Dave Campbell's Texas Football is proud to honor the best young coaches across Texas with our fifth annual 40 Under 40, recognizing 40 of the rising stars in the coaching ranks. This year's list spans the Lone Star State across regions — from El Paso to deep East Texas, from the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley — and classifications — from FBS to Division II to Division III to Texas high school football.

CHECK OUT THE 40-UNDER-40 IN THE 2024 SUMMER MAGAZINE

2024 Dave Campbell's Texas Football 40 Under 40

Ishmael Aristide, Texas A&M defensive backs coach 
Aristide is a familiar face in Aggieland because he was a senior analyst under Mike Elko in 2019 and 2020. He returns in a key role on Elko's new staff. 

Adam Austin, Tarleton Texans offensive coordinator
The architect of the revered Midwestern State offenses from 2013 to 2018 has a penchant for developing quarterbacks into all-conference and national award contenders.

Kenny Baker, Texas Longhorns defensive line coach
Baker, a former collegiate defensive lineman himself, joined the Longhorns as their defensive line coach after spending the 2023 season as an assistant for the Miami Dolphins. He has previous collegiate experience at Western Kentucky and UT-Chattanooga.

Tony Benedetto, Plano East Panthers head coach
Benedetto is entering his third season leading the Panthers after three successful years at Dallas Wilson. Last season, he led PEHS to its first playoff appearance since 2018.

Richard Bishop, Palestine Westwood Warriors head coach
Bishop’s Panthers have improved every season since taking over the struggling program in 2018. That includes a breakout 9-3 campaign in 2023 that was highlighted by their first playoff win since 2007.

Josh Bragdon, Union Hill Bulldogs head coach
In five years at the helm of the Bulldogs, he’s 49-10 with four 10-win seasons, and has helped turn Union Hill into one of East Texas’ best six-man programs.

Charles Brown, Houston Sam Houston Tigers head coach
In three seasons, Brown has turned long-struggling Sam Houston into a competitive team within Houston ISD.

Justin Burke, UTSA Roadrunners offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
Burke rose from special teams and tight end coach in 2020 to offensive coordinator in 2022. The Roadrunners are 27-4 in conference play with Burke on staff. He’ll also coach QBs in 2024.

Tyrone Carter, Cy Lakes Spartans head coach
Carter, who was an assistant at Groesbeck and Huntsville before coming to Cy Woods as the OC in 2021, gets his opportunity to lead a program as he looks to turn around the struggling Spartans.

Marcial Chapa III, Bruceville-Eddy Eagles head coach
Chapa gets his shot as a head coach after being an assistant at Comanche where he was part of a great turn-around under head coach Joaquin Escobar.

Travis Chrisman, Ingleside Mustangs head coach
In his first season leading his alma mater, Coach Chrisman’s squad put up an impressive 11-2 mark behind one of the state’s most explosive offensive attacks.

Andrew Colvin, Royse City Bulldogs head coach
The former Rockwall offensive coordinator is considered one of the bright young offensive minds in the state. He gets his chance to lead his own program at 6A Royse City.

Maurice Crum, SMU Mustangs linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator
Crum arrived on the Hilltop from Ole Miss ahead of the 2023 season and helped transform the Mustangs’ defense into one of the best in America en route to a conference title.

Kyle Crawford, Abbott Panthers head coach
After a lengthy stint as an assistant under his state champion father Terry Crawford, Kyle takes over the family business with high expectations.

Jordan Davis, North Texas Mean Green offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach
Davis coordinated one of the top offenses in the FBS last season, which included a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher, and a 1,000-yard receiver. The Mean Green were No. 6 nationally in total offense.

Sanders Davis, Rice Owls offensive line coach
Davis enters his fifth season as the offensive line coach at Rice after serving as a graduate assistant with the Owls in 2019. He played center at Dartmouth.

Josh Ervin, Ganado Indians head coach
Ervin is an impressive 21-7 in two seasons leading Ganado. He led the Indians to a 12-3 mark and a trip to the state semifinals in 2023.

Ruben Garcia, Kingsville King Brahmas head coach
Garcia, who has worked at several power programs as an assistant, took Kingsville to the brink of a playoff appearance in Year 1. Don’t be surprised to see the Brahmas break through in 2024.

