New DeSoto football head coach Todd Peterman answers call, looks to finish

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A "seamless transition" has hit one minor snag for new DeSoto (Texas) head football coach Todd Peterman. It's just that the hitch rings several times a day.

It's his iPhone.

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The device, much like his offense over the last seven seasons at DeSoto, is prolific and works succinctly. It's just that, well, enough is enough.

Last week he decided to count all the incoming and outgoing phone calls for one day. It reached 106.

"That's not even counting the texts," he said.

The phone barrage has led to the first adjustment for the 44-year-old from Oklahoma since he took over in February for seven-year head coach Claude Mathis, who was 74-18 before taking the running backs coach position at SMU.

"When I get home, I put the phone away," Peterman said. "I didn't do that before."

Before he was the team's offensive coordinator he spent 15 seasons working up the ranks at Denison, Tyler John Tyler, Terrell and Midland. This is his first full-time head-coaching gig, though he was DeSoto's interim head coach for a month in 2012 when Mathis took a job at the University of Houston before deciding to return.

That was a trial run for Peterman. This one is permanent, and with primarily the same staff, schemes and personnel as last season's 11-2 team, all appears smooth sailing.

"We have all the same rules, same staff, we're running all the same stuff and the guys are getting after it," Peterman said last week by phone. "All the stuff on the field feels absolutely normal."

It's just the off-the-field stuff that has caused some misdirection.

Buttoning down a schedule, getting it to the right people, managing personnel — even those in the concession stands — are among countless details Peterman didn't coordinate while constructing one of the state's most prolific, multi-dimensional offenses.

The Eagles have averaged more than 500 yards and 46 points per game the last three seasons, and though former offensive line coach Jeff Wigington was elevated to offensive coordinator, Peterman will continue to call plays.

But not all of them. He never did before. This closely-knit staff works democratically.

"We all call plays," he said. "That's not changing either. We've all been very, very involved and will continue to be."

Some would assume he hasn't dealt with the pressure he's bound to get as the head honcho for Texas' top-ranked preseason team. The Eagles are No. 5 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings to start things off.

Peterman said he doesn't feel any more tension than he did as the team's offensive coordinator. Class 6A football in Texas is not typical prep football. Everyone is under a large degree of scrutiny, especially at DeSoto, which has lost just four games in three seasons and sent 52 players to college programs over the last seven years.

Of the 31 coaches in the program, 19 are on-campus and the 12 others teach and coach at feeder schools. One of the best is three-time state championship defensive coordinator Mark Howeth, who has coached more than 35 seasons with stops at Denison, Duncanville and Highland Park.

All of them have coveted jobs to do.

"I'd get fired just as quickly as the offensive coordinator as I would as head coach if I didn't do my job," Peterman said. "I'm confident we'll all get it done."

Peterman has made one small, but what he feels significant, staff change by hiring Courtney Sterling as a newly created special teams coordinator.

"Any way to find that extra edge," Peterman said.

The Eagles have knocked on the door of their first state title. They are a combined 38-4 the last three seasons, all of which have ended with competitive losses to eventual champion Allen.

With one of the state's top quarterbacks Tristen Wallace returning from injury and 15 other players who have received Division I offers, Peterman is confident the Eagles can rewrite history.

Or at least change the ending.

"I don't think people realize just how hard these kids work," he said. "I'm so proud of this program. We're not losing to any slouches. We've lost some very tough games. We just have to find a way to finish our last game."