By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
After reassigning Rivera head football coach/athletic coordinator Tom Chavez in late February, the Brownsville Independent School District wasted little time in beginning the process to find a replacement.
It seems the district has found its guy in the form of Lopez offensive coordinator Beto Leal, whose hiring as Rivera’s next head football coach/athletic coordinator was approved by BISD during a board meeting Friday night.
BISD athletic director Gilbert Leal said deciding on the Lopez assistant was an easy decision due to his coaching background and performance in three parts of the interview process.
“The first round of evaluators were basically all head coaches from Rivera, who met before the process started and came up with qualities they wanted in their new leader,” Gilbert Leal said. “The second round involved administrators from Rivera, and the third round involved BISD administration, including myself. (Beto Leal) did very well in all three interviews. He’s a product of Brownsville, and he’s done a great job and has a good history of success in building programs at Lopez.
“This is a great opportunity for him to take over the challenge,” Gilbert Leal added. “It’s not going to be easy, but everybody, including the board, felt he gave us the best opportunity to pump some energy and some life into Rivera.”
Beto Leal is expected to meet with BISD’s human resources department Monday to sign his contract and receive his letter to officially report to Rivera.