In any realignment year the number of coaching changes in Texas High School Football takes a leap and this off-season was no different as a total of 221 UIL schools from Class 6A down to Class 2A will have new coaches in the 2018 season.

Who are the teams with new leaders on the sidelines we are keeping the closest eye on when things kick off on August 30? The storylines are varied and numerous across the state and each program has different challenges ahead, but the beauty of Texas High School Football is there’s always something interesting going on in our great state! 

Is there a team or new head coach we left out that we should look at? Let us know matt.stepp@texasfootball.com.

Stanton: After struggling the past two seasons, Stanton decided to get to thinking outside of the box in naming a replacement for John Peterson who resigned early this off-season. SISD brought in one of the state’s most successful six man coaches in Jerry Burkhart from Richland Springs to try and restore glory to a once proud program. Burkhart’s record is undeniably as good as it gets as in fifteen sensational seasons at Richland Springs he posted a staggering 192-10 record and eight state titles. In contrast, Stanton in the past four seasons has won just seven games and has not won a playoff game since the 2010 season. How Burkhart’s transition back to the eleven man game will go in year one will be something that certainly will be worth watching out in the Permian Basin in 2018.

Buffalo: Although our favorite named offense in the state the “Bone-N-Shoot” is no more in Leon County, there’s still plenty of anticipation and excitement around town as Buffalo could poised for their best season in school history. The Bison return an impressive 17 starters from a team that posted a 10-2 record a year ago, that means expectations will be high for new head coach Brandon Houston who comes east on Highway 79 after a stint as the offensive coordinator at Rockdale where he was part of a state title winning staff in 2017. Coach Houston has embraced the high expectations and it’s nothing new for him personally having been at programs that have won a lot including Belton, Lorena and Grapevine in addition to his time in Rockdale. It’ll be interesting to see how Buffalo handles their new digs in Region II, as they no longer have to deal with Newton in their region, but Lexington and Gunter among others are still very formidable.

New Diana: After a tremendous run to the state quarterfinals and the best season in school history, head coach Robbie Coplin returned to his native Arkansas to lead a big school program. The smart play was to keep things in house and New Diana ISD administration did just that in promoting former offensive coordinator Travis Chrisman to head football coach in March. Chrisman inherits a team that was gutted by graduation as just seven starters return and as always they’ll be in an unforgiving East Texas district. The biggest key for New Diana will be developing a new QB to replace record setting signal caller Jackson Sampson.

Johnson City: After a one year absence David T. Sine returns to being a head coach and he’s in somewhat familiar territory as he takes over at Johnson City. Sine, who spent last season in Schulenburg is charged with taking what’s been a competitive team and turning them into a contender in Region IV. He’s proven he can get it done with his success at now district rival Sonora in two separate stints and he’s got some talent returning from a 7-4 squad a year ago. The key for Johnson City will be trying to develop a QB, Walker T. Sine is capable of running the offense, but he may be best suited playing a different position and spending time on defense as well. That district matchup with Sonora later in the season could be quite intriguing because of Sine’s longtime ties to that community as well.