BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
The Edcouch-Elsa ISD school board hired Bradly Chavez as the Yellowjackets’ new football coach on Saturday, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
The school board previously scheduled a meeting for Saturday afternoon, according to the sources, during which the Edcouch-Elsa football program would be a topic for discussion. The board was expected to spend the meeting reviewing various options and ironing out potential interview candidates for the opening, which originated after former coach Joe Marichalar was officially reassigned on Nov. 16.
Instead, the board held interviews Saturday morning from a pool of candidates including Chavez, Edcouch-Elsa athletic director Christian Navarro and former Sharyland Pioneer coach Jason Wheeler. The board formally offered Chavez the job, which he accepted.
Chavez comes to Edcouch-Elsa from Santa Gertrudis Academy in Kingsville. He spent the 2017 season as head football coach at the school while also serving as Santa Gertrudis ISD’s athletic director. Santa Gertrudis Academy went 2-8 in 2017.
Before landing at Santa Gertrudis ISD, Chavez was the coach at Corpus Christi John Paul II from October 2015 through the end of the 2016 season.
Chavez played college football at UAB. Following the 2005 NFL Draft, Chavez was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent. He also spent time as a wide receivers coach at Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2013.
Several phone calls to Edcouch-Elsa athletic director Christian Navarro went unreturned as of Saturday evening.