Multiple sources are confirming that Ysleta ISD is expected to announce the hiring of El Paso Riverside head coach Gary Recoder as the next head football coach at El Paso Bel Air High School on Tuesday. 

Recoder replaces Eric Scogin, who departed Bel Air two weeks ago to become the offensive coordinator at El Paso Parkland High School.

Recoder, who had been in charge at his alma mater for the past five seasons, totally turned the Riverside program around as the Rangers won just seven total games in the previous three seasons.

After a 4-6 debut in 2019, Riverside posted a competitive 4-2 mark in 2020, a season shortened due to the Covid-19 pandemic. RHS was the 1-4A Division I runner-up and dropped a heartbreaker in the first round of the playoffs in double overtime.

The 2021 season was Riverside’s high-water mark under Recoder as the Rangers rolled to a district title and a third-round playoff appearance finishing the year at 11-2. The Rangers followed that season up with a 9-2 mark and another district crown in 2022 and this past year, which is now Recoder’s final season in the Lower Valley. Riverside won its third straight district title and posted a bi-district playoff win before finishing up with a 9-3 mark.

Recoder finishes up his tenure at Riverside with an impressive 37-15 overall record in five seasons. He now looks to work more magic at nearby Bel Air where the Highlanders are coming off back-to-back 8-3 seasons, but graduated a large group of seniors as they move into a new District 1-5A Division I in 2024.