PN-G bamatex

They haven’t been, but there’s a push to change. One of quite a few changes happening in Bastrop right now.

Speaking of assistants leaving and red flags, several are following Faircloth to Sulphur Springs. [Hidden Content]

Highlighting an important piece of this very well stated post for those out there claiming ‘thirteen seasons is a long time to hang on to a head coach’ and ‘head coaches typically come and go much more quickly than that’ to downplay the significance of Faircloth’s departure. Setting Faircloth aside, the three most consistently successful coaches in Southeast Texas since 1980 are Dan Hooks, Larry Neumann and Curtis Barbay. All were with their programs for at least 25 years. Neumann’s record at Nederland during the first half of his tenure there is especially comparable to Faircloth’s. I just wish tvc had stated this in the Port Neches neighborhood watch group on Facebook. There aren’t many, but the few comments there supporting Faircloth’s departure are absolutely dumbfounding.

According to smitty, Wade Phillips shouldn’t be considered for the job. Never won a superbowl as a head coach.

FYI, Toby Foreman commented on Ashly Elam's initial Facebook post about Faircloth's departure. I know some of y'all will have a field day with that.

You know, it's funny you say that. A couple other Austin insiders and I talk high school football a lot. There's an expectation inside the Capitol that 7A is coming, if not this realignment then the next. And a lot of those guys who pay attention and knew what PN-G had returning, felt like PN-G would be a powerhouse next season if the chips fall the right way in realignment. There was real potential on the horizon. I'm not saying there's no chance it happens now. Faircloth brought PN-G its first undefeated regular season since 1977 during his first season at PN-G. We've got a great group of kids returning next year with a proven track record of beating the odds. But y'all know as well as I do that typically, the first season under a new coach is a bad one, even when he inherits a program in great shape like ours is. All I can say is, if next season goes south, it's not on the boys. They fought hard for the PN-G program both on and off the field last year. If 2022 goes down as a bad season for PN-G, it's on the adults who bungled this thing.

I don't know which coaches you're specifically referring to, but I know two of the younger coaches. One graduated from PN-G a few years ahead of me, and I don't think he played under Faircloth. The other graduated with me and played for Faircloth in 2009 and 2010. Both of them are good guys. I don't know what rumors have floated around that you might have heard. I don't see Coach Faircloth hiring former PN-G players an attempt to control anybody. I see it as him giving younger guys who played for PN-G a start in coaching. Plenty of coaches, including prior PN-G coaches, have done that kind of thing in the past. If memory serves, that's how Coach Burnett got his first assistant job, too.

Oh no, don't y'all associate him with us. Smitty (or whatever he's calling himself now) is a Nederland fan (except when it's time to replace a 50+ year old school).

With the exception of Danny Malone, whose two seasons don't present a sufficient sample size, Brandon Faircloth had the best winning percentage of any PN-G coach since Doug Ethridge. He had the most wins to his name of any PN-G coach in PN-G history; he took only thirteen seasons to break a record his predecessor took fifteen seasons to set. He sent more players on to play at the college level, particularly at more major college programs, than any coach in PN-G history by a country mile, and produced arguably the best athlete in school history. His teams shattered multiple school records dating back decades. He brought PN-G its first undefeated regular season in 32 years - only the third such season in school history - and strung together the most consistent streak of deep playoff runs PN-G's had in four decades. Most recently, he took a team that wasn't even predicted to make the playoffs three rounds deep, pulling off two major upsets over state-ranked powers along the way, the latter of the two sporting an 11-0 record at the time. And you think the fact that he didn't get us all the way to state during his thirteen seasons, in an era when no Southeast Texas team in PN-G's classification has managed to beat the suburbs to get to state since 2002, is sufficient justification to dismiss him, on the off chance his successor might hire the next Art Briles as an assistant? Now you're just trolling. This conversation's not worth carrying on.

