By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
Rio Grande City football coach Carlos Longoria has been reassigned from his position.
The decision came Monday morning after five seasons at the helm. School principal Ricardo Saenz confirmed the move Monday afternoon.
Longoria compiled a 15-28 record during his tenure with the Rattlers, twice making the playoffs. Outside of those 2011 and 2013 campaigns, RGC had totaled three district wins in three years.
The Rattlers fell out of postseason contention this year following a 14-3 loss to Mission Veterans Memorial in the penultimate game of the regular season.
“This is a performance-based position,” Saenz said. “The Rattlers have been out (of the playoffs) the final two years, and that was a large contributor in the decision.”
Players took to social media to show their support for Longoria as speculation grew late last week about his impending removal. On Twitter, “#KeepLongoria” had been posted a couple dozen times and retweeted more than 150 times Friday afternoon, when Saenz met with parents and students, who lobbied for Longoria to stay.
“The students spoke on behalf of Coach Longoria, and I listened to their concerns. I explained to them that it was a difficult decision because Coach Longoria’s a wonderful person and a great coach,” Saenz said. “He’s a man of integrity, and great at character development. You could tell by the support he had that they respect him and care deeply for him.
“Unfortunately, we have to show results in these positions. We’re hired to do a job, and ultimately it comes down to win-loss records and playoff records. And the past two years we’ve been disappointed. We want to hopefully get back to a place where we could go back (to the postseason).”
Before the news came out Monday, students carried posters in support of Longoria outside the school’s front office.
Coming off an injury ravaged year in 2014, the Rattlers had promising moments this season, beating La Joya Palmview, which qualified for the playoffs, and coming within a point of tying Edinburg Vela, the No. 2-ranked team by RGVSports.com, for a second consecutive season.
RGC closed out the year with a 29-7 loss to Sharyland High on Nov. 7.
In 1999, Longoria began his head coaching career at Raymondville. In five seasons, he went 26-25 and won one district championship, including a runner-up finish. From 2004-08, Longoria coached at Mission Veterans Memorial, amassing a 32-26 mark.