By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Two coaches within the Brownsville Independent School District have received new distinctions.
Danny Pardo and Mark Guess will both have new titles for the upcoming school year.
Pardo, the linebacker’s coach at Pace this past season, was named the head football coach/athletic coordinator this week after the most recent school board meeting. Guess, who was the interim head coach/athletic coordinator at Hanna this year, has had the interim tag removed and is officially on-board after a probation period at Hanna.
Pardo had been named the interim athletic coordinator when former head football coach/athletic coordinator Bill Deen left Pace and became the offensive coordinator at Porter under new head coach Carlos Uresti.
Pardo isn’t unfamiliar at Pace. He was the long-time defensive coordinator under now retired coach Rene Medrano at Hanna and at Pace before that.
“It was a long-time coming,” Pardo said. “We’re ready to go to work and get things rolling.”
The current Pace staff will remain, except for the offensive and defensive coordinators. Pardo is already looking to make those additions to his staff.
“That’s priority number one right now,” he said.
The new defensive scheme will be similar to what Pardo has run in the past and the Vikings’ offense will run something similar to what Medrano ran as a head coach during his tenure.
Pardo credits Medrano with giving him the experience to help him reach the next rank in coaching.
“I was fortunate enough to work as a coordinator under a good coach before,” Pardo said. “That experience I got working with him for some many years … I saw how he managed, how he prepared, how organized he was. All of those are going to come into play now that I’m in this position.
“We were successful at Pace before we left, so we’re going to try and duplicate the same things … everyone is excited.”
Guess was previously the BISD athletic director for four years, but wanted to make a return to the sideline. He had last coached at Brownsville Veterans Memorial for a couple years when it first opened six years ago before taking the administrative position in athletics.
When Medrano announced his retirement last summer, it opened up the door for Guess to become Hanna’s next head coach/athletic coordinator. Guess took over shortly before the football season started with an interim tag.
“It’s always humbling when you’re tagged to lead a group of young men and an athletic program,” Guess said. “I’m happy to be able to be back with the kids to teach them not only football, but life lessons and make them responsible young men once they leave us.”
Now he is happy to continue his work at Hanna.
“It was kind of like a job interview,” Guess said of his previous interim status. “I’m fired up that the tag is removed and I can continue moving forward with this program.”
Even with the unknown of this past year, Guess didn’t let it bother him.
“I always approached it as I was going to be here … the best happened in my opinion and I’m fired up for the summer workouts and get ready for August.”
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.