Don’t give me that. I was here twelve years ago. When Faircloth hired on, I specifically remember you going on non-stop about two things: how Faircloth wouldn’t measure up to his predecessor, and how PN-G spent too much money on the stadium. You’re making the same points now that you were then. PN-G’s not going to get a Briles, a Buchanan or a Surratt. They can make more money working in better facilities with more talent and larger staffs in the suburbs. And now, they know not even a three round playoff run is enough to generate job security at PN-G. God help us.

Roschon? What would we have done with Roschon if we had an “actual state championship-type coach” when he was playing? That’s seriously what you’re asking? Roschon’s family moved out of Port Arthur ISD and into PN-GISD when RJ was still playing Pop Warner because Faircloth is one of the best QB coaches in Texas and RJ’s dad knew Faircloth could develop RJ’s talent. I remember that - I went to school with RJ’s older brother after they made the move. If Faircloth hadn’t been at PN-G, Roschon never would have played a down at PN-G. So what would we have done with Roschon if we had a true, blue, smitty-certified, state championship-caliber head coach? The answer is, not damn thing. The fact that RJ played for PN-G at all is yet another reason we were so lucky to have Faircloth. You’ve hated Faircloth since the day the man hired on. You didn’t know the first thing about PN-G then, and you still don’t now. Go back to worrying about Nederland ISD’s bonds.

Once again, only posting to preserve the quote.

Bradley Molder, OC at Schertz Clemens.

There were no school board members' kids involved in that incident, only sons of coaches.

While we’re discussing rumors in prior threads, La Vernia named its new HC/AD today. It’s not Faircloth.

I suggest both of you read the SETXSports site rules. Rule 18 expressly prohibits bashing coaches.

That thread contained several such rumors, many of which were flatly debunked by Ashly Elam. That's why it was locked in the end by another SETXSports staffer; spreading unsubstantiated rumors on the messageboard is a violation of site rules.

With Crosby and Barbers Hill moving up next year per the UIL cutoff numbers released earlier today, I feel it necessary to reemphasize how important it is that we keep Coach Faircloth, especially given the amount of talent we have returning next year. We have a rare opportunity and a narrow window to be a state power, and I would not let it go to waste in this modern, suburban-centric climate.

The fact that this hasn’t blown up in the neighborhood watch groups on Facebook is one of the reasons I’m still skeptical.

You’re saying Coach Faircloth was put on a development plan and assigned a mentor? When, why, by whom, and how did you find this out?

Fifteen years ago, Crosby and Barbers Hill were in different districts that were much less competitive than the modern day 22-5ADII. And as I recall, both schools were getting thumped by PN-G in both predistrict play and the playoffs. I recall Crosby losing 37-7 one year and 38-7 the next, and Barbers Hill losing to PN-G five consecutive times over four seasons. Fast forward to today, when both schools have 300+ students more than PN-G, a ton more upscale subdivisions in town and at least in Barbers Hill's case, lots of nice, new facilities and cash to spend on coaches from Allen, and it's a different story. If there was a program that we can legitimately say was punching above its weight class back then, it was Dayton. Look at them now.

