BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
Following the Yellow Jackets’ 33-0 home loss to Valley View on Friday night, Edcouch-Elsa ISD superintendent Ronaldo Cavazos felt it was the right time to make changes inside the football program.
Cavazos removed head coach Bradly Chavez and defensive coordinator James Jefferson from their positions on Saturday morning after six games into their first season at Edcouch-Elsa. Athletic Director Christian Navarro was named interim head coach for the remainder of the year.
Chavez confirmed the news but would not comment on the administration’s decision. Jefferson did not offer a comment on his reassignment as well.
“It was my decision to make,” Cavazos said. “We were looking at the whole performance up to this point in the season.”
One source shared a screen capped message Chavez had with his players earlier Saturday morning: “GM (Good morning), for the guys that are not here, Coach (James) Jefferson and I myself have been fired from our football coaching positions. The AD (Navarro) will be taking over and I want to let you guys know that I am proud of each and every one of you. You guys have grown so much as young men and continue to get better daily on and off the field. Know that you are CREATED 2 EXCEL and I am here for each and every one of you! My hope is that each of you learned something from us and can become better young men from this experience. If you need anything feel free to reach out! Love you guys!”
Edcouch-Elsa has gone through a steep drop from being known as one of the Valley’s landmark football programs. The Yellow Jackets were once a middling program until the late Robert Vela took control of the program in 1988. The Texas High School Coaches Association inducted Vela into its Hall of Honor in 2017.
Vela’s 10-win season in 1993 was the first of Edcouch-Elsa’s 10 seasons with 10 wins or more between 1993 and 2012. They also won 10 district crowns during that same span. The Yellow Jackets’ last two playoff appearances ended in the third round of the playoffs in 2015 and 2016.
Edcouch-Elsa (1-5) dropped its first two district games after losing three of four non-district games against Corpus Christi Veterans, Weslaco High and Los Fresnos.
Rumors swirled that Chavez would be removed the day after their 58-7 loss to the Panthers on Sept. 6, but no ruling came down from the administration.
Edcouch-Elsa hired Chavez due to his credentials as a NCAA Division I football player at Alabama-Birmingham, a brief stint with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and experience as a college and semi-professional assistant coach.
He was previously a head coach at two high schools in the Coastal Bend. Chavez was a combined 6-18 leading Corpus Christi John Paul II and Kingsville Santa Gertrudis over two and a half seasons.
After allowing 138 points in their first three games, the Yellow Jacket defense began to show signs of improvement. They gave up 63 points in their past three games, including just seven points in their lone victory over Edinburg North on Sept. 21.
But two other sources with knowledge of the situation believed Jefferson was seen as a divisive figure on the coaching staff. According to one of the sources, Chavez met with Cavazos last week where the superintendent asked Chavez to part ways with Jefferson and replace him with former E-E defensive coordinator Martin Marichalar. Chavez, according to the source, was not interested in making a change at defensive coordinator.
Jefferson was the first assistant to join Chavez’s coaching staff. Jefferson sat next to Chavez during his introductory press conference at Edcouch-Elsa last Dec. 19. When asked about the Cavazos-Chavez meeting, Jefferson said via text message that the source’s claim was “incorrect.”
“My conversations with coach Chavez were limited to him and no one else,” Cavazos said.
Because of Chavez’s and Jefferson’s reassignments, Navarro will call plays on offense. Navarro elevated defensive assistant Victor Cardenas to the role of defensive coordinator while Marichalar will be brought back on to the staff as a position coach. Marichalar served as the defensive coordinator for his brother and former E-E coach Joe Marichalar.
“What we’re going to get these kids to do now is play Jacket football,” Navarro said. “We need to get them to believe in themselves and know that they can accomplish great things if they want to do so. Bradly (Chavez) had his philosophies, and I’m not knocking them. I don’t want to get too much into it because we play Sharyland (High) next week, but there will be some movement in terms of what positions kids might play.”
Navarro was named E-E’s interim coach in the time period after Joe Marichalar was reassigned and before the school district hired Chavez, but he hadn’t coached a game since he led Valley View in 2012.
During that season, Navarro coached the Tigers to a 6-4 record in what was the best year in program history. The Tigers’ win at Edcouch-Elsa on Friday helped Valley View (6-0, 2-0) equal their win total from the 2012 football season.
“We want to see our students do well and give them the best opportunity to win,” Cavazos said.