Dean Colbert named Atascocita New Coach

[KFDM COOP]

The new 5A school opening this year in the Houston area has named Dean Colbert their new Head Coach.

[KFDM COOP]

Humble ISD picks Colbert for new school

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By Dave Rogers - The News staff writer Posted: 01/10/06 - 11:15:00 pm CST

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Dean Colbert didn't stay on the job market long.

The former Port Arthur athletic director and head football coach, who just turned in his resignation last Friday, was approved Tuesday night as the head coach at Humble's new Atascocita High.

"He's thrilled and we're thrilled to have him," Humble athletic director Zoe Simpson said of the man who won the recommendation of a five-person search committee and the unanimous 7-0 vote of the Humble school board Tuesday night.

Colbert did not return a call placed by The News Tuesday night.

Simpson, who has worked with Colbert on matters relating to District 22-5A sports competition the past four years, said the committee was also sold on Colbert.

The five-person committee, which included the new school's principal, two assistant superintendents, Simpson and assistant athletic director Neal Quillin -- who was Colbert's high school coach at Willowridge -- picked him ahead of three other finalists.

They were: Mike Woodley, head coach at Pasadena Rayburn and a former assistant coach at Iowa State who helped turn that program around; Kingwood graduate Andy Sexton, defensive coordinator at Mansfield; and Paul Essery, defensive coordinator at Deer Park.

"We have a vision for our school district," Simpson said. "We took about 10 years to study and decide, to make a clear representation about what we wanted to be about. And Dean fits that. He's all about learning.

"Don't get me wrong, we like to win ballgames as much as anybody, but we believe winning is a byproduct of doing things right. And our committee was convinced."

Named Memorial's first head coach in 2002, Colbert compiled a 22-18 overall record in Port Arthur. His teams posted winning records each of the team's first three years, qualifying for the playoffs twice.

The 2005 Titans went 2-5 and superintendent Willis Mackey said Colbert promised him in mid-November that he'd resign after the first of the year.

Simpson is aware of the recent series of articles in The News detailing shortcomings in Port Arthur's athletic department. He says they have been well read, over the internet, by folks in Humble who knew of Colbert's interest in the job.

But the articles -- which largely focused on things beyond Colbert's control -- probably worked in Colbert's favor, the Humble AD believes.

"I think you probably helped Dean more than hurt him," Simpson said Tuesday night. "Our superintendent (Guy Sconzo) read the articles and was very impressed with Dean's professional responses. It really gave us an indication of a guy who can handle pressure.

"We went through some pretty grueling interviews (with Colbert). We knew some (Humble) people had read the Port Arthur paper and we (knew) the perception is we might be getting somebody else's problem. So we had to dig pretty deep.

"We grilled him, to make sure we were getting what we wanted. We're all convinced. He's for academia. He went to Austin College. He's an intelligent man. Neal Quillin coached him. Neal Quillin preached to him at 13 years old the value of an education and he said that just stuck with him.

"And I can tell you from personal experience he values the girls' volleyball team as much as the football team. That's something we're very committed to, that every kid in every program is important. I believe Dean is all about that."

Atascocita High will not have a senior class when it opens next August. But Simpson expects it to have more than 2,200 students in grades 9-11 and it will play a varsity sports schedule in Class 5A. Its students will come from a split of the current attendance zone for Humble High, which this year has 4,800 students.

Projections call for Atascocita to have 3,000 students in the fall of 2007.

Colbert and the principal at Atascocita will have a big say in hiring 37 new coaches for the school.

That's a bit different than Colbert's introduction to Port Arthur. In 2001, Colbert came to town as Thomas Jefferson's head coach with consolidation a year away. He inherited a coaching staff at TJ, then had to try and merge staffs from TJ, Lincoln and Stephen F. Austin when Memorial opened in 2002.

"The fact that Dean had opened a school, whether it was consolidation or expansion, that was a feather in his cap," Simpson said.

"We haven't opened a school here since 1979. We value his experience."

[Guest etbu]

Guys i gotta tell you this happen late. I live in the area and that job was turned down by someone is HISD two weeks ago. Colbert is going to a good area but the fact is that with no 12grade his first year they will get drove next year. He has nonone to thank but the closed minded over here that made that happen. Non district schedule Crosby, Willis, and Spring Woods. I wish him all the luck but it is what it is.

[KFDM COOP]

I wish him luck to, thanks for that update. I didn't know that.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

He'll be fired after his 3rd year.

[SilsbeeD]

whys that?

[Guest etbu]

Sounds like he should come back and run for Mayor.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

whys that?

Memorial had all the talent in the world and he still couldn't win a playoff game with a star player.

[KFDM COOP]

Scooter's right!

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

I'm not saying they would've won state but I mean if you have the best O-Line in SE Texas with hmmm---Jamaal Charles in your backfield you should've at least won 3 playoff games. You know they gonna key in on him so why not P-A-S-S the ball, sorta like what SLC did when Katy started watching lil' Nate (tre' newton) in the state title game.

[jdawg03]

from what i understand the ad at Atascosita was Colbert's Hs Football Coach