Nick Saban's not for sale. Texas learned that lesson the hard way. These rumors of Coach Fairlcoth's possible departure are disturbing. The kind of disturbing that lures a long-dormant messageboard user out of hibernation the same night his college alma mater wins a conference title over the #1 team in the country. I know very little regarding Coach Faircloth's future at PN-G from firsthand knowledge. Generally, I avoid spreading rumors when I don't know the information to be accurate from firsthand knowledge, and on the occasions when I think it's necessary to discuss those rumors, I always make certain to note that I can't speak to their actual veracity. This is one of those occasions. Simply put, I have no idea whether it's true that Coach Faircloth's position at PN-G is in jeopardy. Here's what I do know. I first heard word that Coach Faircloth's tenure at PN-G may be at risk six weeks ago. I've heard several different iterations of that rumor in the weeks since. I trust, and deeply respect, many of the sources that have brought these rumors to my attention, but in each case, those sources have only been able to provide me with information on a secondhand basis. What little direct evidence I've been able to glean for myself has, if anything, contradicted rumors of Faircloth's impending departure, or at least rumors that the school board has chosen not to renew his contract. For these reasons, and in light of a highly successful 2021 football season that saw the Indians exceed all expectation, I've been highly skeptical of these rumors, and have deliberately chosen only to discuss them when someone else brings them up. I remain skeptical of these rumors now, though I'll admit to some concern in the face of their apparent durability and, now, their growing prevalence among PN-G fans. Brandon Faircloth has been the best head football coach and athletic director PN-G has had in at least 40 years. That is not a statement I make lightly; the evidence is overwhelming. PN-G's all-time win ratio on the football field is .610. Coach Faircloth's win ratio at PN-G is .667, the best of any PN-G coach since Danny Malone. The Indians currently have an active playoff streak stretching back nine consecutive appearances, an all-time school record. The Indians have gone three rounds deep in the playoffs four of the last six seasons, the most consistent streak of deep playoff runs PN-G has had since Doug Ethridge's tenure at PN-G in the 1970s. Coach Faircloth has both more wins and more playoff appearances to his name than any football coach in PN-G history. Statistically speaking, the indisputable best quarterback in PN-G history, several runners-up at the quarterback position, the indisputable best receiver in PN-G history, several runners-up at that position, two of the best runningbacks in PN-G history, and perhaps the best kicker in PN-G history have all been coached by Brandon Faircloth. The best offenses to ever play for PN-G have been coached by Brandon Faircloth, and one of the best defenses in school history was coached by him as well. Coach Faircloth has fielded one of the only four PN-G players in school history to earn All-American honors. He's coached a school record 39 players to achieve All-State honors - fifteen more than Coach Ethridge. Dozens of PN-G players have simultaneously earned academic honors. Coach Faircloth has sent more football players on to play college ball than any coach in PN-G history. Roschon Johnson, Blake Bost, Adam Morse, Tate Sandell - the list goes on. You can verify all of these statistics and all of these facts on our outstanding fan-made website, www.pngindians.com. The lone accomplishment claimed by other PN-G coaches that has eluded Coach Faircloth as a head coach is a state championship appearance. No Golden Triangle team in the same classification as PN-G (4A prior to 2014, 5A since then) has made a state championship appearance since West Orange-Stark in 2000. Take this from a die-hard PN-G native turned reluctant Austin-area resident: the amount of wealth, funding, resources and talent concentrated in suburban Texas football programs far and away exceeds anything small town schools like PN-G are able to amass, and even exceeds what PN-G was able to pull together in the days before Robin Hood. Given the amount of money he threw into Highland Park's program, there's an argument to be made that Jerry Jones effectively bought his grandson a state championship. Schools like Westlake, Lake Travis, Cedar Park, Austin Vandegrift, Euless Trinity, Southlake Carroll, Aledo and Katy Cinco Ranch have backing from dozens of multi-millionaires, professional players, coaches and trainers alike, and in some cases, literal billionaires. This was not the case in the 1950s, the 1970s or the 1990s. The reason that you see programs like Crosby and Barbers Hill on the rise is because they're rapidly becoming suburban programs with that kind of cash on hand. The days of the upper level classifications in Texas high school football (i.e., the 6A and 5A divisions) being dominated by rural schools like PN-G, Odessa Permian, Tyler Lee, Waco Midway and the like are, at least for the moment, gone. The fact that Coach Faircloth has managed to keep PN-G competitive despite our area's relative disadvantage