Posted: Friday, January 30, 2009 12:00 am
BY JOEL A. ERICKSON
Brandon Faircloth has spent his entire football career around tradition.
He played at Brownwood. Coached at Austin Westlake and Highland Park.
Turned the Permian offense into a dominant force.
Now he’s got a chance to lead another tradition-laden team back to the top.
This time as a head coach.
Faircloth has accepted the head coaching job at Port Neches-Groves, pending approval by the school board at a special meeting of the Port Neches-Groves ISD school board on Tuesday night.
“I don’t expect there to be any problems with the school board,” Port Neches-Groves superintendent Lani Randall said. “We had a particular profile we were looking for in our athletic director/head football coach position, and he appeared to be the strongest candidate.”
Port Neches-Groves, a Class 4A school, has three state titles – including a win over Permian in the 1975 state final – and has reached the state championship game three more times.
But Faircloth will be ready for the pressure that comes with rebuilding his new team.
Since joining the Permian coaching staff in 2006, Faircloth has presided over three consecutive seasons in which his quarterback has broken the Panthers’ single-season passing record, a streak capped by the 2,682 yards Trevor Adams gained this season.
Faircloth also masterminded Sherard Ray’s 2,224-yard rushing season this year, the second-best single-season rushing mark in Panthers school history.
And as much as he loved coaching at Permian – Faircloth’s trademark was the close relationship he developed with his quarterbacks – the chance to lead a program back to prominence was too hard to pass up.
“It’s the history of Port Neches-Groves,” Faircloth said. “It’s a program with high expectations, high academic standards, and a program with a lot of tradition.”
Faircloth will have plenty of help with his new job.
Permian head coach Darren Allman’s number will be set to speed dial.
“Every time I have a question that I don’t know the answer, I’m calling Coach Allman,” Faircloth said. “I wouldn’t be anywhere without Coach Allman, the Permian Panthers, the fans, the whole coaching staff. Without them, I wouldn’t have this opportunity.”
Faircloth doesn’t know exactly when he and his family will be leaving for Port Neches-Groves yet, but he wants to get started right away.
“Hopefully, I can hit the ground running,” Faircloth said. “I can tie up a lot of loose ends right away.”
Faircloth will be trying to follow in the footsteps of Allman, who has pushed the Panthers back to prominence in just four years at Permian.
Now, the Panthers have to replace one of the offensive minds behind the turnaround.
Not that Permian’s coaching was blindsided by Faircloth’s hiring.
Success makes other high schools try to catch the same magic directly from the source.
“We’re going to miss him,” Allman said. “But that’s what we want our assistant coaches to be able to do, and it’s one of the reasons they come to Permian.”
Allman said Permian’s search to replace Faircloth already has begun.
Faircloth’s ascension to the head coaching ranks will definitely be a draw for his successor.
“That’s going to be a selling point to get somebody to replace him,” Allman said. “It’s going to be a little different next year, but we’ll have the ability to go out and get another great coach.”
And now the Panthers will be paying close attention to the program at Port Neches-Groves.
Every program wants to see a member of the family succeed.
