Brownwood Head Coach and Athletic Director Chuck Howard met with his coaches and athletes Wednesday morning and later addressed media at a BISD press conference announcing that he has decided not to return to Brownwood ISD next year as Athletic Director and Head Football Coach.
“The board and I fully hoped that Coach Howard would continue as our Athletic Director and Head Coach,” said Brownwood ISD Superintendent Dr. Joe Young. “He has always had my unwavering support and was given a new two-year contract by a unanimous board vote in February. We hoped it would be one of many to come. We’re sad to see Coach Howard leave.”Young further explained that Howard has been an integral part of the BHS athletic program’s success.
“We are disappointed at Coach Howard’s departure because he has done a tremendous job for the student-athletes and community of Brownwood, however, we also respect Coach Howard as a man of integrity so we wish him and his family the best as he moves on,” stated Dr. Young. “Brownwood has a rich athletic tradition and we will immediately begin the search for our next Athletic Director and Head Football Coach.”
BISD Board President Michael Cloy stated, “We are proud of Coach Howard for what he’s done for the kids of Brownwood High School both in the classroom and on the field. He will be missed.”
Howard, at the press conference simply stated, “It’s a family decision, period,” and that he would not go into any details other than this was a decision that is best for his family. Howard stated that he intends to stay in coaching and will be playing a support role at BHS until he finds a new position, wherever that may be. His loyalty to the BHS Lions program caused him to make the decision now so that the program can move forward, finding a new athletic director for the benefit of the players and the program.
“This is not the first time I have made this type of decision in terms of what is best for my family. I am every uneasy in a professional standpoint, but I am very much at peace with myself in terms of what is best for my family,” said Howard. “If this was based solely on a career decision, it would be the most unintelligent decision that I will ever make, because this is the job that I dreamed of.”
Howard moved to Brownwood with Coach Bob Shipley in 2009 and has been the athletic director for the past three years.
“We wanted to be a part of the community, where my kids could be involved in multiple sports, they could be involved in whatever they wanted to be. I have spent ten years of my life here. This is the closest thing to home that me and my family know. It is with extreme hardship on my part emotionally because I have the best job in Texas.”
Howard thanked Dr. Young, the BISD board and staff, and BHS coaching staff for their support. He stated that this decision has been on his mind for the last couple of months and his loyalty
“I have been grateful since accepting this position, it was an honor and I was extremely grateful to have the opportunity to have been named the athletic director. It’s always been about the program. It’s about protecting the tradition, all the great players, all the great men and women that have been a part of this program for so many years, that is what it is all about,” said Howard. “So when I spoke with the kids today, I told them the same thing, it’s not about me, it’s about family and what we talk about in our program we talk about family. It’s about how the roles you take change to do what it takes for the team and what it takes to make the family successful. This is about the 2016-2017 team of the Brownwood Lions. The Brownwood Lion tradition is going to carry on whether Chuck Howard is here or whoever is here in my position. It is never going to be about the guy in charge, it is going to be about the kids, the program and if it is not about the program, then it is not right.”
Howard went on to say that he was hoping to win the eighth state championship with the team, but that no matter where he is coaching, he will still be supportive of the Brownwood Lions and wants to see them get that eighth state championship.
