BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
The Roma ISD school board nominated and officially promoted Roma defensive coordinator Francisco Villanueva to be the school’s next head football coach on Monday afternoon.
The board recommended Villanueva’s contract be two years and his salary valued between $160,000 to $180,000 over the life of the deal. A final dollar amount will be determined later this month.
Villanueva, along with Edinburg Economedes secondary coach Esteban Flores III and former Freer offensive coordinator Andre Willie Jr., was one of three finalists for the opening. Willie pulled his application on June 29 and instead took an assistant coaching job with West Oso ISD in Corpus Christi.
Longtime coach Max Habecker Jr. announced his resignation from Roma on June 1 and became the linebackers coach at Edinburg North. Villanueva, a full-time head coach at the high school level for the first time, was named interim head coach on June 14.
“I’m excited and can’t wait to hit the ground running,” Villanueva said. “When Coach Habecker was here, he instilled a work ethic into this program for our kids, and we want to continue it.”
Villanueva’s playing and coaching roots run deep in Starr County. As a player, he was a Second Team All-District defensive back at Rio Grande City and has taught and coached at various campuses in the county for the better part of 15 years.
Former Roma head coach Cris Cavazos gave Villanueva his first opportunity to coach at the varsity level as the defensive ends coach in 2005. When Cavazos was let go and Habecker was brought in two years later, Villanueva stayed on Roma’s staff as the secondary coach. Villanueva had served as Roma’s defensive coordinator for the past six seasons. In three of those seasons, Roma had the No. 1 defense in district competition.
No other coaching candidate understood the landscape of Roma football more than Villanueva.
“I know the kids and I know the coaches,” Villanueva said. “I’ve known some of the kids when they were in elementary school and I was a P.E. coach. Since I’ve been a coordinator, we’ve gone to the middle schools and seen some of the guys there. I think we’ll be able to build some continuity.”
Roma athletic director Jaime Escobar believes Villanueva’s familiarity will pay dividends down the road.
“The committee decided it would be in the best interest of the program to go with consistency and stability, and Frank was the best fit,” Escobar said. “He’s also paid his dues as an assistant and defensive coordinator for all these years.”
Villanueva is taking his first head-coaching job, but Escobar sees a parallel between Villanueva and his predecessor.
“Past experience plays a major role in our hiring process,” Escobar said. “However, when Coach Habecker applied a number of years ago, he brought in no head coaching experience, and he turned out to be real good for us. We feel the same about Frank.”
Villanueva said some of the philosophies Habecker brought to Roma will continue, but he is poised to add his own wrinkles.
“I still believe in running the ball and controlling the clock,” Villanueva said. “The only thing I might do differently is opening up the passing game a bit more. Defensively, we’ll have an aggressive and suffocating defense like we’ve always had.”
Some of Habecker’s assistants left Roma after he took the assistant position at Edinburg North. Villanueva will be tasked with replacing them before the team’s season opener at La Joya Palmview on Sept. 1.
“We’ll see how many we can hire from the outside,” Villanueva said. “We’re also going to be looking to promote from within.”
Roma linebackers coach Gerardo Canales will take over Villanueva’s defensive coordinating duties.