Joe Willis applied for Southlake Carroll job, but sticks with Colleyville Heritage

Joe Willis was among the three finalists for the head coaching job at Southlake Carroll.

But before news broke that former Carroll quarterback Riley Dodge was going to become the next Dragons football coach, the Grapevine-Colleyville school district showed it was sticking with Willis, who confirmed by text that he wasn't going anywhere.

"The principal here ultimately convinced me to stay through a couple of commitments," Willis said. "I'm excited and I'm good through next year for sure."

Willis and Dodge along with San Angelo Central's Brent Davis were the three finalists for the Carroll job. The Carroll school district has a school board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Willis has taken the Panthers to back-to-back regional round appearances including the state quarterfinals in 2016, which snapped a 10-year drought. The Panthers have gone 21-6 the past two years under Willis, who has won 85 games in eight seasons as a head coach with Heritage, Cedar Park and Iraan.

He led Cedar Park to a state title in 2012 and a state runner-up finish in 2014. The Timberwolves were 37-8 during his tenure.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Joe Willis applied for Southlake Carroll job, but sticks with Colleyville Heritage."