By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
The Los Fresnos CISD didn’t waste any time in finding its man.
During a special meeting held Monday, the school board approved Patrick Brown, former athletic coordinator and football coach at San Antonio Sam Houston, to become the next athletic director/football coach at Los Fresnos.
Brown has 17 years of coaching experience, including the past four at the helm, going 34-12. He was 10-1 last season at Sam Houston as the Hurricanes won the District 28-5A title, and he posted a 24-11 record with two bi-district titles at El Paso Andress.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Brown said as he addressed the school board. “In the next few years, I’m going to do everything in my power to make you look like geniuses.
“I’m so excited about this job. I’m sweating I’m so excited.”
Brown, a native of Austin, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at El Paso. The new coach will begin his duties next Monday at Los Fresnos after tying up some loose ends this week in San Antonio.
“I’m going to do you guys proud. I’m going to work tirelessly, and I’m not just talking in football,” Brown said as he reiterated his vision to the school board. “I’m an athletic director first. We need district and state champions in all sports. We need to compete for the Lone Star cup every year. I promise you, you didn’t make a mistake.”
Los Fresnos had plenty of interest in its opening for a new athletic director/football coach. A list obtained through a public information request included 28 names of candidates to replace former AD/football coach Clint Finley, who was hired by Big Spring to take over the same position there.
Finley went 47-22 overall in six seasons at the helm, including 33-11 in district. The Falcons went 3-6 in the playoffs and made the postseason in each season under his watch.
For the school board, it wasn’t just success on the football field that made Brown stand out.
“The first thing that caught my eye was that he mentioned his football team had the highest GPA of any student organization on campus,” said Gonzalo Salazar, the Los Fresnos CISD superintendent. “That caught my eye immediately, and after that it was (that) he was a man with a plan. He seemed to have a plan for everything, a meticulous, detailed plan. He presented himself like you saw (Monday), with a lot of confidence, and he has a record that speaks for itself.”
The school board also was impressed with his commitment to teaching the necessary life skills to the student-athletes.
“Everything we do at Los Fresnos should be to support the academic program. Very few will go on to play ball at the next level, but we want them all to go to college,” Salazar said. “(Brown) talked about building the soft skills using football (and other sports) as a vehicle for equipping them with those skills to be successful at the post-secondary level. I’m excited, I’m really excited.”
Brown consulted with many friends and coaches, and found similar answers to the questions he had asked of the school board during the interview process.
“I found out this place is special and it was a premier job,” he said. “There was nothing negative about this except moving my family. I think the support down here is second to none.”
For the new Los Fresnos coach, he knew this was the right move for him. His wife is from McAllen, and he said he has always loved the area.
“I just had a feeling,” Brown said. “Like your dream home, you walk in and you’re like, ‘This is it.’ That’s the feeling I had when I got here.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.