Marble Falls names finalist for AD and head football coach

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

MARBLE FALLS — The wait is over.

Marble Falls Independent School District Superintendent Rob O’Connor announced May 14 he will recommend Matt Green as the new head football coach and athletic director during the school board’s regular meeting May 19.

Green said he looks forward to the challenge of coaching at a high school that has the sixth smallest enrollment in Class 4A.

“I’m not afraid of a challenge,” he said. “I’m not afraid of coming to a place that hasn’t had the success they want to.”

Green also said he loves the area, and coming here means his fiancee, Anna Dillard, who works in the city of Marble Falls, will not have to relocate.

“I’m getting married, and I’m excited about that,” he said. “No one can argue with the idea of living in the Hill Country.”

Green, who is a Brownwood High School graduate, was the head coach and assistant athletic director at Lucas Lovejoy for two years during which the Leopards posted a 19-5 record. Lovejoy won the District 13-4A title with a 7-0 record in 2013 and was the co-district champion last season.

“Coach Green has outstanding references and outstanding recommendations as head coach,” O’Connor said. “He also has a winning record as head coach and being part of winning programs.”

Green was the offensive coordinator at Lake Travis High School under former head coach Chad Morris from 2008 to 2010, when the Cavaliers were in the midst of winning five consecutive Class 4A state championships. He helped coach quarterbacks Garrett Gilbert, who was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth round May 10, and Michael Brewer, who transferred from Texas Tech to Virginia Tech a few weeks ago.

While those numbers speak for themselves, O’Connor said other factors played a role in his decision.

First, Green has ties to the area, O’Connor said, and plans to be here for the foreseeable future.

“He’s coming to be in Marble Falls and wants to build a winning program,” he said. “The first factor was finding a coach that meets the community’s needs.”

That included finding a coach who will be visible in the community and participate in local events besides leading the athletic department and having the experience and knowledge to recommend coaching hires.

Second, the Leopards averaged 489 yards and 42 points per game.

“They were the small school in their district,” the superintendent said.

Third, the Mustangs have been utilizing an air-raid offense for more than two years. So it was important to O’Connor that the next coach was familiar with a proven passing system that allowed the players to excel without a complete change in philosophy.

“(We’re) not reinventing the wheel,” he said. “We were headed down the right path.”

Green will adjust his offensive philosophy according to his personnel, O’Connor said. Green was a member of the Stephenville staff that incorporated a power offense centered around running the ball, the superintendent said.

“He doesn’t mind throwing the football,” he said. “He doesn’t mind changing it up based on the strength of our players.”

In addition to shaping Gilbert and Brewer, Green also coached an underclassman at Lake Travis named Baker Mayfield, who was just named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, and rising Lovejoy junior quarterback Bowman Sells, who is generating plenty of Division I interest — much like Mustangs rising junior quarterback Brennen Wooten.

Green said he has heard nothing but great things about Wooten, who already has an offer from Clemson, where Morris is the offensive coordinator. The new Mustangs coach said he looks forward to working with Wooten with the aim of helping the quarterback accomplish many of the things on his to-do list.

“I’ve been very blessed,” Green said. “I’ve coached very talented quarterbacks.”

He also looks forward to meeting rising senior offensive lineman and tight end Hanner Shipley. Green said he has heard about Shipley’s size and other intangibles, though he hasn’t watched film on him yet.

Shipley is the nephew of former Burnet High School head football coach and athletic director Bob Shipley, now the coach at Belton High School, and is the cousin of current University of Texas receiver Jaxon Shipley and former NFL receiver Jordan Shipley.

“You’re talking about a quality family on and off the field,” Green said.

To O’Connor, it all adds up to the ideal candidate to lead the Mustangs.

“(Lots of) points, per-game production,” he said. “He comes with a lot of experience and has a winning record. We’re just fortunate to have a head coach of his caliber, having his Division I quarterback coaching experience and having a wide-open spread offense.”

The Mustangs have been without a head coach and athletic director since May 2 when Todd Dodge announced he was taking the same position at Austin Westlake.

jfierro@thepicayune.com