Jeremiah Granado, Luling Eagles head coach
Granado is one of the state’s more promising young coordinators and he’s getting his chance to lead a program as he begins his tenure as Luling’s AD/HFC.

Khenon Hall, Baylor running back coach 
Hall helped SMU win its first conference championship since the 1980s before moving south on I-35 to help the Bears reclaim a spot in the Big 12 elite. He's a renowned recruiter. 

Bo Helm, Childress Bobcats head coach
In two seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, Helm has posted an impressive 15-9 overall record leading the Bobcats.

David Hicks, Katy Paetow Panthers head coach
Hicks, who took over at Paetow mid-season in 2022, is excited to lead what he hopes is a major turnaround for the Panthers in 2024 after two difficult seasons.

Clint Killough, Incarnate Word Cardinals head coach
Killough led UIW to a 9-2 record and a runner-up finish in the Southland Conference while replacing 66 players from the 2022 roster that went to the FCS semifinals.

Nate Leonard, McKinney Lions head coach
The former UTSA football player returns to lead his alma mater after one season as the head coach at New Braunfels Canyon where his team went 7-4.

Lyle Leong, Levelland Lobos head coach
The former Texas Tech standout enters his fourth season at Levelland as the Lobos could be in for a turn-around campaign.

Ryan Lusby, UT-Permian Basin Falcons offensive coordinator
A young coach with six years of experience as an offensive coordinator, Lusby directed the Falcons to 475 yards and 42 points per game and the program’s first LSC title.

Jason Lovvorn, Dallas First Baptist Saints head coach
A former Baylor letterman, Lovvorn boasts a 103-72 career record with a pair of state championships, including last year’s TAPPS DIV title with the Saints.

Jared May, Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks quarterbacks coach
One of the best quarterback coaches in the country, May mentored 2017 Harlon Hill winner Luis Perez during Texas A&M-Commerce’s run to the DII national title.

Paul Michalak, Trinity Tigers defensive coordinator
One of the top defensive coordinators at any level. The Tigers have held the opposition to an average of 17 points or less during all six seasons Michalak has led the defense.

Dexter McCoil, Texas State Bobcats defensive coordinator
The former Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year is quickly rising through the coaching ranks. He’ll debut as the Texas State defensive coordinator in 2024. Expectations are high in San Marcos.

Eman Naghavi, Houston Cougars running game coordinator and offensive line coach
The Katy, Texas native is reunited with Willie Fritz after the former Tulane head man took the Houston job. The two worked together in 2022. Fritz retained Naghavi to coach the Cougars’ offensive line.

Layne Neumann, Smithville Tigers head coach
The former Texas A&M kicker and Fort Bend Ridge Point assistant coach heads to Central Texas where he’ll try to take Smithville to the next level.

Phillip Tanner, Burleson Elks head coach
Tanner, who spent the last two seasons as head coach at Fort Worth Southwest, returns to Burleson where he was an assistant for two seasons under Jon Kitna.

Ty Taylor, Jefferson Bulldogs head coach
The former Texarkana Pleasant Grove defensive coordinator gets his chance to lead a program as he takes over an intriguing Jefferson squad in 2024.

Scotty Walden, UTEP head coach 
After leading Austin Peay to new heights, Walden lands in El Paso hoping to turn his fiery personality into big wins. 

Ryan Warner, El Paso Pebble Hills Spartans head coach
Warner, who posted a 22-19 record at his alma mater El Paso Chapin, gets to lead Class 6A El Paso Pebble Hills in 2024.

Dale West, Bells Panthers head coach
West has rolled up an impressive 62-23 record in seven seasons as a head coach, including the past five at Bells where the Panthers have five straight years of nine wins or more.

Blake Weston, Sonora Broncos head coach
Already with seven years of head coaching experience under his belt, Weston has led Sonora to back-to-back double digit win seasons in 2022 and 2023.

Cody Worrell, Mineral Wells Rams head coach
Worrell is entering his second season leading the Rams after going 4-6 in Year 1. He has the pedigree as an assistant at Brock and El Campo. The Rams could be ready for a postseason return in 2024.