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Clay's Clincher: Why San Benito Is The Valley's Top Football Job
Posted: 02.20.2009 at 1:46 AM
Clay Williams

Clay Williams is the Sports Director for Action 4 News.

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Now that San Benito is the valley's only football coaching vacancy, what kind of candidates will the Greyhounds attract?

I would guess the best of the best, as is befitting the Valley's number one head football coaching job.

No opinions here, just facts. I'm not saying San Benito has the best players or fans. But San Benito is easily the top of the heap when it comes to job description, benefits and perks, and here's the proof.

Let's pare down starting with the 44 head football coaching positions in the Valley, and start with:

Classification: Size matters, and so, bye-bye, Edcouch-Elsa, Port Isabel, and the rest. Only a 5A school can offer the number of athletes needed for an elite job, not to mention the salary. So that leaves us with 24 programs, until we take away..

Non-single High School Districts: If you've split, then split. It's tough being a coach in an ISD that has more than one high school. For starters, you're an athletic coordinator instead of an athletic director, most likely. And you might not be able to implement your system at your feeder junior high and elementary school programs. So there goes McAllen, Edinburg, Harlingen, etc., etc, leaving us with only 5 valley programs: Rio Grande City, Sharyland, Donna, San Benito, and Los Fresnos. so what's our next cut-off point?

Power: The other drawback of multiple high schools is that the football coach is under an AD. But that's also the case at single school ISDs like Rio Grande City and Sharyland. Two down, only 3 schools left that are 5A, single-high school ISDs, where the head football coach is also the athletic director: Donna, San Benito, and Los Fresnos. So time for our last qualification for top job in the Valley:

Facilities & $: At some point, Donna and Los Fresnos might catch up with San Benito, and plans are in the works at both of those schools to do so, but right now, the Greyhounds have the lead in athletic facilities, while Bobby Morrow Stadium trumps La Prade & Aguilar Stadiums. The fact that San Benito was the highest paid job in the Valley doesn't hurt either. Word is that it's recently fallen behind Los Fresnos in that regard, but that might change once the new head Greyhound puts his name on the dotted line. 

There you have it. The creme de la creme of valley football jobs: San Benito.

Whether the school board there hires the creme de la creme of coaches to fill the position is another matter completely.

mahalo

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