During an interview earlier this week, Paetow High head football coach Lonnie Teagle was asked how he’s doing.
“I’m tired, man,” Teagle said, laughing. “But I’m doing good. I’m great.”
It’s been an exhausting, rewarding week for the 38-year-old Teagle. On Wednesday morning, VYPE first reported the news of the former Denton Ryan offensive coordinator and running backs coach being hired at Paetow following the departure of B.J. Gotte in late February to Pearland High. On Thursday, Katy ISD made Teagle’s hiring official.
Paetow is the first head coaching job for Teagle, who coached the last three seasons at Denton Ryan. Prior to that, Teagle coached at Coppell High as running backs/receivers coach for two years and Denton High as head track coach/receivers coach for five years.
Teagle takes over a Paetow program that won the Class 5A-Division I state title last year, the second school in Katy ISD to win a football state championship. It’s a homecoming for the Missouri City native and 2001 graduate of Fort Bend Elkins High. Missouri City is approximately 30 miles south of Katy.
“Our family has desired to come back home and back to the Houston area where all of our family is,” Teagle said. “This is an unbelievable opportunity to come to Paetow, where they’re coming off winning a state championship, in Katy ISD, one of the premier districts in the state of Texas. It was a no-brainer.”
Teagle spent the last two seasons as offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Denton Ryan. He was hired as running backs coach in 2019 before being promoted in the summer of 2020. He helped the Raiders to the Class 5A-Division I state runner-up finish in 2019 and the state championship in 2020.
Ryan averaged 46.1 points and 33.9 points, respectively, in the last two seasons under Teagle’s guidance.
Teagle’s list of mentors reads like a who’s who of Texas high school football coaching and administrative greats: Dave Henigan (Denton Ryan head football coach), Joey Florence (Denton ISD athletic director), Carlos Lynn (Cedar Hill head football coach), Joseph Sam (Arlington Bowie head football coach), Joe McBride (former McKinney Boyd head football coach) and Kendrick Crumedy (Jasper head football coach).
“I’ve been blessed to be around some great coaches, so I’ve learned a lot,” Teagle said. “My No. 1 thing is I’m in the kid business and I’m always about the kids. I do this so I can impact a kid’s life. I believe a good coach can impact the game, but a great coach can change lives. Winning is a byproduct of doing things the right way, building relationships with the kids and the community, and having them back you, and bringing in like-minded coaches who share your vision.”
Teagle, who believes in building offensive and defensive schemes around player personnel, met with Paetow players on Thursday. He is waiting on Katy ISD human resources to determine when his official start date will be.
In a statement in the news release announcing Teagle’s hiring, Katy ISD athletic director Debbie Decker lauded Teagle’s championship pedigree.
“With his experience, we are confident that Coach Teagle and his staff will build upon the success of the Paetow High School football program,” Decker said. “His commitment to the development of the individual student-athlete stood out during the selection process and is matched only by his commitment to the overall success of the entire athletic program at Paetow High School.”
Teagle said the Katy ISD hiring interview process was “very unique” compared to others he had been involved in.
It was a two-day arrangement. The second, more intensive day lasted six hours and included Teagle offering a presentation on his candidacy, a one-on-one meeting with Decker, multiple meetings with school principal Mindy Dickerson, and observing fifth period athletic workouts.
“It gave me a full perspective,” Teagle said. “I got to know our principal, who is unbelievable. She blew me away. I was blown away by the kids. I was blown away by the district administration. It was everything I thought Paetow and Katy ISD would be, plus more.”
Teagle, a graduate of Alcorn State who was named one of the university’s top 50 greatest football players, spoke more with VYPE.
VYPE: What are some of your early impressions about the kids at Paetow, the school, the community?
TEAGLE: Man, the kids are hungry. They’re not satisfied. They’re not resting on their laurels of what they did last year. They have a chip on their shoulder. A lot of people don’t think we can play in 6A. The community has been great. They’re starting great traditions that we want to continue. The community is backing our team and the administration has been great.
VYPE: You’re going into your 17th year of coaching. At what point did you know that you’re ready for a head coaching job?
TEAGLE: You kind of always prepare. I’ve been watching the coaches I’ve been under and going to clinics and talking with other coaches. I’ve always felt like I’m a leader at heart. I’ve been in leadership positions as a middle school coordinator, head track coach and offensive coordinator, and you get to a point where you want to have your own program and see if you can do it. You want to take on that challenge. I accomplished a lot at Ryan High School and felt like it was time.
VYPE: When you pick your first head coaching job, there’s a lot of research and homework done to make sure it’s the perfect fit. When you see the previous Paetow head coach who started the program and just won a state championship leave his hometown for another job, do you look at this job like this with a finer scope? How did that play into your evaluation process?
TEAGLE: People bring that up and think there must be some red flags. But what I focused on and what I saw is, No. 1, Katy ISD being a place I always wanted to be because of the importance put on athletics. And No. 2, Paetow High School, in particular, is a place I want to be because of the type of kids I like to coach. I love the diversity of the school. You have kids with high socioeconomic status, and you have some with low. You have different cultures and backgrounds mixed in. These kids already have a tradition of winning. They have a habit of winning. There’s challenges of moving up to 6A and all kinds of things that people want to say, but I embrace those challenges. I’m excited about this. This is the best job in the state of Texas.
VYPE: What did you take away most from three years coaching at Denton Ryan, one of the state’s top programs?
TEAGLE: The most important thing was seeing how passionate and how hard those kids played. The faith and belief they had that they just knew they were supposed to win. It wasn’t a cockiness. They just believed, because they wore that Ryan Raider uniform. It’s the same thing I’ve gotten from Paetow from the first few days meeting these guys. They believe in themselves. They believe that their coaches care for them and know what they’re talking about. It’s the same things I had at Ryan. It didn’t matter who we were playing. Those kids believed and they played like their hair was on fire.
VYPE: Putting everything aside, what does this mean to you to get your first head coaching job and earn something you’ve worked 16 years for?
TEAGLE: It’s a life-changing experience. I’m having an opportunity to come home, be closer to family and lead a program and be the face of a program. It’s a goal you have. It’s great to be able to meet those goals. It’s life changing. It really is.