Nacogdoches hires ex-McKinney coach Bobby Reyes

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By David McNabb

Nacogdoches named former Richardson Pearce and McKinney coach Bobby Reyes was approved Thursday night by the Nacogdoches Independent School District Board of Trustees  as the new head football coach.

Reyes spent eight years at Pearce from 1999-2007. He is best known for guiding Pearce through the transition from Class 4A to 5A and back to 4A. He compiled a 52-33 record and led them to the playoffs three times. In the 33 years before his arrival, Pearce had only two winning seasons.
Reyes left Pearce in 2007 for McKinney. Under Reyes, McKinney made it to playoffs the last two seasons and before his arrival, they had only made the playoffs once in 8 years - with no consecutive playoff appearances.

Reyes, a Kilgore native and SFA graduate brings 37 years of coaching experience to the Dragon program. He began his career in Nacogdoches as a baseball coach in the late 70s. One of his early teams was No. 4 in the nation and No. 2 in state with a 26-2 record.

"I will be meeting with the coaching staff at 7 a.m. Monday morning. I'm here to make a difference, not just in our athletic program, but in the lives of our students and our community. this is a dream come true," Reyes said in a statement released by the Nacogdoches ISD.

"I don't make promises that I can't keep, but I can guarantee you that we are going to get better every day. I expect our kids to be good citizens as well as good athletes and to represent NHS in a manner that this town deserves."

The trustees heard the nominating committee's recommendation in an executive session. They returned to open session and approved the hiring of the former NHS teacher and coach by a unanimous 7-0 vote. The decision was met with a round of applause from parents, students, former players, community members and district staff.

Athletic Director Farshid Niroumand, led the search and selection for the new head coach. "Nearly 90 coaches applied for the position, many highly qualified. We were able to narrow the number to 6 finalists, based on a profile that was created by the community. We interviewed the top candidates, and one by one graded their responses to the same questions."

Outside of their coaching records, Niroumand mentioned there were a number of "intangibles" the committee had to consider, such as in-the-trenches experience and familiarity with the community.

The committee is very satisfied with the results of the search, Niroumand said. "After all of the interviews were completed, the selection committee voted unanimously to recommend Reyes for the position. He has a reputation as a good coach and good teacher. He expects excellence in academics, athletics and discipline. We believe he will be a good fit for Nacogdoches."