A curious coaching situation

May 3, 2005 An interesting coaching scenario was created at Rivera High School with the hiring of Tom Chavez as Donnas new head football coach on April 1.

For those who thought Chavez might stay around Brownsville and eventually succeed Joe Rodriguez as Brownsville ISD athletic director, the move came as a bit of a surprise. Still, the longtime Rivera coach received a pay increase and an athletic directors title to take over the Redskins program, so its understandable why he would make such a move.

The coaching ripple effect from Chavezs departure was immediately felt in BISD and around the Rio Grande Valley as the scramble to locate his successor began. That search could be solved at tonights school board meeting.

The Rivera vacancy is a curious situation for a number of reasons.

First of all, the timing is outside the usual window of coaching moves. For high school football coaches in Texas, these type of events normally happen in December or January. Its very late in the school year now, but once Chavez took off for Donna, the ill timing of the whole matter couldnt be helped.

Another curious aspect of the vacancy involves the three finalists, who each boast impressive credentials.

Theres Dave Evans, the ex-coach at Donna whose tenure with the Redskins ended under the cloud of a hazing scandal. He is an experienced head coach and a proven winner in South Texas football.

Will the BISD school board members who approve the hiring of the next Rivera coach look at Evans 100-62-1 career record or be more concerned about what just happened in Donna?

Then theres Dallas Lincoln offensive coordinator Eric Carter. He also has an impressive list of coaching credentials. They include college head coaching experience and time spent as a coaching intern with NFL teams Denver and Carolina.

Would Carters coaching accomplishments from elsewhere translate into success at the high school level in South Texas, particularly in Brownsville? Thats an interesting question for the school board.

Finally, theres Salvador Hernandez, a longtime assistant under Chavez and a Brownsville guy who has paid his dues as an assistant. He believes that he is ready for a chance as a head coach.

Will the school board see it that way, too, or will previous successful head coaching experience give the other two candidates an edge?

With Tony Padilla now at Hanna and Valentin Montemayor at Lopez, the possible hiring of Hernandez at Rivera would mean having three former Raider assistants as head coaches at three of the citys five public high schools. Another link in the "Rivera connection" would be forged if the school board goes with Hernandez.

Actually, Padilla, a former Rivera assistant under Chavez, probably would have been one of the three finalists had he not been hired for Hanna in January.

Padilla appears to be very content at Hanna, but still has more than a casual interest in the outcome of the Rivera hiring if it takes place tonight as expected.

According to Padilla, there was no question that his son Tiger, who will be a senior quarterback next school year, was going to stay at Rivera and play for Chavez. But now that Chavez is gone, father and son are waiting to see who will be the next head coach at Rivera.

There is a possibility that Tiger could transfer and play for his father at Hanna depending upon whom gets the Rivera job, the elder Padilla said.

The new Hanna coach said he is constantly meeting people in the store and at other places around town who immediately ask him where Tiger will be playing football next school year.

"They dont even ask me how Im doing, they just want to know about Tiger," Tony Padilla said.

Maybe Tiger, his father and everyone else will have an answer tonight.

rhess@brownsvilleherald.com