By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, March 12, 2009
Last month Northwest High School head football coach Leonard McAngus was reassigned by request, and this month the Texans have a new leader. It's the second time in four weeks that the district has hired a head football coach as it filled the position at the new Byron Nelson High School in February.
The Northwest School Board approved Bill Patterson to take over a Northwest team that went 6-5 last season and made it to the Class 5A playoffs for the second time in three years. However, the Texans have yet to win a playoff game and only have five playoff appearances in school history.
The coaching change ends a seven-year run for McAngus in which he posted a 33-40 record. His first two teams had a combined 3-17 record, but he had led the program through the transition of moving from Class 4A to 5A in 2005.
McAngus's duties were reduced this year when Northwest ISD hired Susan Elza as the executive athletic director, a position previously held by McAngus in addition to his post as head football coach. With the opening of Byron Nelson this fall, the district had to split the job duties of the athletic director and head football coach at Northwest.
The Texans have not had much playoff success as their only playoff appearances were in 1962, 1989, 2000, 2006 and 2008.
Patterson, who will make approximately $90,000, held the same position at Garland Naaman Forest since 2000. He led the team to a 9-3 record this year and the District 10-5A championship.
Patterson received his bachelor of science degree in physical education from Texas Tech University in 1981. He later was an assistant football coach at Midland High School, Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas - El Paso before being head coach at Canyon High School from 1996 to 2000.
Since the season ended, McAngus has applied for several jobs across the state including Brownwood, Port Neches-Groves, Jasper and Little Cypress-Mauriceville but has not landed a gig yet.
Northwest ISD hired Van Alstyne's Brian Polk to lead the Byron Nelson football program, which will start with subvarsity teams this fall.
Both McAngus and Elza were unavailable for comment.
