Former NFL assistant named head football coach at state champ Fort Worth Country Day
Keith Burns was named the next head football coach and program director at Fort Worth Country Day on Monday, effective May 1.
Burns replaces Brian Farda, who led the Falcons to back-to-back state championships in the Southwest Preparatory Conference in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 SPC football season was canceled due to COVID-19.
“Keith’s range and depth of coaching experience and his enthusiasm for working with young athletes are the factors that set him apart,” said FWCD director of athletics Leigh Block. “He will connect with parents, colleagues and players in meaningful ways, and build on FWCD’s past athletic success stories while taking our football program to an even higher level.”
Burns, who graduated from LD Bell and played at Arkansas under Lou Holtz, comes to FWCD with more than 30 years of experience coaching at the high school, college and professional level.
He comes to Fort Worth from the University of Texas at El Paso, where he had been serving as senior director of recruiting and player personnel, and secondary/safeties coach.
“Coach Burns knows he is inheriting a program with a record of significant success, including three Southwest Preparatory Conference 3A championships within the past five years,” said Eric Lombardi, FWCD head of school. “FWCD’s athletic tradition and success no doubt had a great deal to do with the strength of our candidate pool in this search.”
Burns spent time in the NFL as the special teams coach for the Oakland Raiders in 2012-13. During that time, he helped set a franchise record for blocked punts, and their special teams were ranked 10th out of 32 teams.
Burns also was the head coach with Tulsa from 2000-02 and had college stints with Rice, Southern Cal, San Jose State, Kansas State and Ole Miss.
