Iconic Fort Worth coach Willie Criss is gone, but the legacy of Daddy Criss lives on
Coach Willie Criss is gone.
The legendary Fort Worth coach, who passed away at the age of 86 on Feb. 6, was passionately and courageously remembered Friday by his son Anthony Criss with a eulogy titled “When the game is over.”
The sight of Criss hugging his dad’s casket at the end as a coach does an opponent at the end of his tribute was emotional and moving, as he shouted, “Well done, coach! Good game, coach! Good job, coach!”
But this was more of a touchdown dance than a moment of sadness at Great Commission Baptist Church in Fort Worth.
Criss was celebrating his dad’s life and legacy that will be cherished for generations to come.
Coach Willie Criss is gone.
But “Daddy” Criss, as he was affectionately known, lives in the heart and minds of his former students, players and colleagues from his days at Como High School in the 1960s before desegregation to his years at Dunbar from 1971 to 1983 and Wyatt from 1984 to 1997 and 2004 to 2007.
Most coaches are remembered for their records and on-field accomplishments, like district titles and state titles.
And the elder Criss had his share of success in a 45-year coaching career that started at Diboll in 1961. He won consecutive district titles and made Wyatt a regular playoff contender while winning more than 100 football games before finally retiring in 2007.
He was the first Black coach at Wyatt and the field house bears his name.
But his enduring and lasting legacy was in the fruit he bore as “Daddy” Criss, a name that took hold when his sons Anthony and Zachary followed him into coaching and joined his staff at Wyatt in the 1990s.
Anthony, who succeeded his dad at Wyatt in 1998 and went on to become the first Black head football coach in the Arlington School District, coached at Sam Houston last season.
Zachary is in his 14th year as the head football coach at Wyatt. He has four grandsons who have joined the family business as coaches.
But Criss, the last of the old school inner city coaches of yesteryear, had long been a daddy to all he had come into contact with at his respective school or across the district.
He was a father figure. He was a disciplinarian. He was an advisor. He was a confidant. He picked kids up for practice and school and he took them home. He helped countless kids get college scholarships.
It was never just about the X’s and O’s or wins and losses with “Daddy” Criss.
And it’s not that way with his sons, who continue to bring that old-school family feel to their program and schools.
“The game” may be over, but “Daddy” Criss lives on.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 8:17 PM.