is a testament to his coaching prowess in and of itself. Moreover, Coach Faircloth's accomplishments are not limited to his coaching on the football field. As athletic director, it was Brandon Faircloth who made the brilliant decision to hire Coach Carter as head baseball coach. Coach Carter brought PN-G its first state title in baseball just four years ago. If I'm not mistaken, that also constituted PN-G's first state title in any sport since Coach Comeaux's last state championship run with the Rock-a-Noos in 1989. In the Faircloth era, both the boys' and girls' soccer teams have repeatedly made deep playoff runs, ending several seasons on the cusp of the state tournament. Our basketball teams, consistently PN-G's least successful athletic programs, have found their way to the playoffs. Our success in track and field has improved tremendously. To put it succinctly, the last time PN-G experienced the level of athletic success across the board that it has had with Brandon Faircloth in the fieldhouse, I wasn't born yet. I know and respect several members of the PN-GISD administration and school board; in truth, my skepticism of these rumors is partly based on my faith in their ability to exercise good judgment. I went to school with Jake Lefort's son and Dallon James's younger sisters. I've shared lunch with Lana Parker. Scott Ryan was my assistant principal in middle school. I went to church with Jon Deckert and his family for several years. Julie Gauthier has been a workhorse for both PN-GISD and the City of Port Neches, and the fruits of her labors are demonstrable. I have been very pleased with their leadership the last several years. The PN-G community is two years or less away from all new elementary schools in the district, only ten years after replacing both middle schools and the stadium, and completely renovating the high school. In my opinion, PN-GISD made the best decisions of any school district in the state with respect to its COVID response, and navigated all the controversies of 2020 as best as anyone could expect. From cybersecurity breaches to explosions to hurricanes to freezes, the district's leadership has repeatedly shown its ability to maintain a high quality of education despite substantially greater adversity than anything the rest of the state has had to contend with. The district is in good fiscal shape, and has shown sustained success in non-athletic extracurricular pursuits, including the band, which is obviously of particular significance to me. The district also secured excellent ratings in all the state's academic metrics prior to COVID, and has consistently been rated one of the best school districts in the state in independent studies conducted by third party entities. Personally, I take immense pride in the fact that PN-GISD actually outscored Austin's best local school district by a point in the state's scoring system in 2019. There's no doubt in my mind PN-G continues to offer the best public education you can find anywhere in this state east of IH-45. Speaking from personal experience, Austin's policy circles are familiar with the district's strong reputation. But if my skepticism of these rumors is misplaced, and if it is in fact the case that in spite of Coach Faircloth's clear, undeniable accolades and accomplishments, either PN-GISD will decline to renew Coach Faircloth's contract, or Coach Faircloth will voluntarily leave PN-GISD under pressure from the school board or administration, it will be the first time in several years that I've had good reason to reconsider the faith I have in the party or parties responsible for his departure. Forcing Coach Faircloth's ouster, whether directly or through indirect means, would reflect a severe error in judgment which would have consequences for PN-G students for generations to come - a mistake even worse than running off Danny Malone, which will likely result in similar or worse consequences, and the same lingering shame and regret. To say nothing of losing Coach Faircloth's demonstrated ability to develop successful PN-G athletes and programming, it would also clearly signal to any potential replacement that a three round playoff run capping off thirteen years of unquestionably and consistently successful leadership is not enough to satisfy the powers that be at PN-G, or worse yet, to overcome local political grudges. Ending Coach Faircloth's tenure prematurely would be a grave disservice to the PN-G community and, more importantly, its kids. I have no doubt whatsoever that I am not the only member of the PN-G community who feels this way. For PN-G's sake, here's hoping these rumors are nothing more than idle gossip. Scalp 'em, Indians.

Fair enough. Only time will tell.

Ironically, the man with the most right to be offended over this situation was Louis Sockalexis, one of the first American Indians to play major league baseball, who played for Cleveland. The team first dawned the American Indian mascot in honor of him. Wonder what he'd have to say about this situation.

The top five are the top five and the bottom three are the bottom three. Any one team in either of those groups could jumble around within its group. Some major question marks hang over all five teams in playoff contention. I know my Indians. I like our odds.