Texas Football Classic 2009
Alamodome
Thursday: Floresville 36, Fox Tech 13
Friday: Boerne-Champion 28, Midlothian 24
Saturday, Noon: Mayde Creek (Katy) vs. Brenham
Saturday, 3:45 p.m.: Permian (Odessa) vs Duncanville
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.: East Central (San Antonio) vs. Steele (Cibolo)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - There’s definitely a buzz, Gary Gaines said. More so than most openers he's been involved in.
That's saying something.
He knows he’s a big reason for the charge – returning to coach legendary Friday Night Lights Odessa Permian after a 20-year hiatus.
It would have been more fitting to actually open on Friday night, instead of Saturday’s Texas Football Classic meeting with Duncanville at the Alamodome.
But the understated Gaines just wants to get started and the hoopla concerning his much-anticipated return to cease.
“It’s understandable,” he said by phone Thursday afternoon. “It goes with the territory though it's always been about the kids. I imagine after (Saturday) it will all start to die down.”
Maybe.
Depends perhaps on the outcome.
No matter what the score against a rising Duncanville program, led by one of the state’s most respected coaches Jeff Dicus, nothing will be as shocking as Gaines’ return to the Mojo.
When Darren Allman left Permian to take over at another high-profile school Austin Westlake, many names surfaced as his replacement.
Gaines wasn’t one of them.
“Never,” Odessa American staffer and Permian beat writer Joel Erickson said.. “Maybe someone said it once as a joke, but honestly, when we heard he got the job it was like ‘Are you kidding me.’ “
It’s not that anyone thinks the game has passed Gaines behind. It’s just that how much better can it get than in 1989 when he left as undefeated state champion?
“It’s just that his legacy was already built,” said Texas Football Magazine prep expert Travis Stewart. “Nobody thought it was something he’d be interested in.”
But Gaines has communicated his hunger to still make a difference. Especially at this age group.
He coached at the college ranks as an assistant at Texas Tech and head coach at Abilene Christian, but the last four years has been largely inactive from coaching. He served as athletic director for a couple of school districts in that time and has also kept busy with public speaking.
When asked if there was a point this summer that he knew he made the right decision to return to the field, Gaines didn’t hesitate.
“There’s been several moments, all off the field,” he said. “A couple of weeks ago one of the players was having some serious family problems. I’m not sure I helped but he just needed someone to talk to.
“For a lot of these kids they need someone to be a mom or dad. As a coach you have to wear a lot of hats. I tell these guys I have a cell phone and they can call me 24 hours a day.”
Surprisingly, few if any, have asked Gaines to re-live glory days.
None, he said, have asked to confirm or deny some of the steamy and vivid details brilliantly described in H.G. Bissinger’s national best seller, tabbed the greatest sports book of all time by Sports Illustrated.
A book, by the way, Gaines said he has never read.
“They really haven’t asked me much if anything,” he said. “There are such deep-rooted seeds in the Permian tradition. I don’t know that they want to know the history because they are trying to make history of their own.”
He has shared stories of former players, particularly over-achieving sorts like Kyle Hooper, who Gaines said started 15 games at defensive end in the late 1980s despite being 5-foot-8 and weighing 155 pounds.
“He may have been the toughest kid I ever coached,” Gaines said.
He described this season’s Panthers’ team as “a little undersized but they can run pretty well. … It would be nice to have some bigger guys up front but I think we’ll hold our own. We got some fighters on both sides of the ball.”
The Pantherrs, which return six starters from last year's 12-1 team, are ranked among the top 10 teams in the state in most polls.
Gaines said the high school game is a little faster than two decades ago and the kids are generally bigger and stronger, especially along the offensive front.
“I don’t see any difference on the commitment level,” Gaines said. “I think all the boys have a great work ethic and are eager to experience their days at Permian.
“The game is more wide open. The run-and-shoot was in vogue about when I was leaving but the spread and no-huddle approaches are much more prevalent.”
Erickson said Gaines’ style is much different than Allman, a former safety who tended to stick on the defensive end.
“Coach Gaines is always making notes, he’s all over the field,” Erickson said. “He makes the rounds with all the coaches to get their input.”
As far as dealing with the press, Erickson said Gaines has “been great so far.”
Erickson hasn't broached the Friday Night Lights topic, one which is a bit prickly and was at the center of recent ESPN and USA Today stories.
“Universally his reputation in West Texas is that he’s a stand-up guy,” Erickson said. “He’s been nothing but good to me.”’
Friday Night Lights will no doubt come up Saturday, win or lose. When asked if overall the book, movie and TV series has been good or bad for Permian, Gaines stood somewhere in the middle.
“I really don’t know how most people frame it,” he said. “It’s just a part of history now. It’s part of the fabric in Odessa. Hopefully we’ll start some more history on Saturday.”
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
