Lamar Vikings alumni, Arlington NAACP question head football coach hiring process
Arlington NAACP and Lamar High School alumni asked Arlington school district officials for a fresh, transparent start in administrators’ efforts to hire a new head football coach.
John “JJ” Joe with Lamar Alumni Alliance said his group has been trying for months to get more information on AISD’s hiring process and the desired profile for a coach to replace Laban DeLay, who left in April for a head coaching job at South Grand Prairie. The organization claimed in an April 19 letter that job applications were backdated and that human resources personnel could not find two candidates’ applications.
“This is a position that is a representative of the whole community. We’re asking for that process to be a little more transparent,” Joe said Monday afternoon.
Joe and over a dozen other alumni said in the letter to Principal Andrew Hagman they were informed that administrators had already contacted candidates and identified top contenders in an attempt to make “an offer or offers as soon as possible.”
“While we understand the urgency to fill this position, the most important aspect is that the process is open, fair, that the interview pool represents the demographic makeup of Lamar’s student body, and that the right candidate is selected,” the letter reads.
The Rev. David Hogg, a member of Lamar Alumni Alliance, said alumni tried unsuccessfully to apply for the role but had not heard back.
“These couple of individuals are uniquely qualified, they are alumni, but also they have years and years of experience that they have been able to accumulate over many, many years,” Hogg said.
Arlington ISD spokesperson Anita Foster said in an email that applications for head football coach remained open from April 7 to April 29 and 28 candidates applied for the position. Of the applicants, 12 were selected for consideration, the majority of whom were among minority groups. A hiring committee will evaluate candidates and make an offer to its top choice.
Foster added that the school district valued the feedback from alumni and the NAACP.
“We met with the groups, listened, and responded to their concerns, including their feeling that the process was expedited and excluded qualified candidates,” Foster wrote.
However, NAACP President Alisa Simmons said the group has often struggled to glean details from AISD administration while hiring teachers and educators and said the murky job description and opaque hiring process is indicative of a “Good Ol’ Boy” system in the district’s hiring processes.
Simmons said the NAACP and alumni are not asking for AISD to hire a person of color to lead the team.
“That’s not why are here today,” Simmons said. “We have not asked for a Black football coach.”
Instead, they are asking for transparency and equity in the process, she said.
DeLay was 46-23 in six seasons with the Lamar Vikings, including 4-6 in 2020-2021.
Lamar went to the playoffs five times with DeLay, including twice to the third round. The Vikings reached a state title game in 1990 under the legendary coach Eddy Peach.
Peach coached at Lamar for 40 years and compiled a career record of 316-126-7. He was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 2017. He died in December 2017. His son, Scott, is the head coach at Arlington High.
Arlington ISD has three Black football coaches: Anthony Criss of Sam Houston, Joe Gordon of Seguin and Joseph Sam of Bowie.
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 5:30 PM.
