school. I’d like that person to be involved with our youth program. At a lot of schools, you can trace the tradition of excellence through youth football. There’s a strong correlation to what plays are being run. I hope the person we hire will be committed to investing in the middle school and younger grade levels.”

When asked about the possibility of adding facilities, Gasaway indicated school district leaders are constantly evaluating each campus and have discussions. There isn’t a date or timeline for if or when the district would create a bond to present to voters, he said.

If the school district presented a bond that included the construction of an indoor facility, it would not exclusively be used by athletics, the superintendent said.

“It would be used by some of our other student activity programs,” he said. “We are one of the larger schools in the immediate area that doesn’t have one.”

As he thought about the community and the elements that are part of the Marble Falls Independent School District area, Gasaway believes they will appeal to coaches of all sorts of backgrounds and success.

“We want him building a program that is robust and strong,” he said.

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