Will Garrett Gilbert and a new coach be able to keep a good thing going? "Lake Travis head coach Jeff Dicus has accepted the head coaching position at Duncanville High School, the school confirmed on Monday afternoon. The announcement comes 48 hours after Dicus told the American-Statesman — which had contacted him regarding the Duncanville rumors — that he was staying at Lake Travis. ”This has been one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make, but I believe it’s the right one,” Dicus said in a statement. In his final season at Lake Travis, Dicus led the Cavaliers to a 15-1 record and a 36-34 win over No. 1-ranked Highland Park in the 4A Division II championship game. Duncanville went 3-7 this season with a 2-5 record in District 8-5A. The Panthers have gone 5-15 the past two years under former coach Dan Schreiber, who was re-assigned to another position within the athletic department in mid-November." The Link
Anyone have any insight as to why? Guy has a great thing going in Austin, on the lake, at an affluent school.... I don't think I'd be moving on anytime soon.
I don't get it, unless it's a money issue. Duncanville used to be good, but that area of town is going downhill. I think the comepetition in that district isn't particularly strong outside of Cedar Hill.
Lake Travis runs the opposite system that Schroder runs, it would be similar to Mike Leach leaving Tech, and being replaced with Paul Johnson or Al Groh. LT has most of their offense returning next year, so getting a guy that is familiar with the current system is a must. Unfortunately, I think they are gonna fall into a similar situation like Southlake, having to hire a system coach instead of the best available canadite. Rumors of why Dicus is leaving sounds like it could prevent applicants from taking a serious look at the job... Dicus was supposed to take LT into the 5A ranks and compete against Westlake... AAS reported that Dicus made 80K at LT, while the former Duncanville coach was making 82.5K.
think about it and you can probably figure it out, especially if he's leaving without much of a salary increase and considering what the poster a few spots up said.
Undoubtedly M-O-N-E-Y is playing a big decision here. Dicus will reportedly earn $120,000 plus perks for taking the job. That makes him the highest paid coach in Texas. Not bad pay for 'a district on the way down.' Duncanville is not nearly as affluent as Lake Travis. However, we are a one school community that backs the school 100%. Our citizens will pay to make the best facilities and best coaches available to our kids. We play baseball in a $2 million dollar stadium that would be the envy of many minor league teams; the entire campus has been rebuilt and is as up to date as any you will find in Texas. Our top graduates still attend some of the best colleges around the country. No we're not lilly white anymore, but that's not by choice. White flight has taken people to places like Coppell, Midlothian, and Grapevine. Those places have just enough black kids to make them competitive in sports but not enough to scare off the whites just yet. Give it time. We've suffered from poor coaching ever since Bob Alpert was forced to step aside due to failing health. Our teams were poorly coached, undisciplined, and completely disorganized. The change was long overdue. There was a player revolt at Lake Travis this season, though you might not know it from the state title the Cavaliers won. There are mixed emotions right now among the Cav boosters. Some are saying good riddance and others are lamenting Dicus' departure. I've heard those not sorry to see him go are pointing at a 'win at all costs attitude' as the chief reason they're happy to see Dicus leave. Personally, our program needs a strong, disciplined leader that knows what he's doing on both sides of the ball. Anyone that says we compete in a weak district just doesn't follow HS sports. Duncanville, Arlington Bowie, De Soto, and Cedar Hill make up a tough district in football. Our boys went undefeated and won a state title in basketball last year and Cedar Hill won it all in football. I guess that makes for a weak district.
D'ville apparently pays well as mentioned. They lured Cathy Self-Morgan from Westlake to coach girl's hoops a few years back.
Coaching HS football is not just about coaching football anymore. Not by a long shot. Lot's of issues involved with every job these days.
damn, I didn't know he was getting a 50% bump in salary; maybe it was salary and then you mix in the other things going on there, no brainer for him. good luck to both.
Zo: I'm just calling it like I hear it at all the parties I've been to when the subject arises. For some reason some people think they can say they're leaving because of the blacks when they're not around blacks. I can't tell you how many times I've heard statements to this effect. This has happened at parties I've attended throughout Duncanville and surrounding areas. Case in point, just check the remarks about Red Bird Mall on this very thread. That's a thinly veiled shot at what is now a predominantly black part of town. Not just black, but black and blighted. The only thing missing is to refer to the place as 'Black Bird Mall,' the tag used by whites and other haters. I apologize if my remarks seem out of line. However, don't think for a second that some people aren't thinking along racial lines when they say Duncanville is not a preferred place, or when they say the place is going to the dogs.
My nephew was on the team and there were a lot of the players and families that didn't like Dicus. He said one thing and did another. He wouldn't tolerate his players cursing and demeaning other players, but in turn cussed and ridiculed players in public all the time. He said he was in it for the players but he was only in it for himself. My nephew said at the beginning of the year that if we win state Dicus would be gone the next year. He had to leave before he got a bad reputation of being an ***. He has had a history of that!
Yes, he is a dick. I worked a high school arena all star game last year in which he and Anthony Wood of Westwood were the two coaches. I was told that Dicus pretty much tried to do his own stuff out at the practice and didn't listen to any of the arena league coaches that were helpign out. Wood however took it all in and proceeded to kick Dicus' squads *** in the all star game at the FEC last year. It was so bad that it might have been the dirtiest all star game I've ever witnessed. Dicus' squad was fighting and doing cheap shots all night in a freakin all star game. This is not hearsay, I was there on the sidelines and i saw it. Dicus decided that he was too smart for the pro arena league coaches and proceeded to get his *** kicked in a blood bath. Wood definitely ran it up on him.
Quick update on the M-O-N-E-Y. Duncanville ISD reports the salary at $104,000. That's down a bit from the $120,000 reported in the Dallas News. Also, accoring to DISD Dicus was scheduled to make $92,000 next year at LTISD. To make such a big move for an 11-12K bump on the surface leads me to believe there must have been issues in addition to salary at work here. Just speculation on my part.
