VYPE’s “Fresh Faces” series introduces new Head Football Coaches in the Austin area…
Pundits familiar with Austin area football predicted that former Vandegrift defensive coordinator Scott Hermes would turn McNeil around when he was hired as head coach of the Mavs. It took a few seasons, but Hermes’ Mavericks won their first playoff game in 19 seasons in 2023, returned to the playoffs in 2024, and just missed qualifying for a third straight season last year despite finishing with a winning record after an almost freakish loss cost them the tiebreaker.
Hermes returns to Leander ISD this season, not so much a “fresh face” as a seasoned veteran at a new place as the head coach at Glenn.
“There were a lot of reasons,” Hermes revealed when asked what attracted him to Glenn. “Glenn High School is an amazing school just down the road from my home with a growing population. Glenn has great people to work with, along with amazing facilities. Also, Leander ISD is an awesome district to work for, and I was excited to come back.”
The Grizzlies have to be ecstatic to have him. A 46-year-old native of Muenster, TX, Hermes attended Texas Tech University and earned a master’s degree from Lamar – but almost shockingly didn’t play college football.
Instead, he jumped right into coaching. Hermes spent 11 seasons at Sanger High School, the final five as the Indians’ defensive coordinator. From there, he embarked on his initial Leander ISD run at Vandegrift, first coaching the secondary and then becoming the defensive coordinator helping the Vipers evolve into a state power. His successful six-year run at McNeil was his first as a head coach, leading him back to Leander ISD and the head coaching and athletic coordinator positions at Glenn.
Hermes, along with his wife, Amy, their senior son, Daegen, who plays football for his dad, and daughter Ridley, a sophomore on the Lady Grizzlies volleyball squad, hopes history repeats itself at Glenn. Much like McNeil prior to Hermes’ arrival, Glenn has gone just 6-24 over the past three seasons and have won just one playoff game in the program’s nine-year history, that coming when the Grizzlies finished a program-best 7-5 mark in 2017.
It won’t get any easier this year. Although Glenn remains the only 5A school in Leander ISD after the most recent round of redistricting, the Grizzlies find themselves in a brutal nine-team District 12-5A-1 that’s packed with playoff contenders. Hermes, however, remains focused on the basics.
“I expect us to be well coached, to do things the right way, and for our football players to have an incredible experience,” he declared. “We'll focus on our four hallmarks - discipline, toughness, effort and honor.
“I'm excited to be a Glenn Grizzly,” Hermes added with the confidence of someone who’s already confirmed others’ expectations once before. “I look forward to an awesome 2026 football season.”