College coaches drew a crowd wherever they went at the Texas High School Coaches' Association convention in San Antonio in July. Kirby Smart flew in for a few hours to speak to the largest and most powerful coaching organization in the country. Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher and Texas'Steve Sarkisian were well known. There was a large crowd at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center when the Division I coaches spoke. Texas Tech's Joey McGuire and UTSA's Jeff Traylor seemed to be in a huddle surrounded by coaches. In a state that has inspired best-selling books, movies and TV shows based on statewide sports, high school coaches loom as some of the most influential people in thousands of towns. Two of the coaches who made it big were back as conquering heroes, filling their colleagues with pride. "They represent us because they're one of us," said John King, the outgoing president of the THSCA, who oversaw the convention as the last act of his tenure. The two guys did it the right way. They love kids and got a chance to go to college and make the most of it. Their first head-coaching jobs were legendary. He went 141-42 with the Longhorns, and won three state titles. In 2000 Traylor returned to his hometown of Gilmer in deep East Texas, where he restored the pride of the Ohio State football team and won three state titles. After rising through the ranks as an assistant, they're both taking the big stage at the same time on Saturday as the Red Raiders travel to No. 16 to take on the Longhorns. While Traylor's Roadrunners visit Texas. The Longhorn network. 1,400 coaches are likely to keep an eye on them. "I'm a high school coach that's in charge of college football, and I think everyone understands that," he said. I really meant that. I am familiar with where I am from. I'm familiar with my past. I'm aware of how I got here. I show respect to them. The reception has been great because of that. Both McKinney and Traylor are known for their passion. "I will die here at Texas Tech" was promised in his introductory news conference when he arrived in Lubbock. The 33-30 double-overtime win over the then-No. 1 ranked team was last weekend. Houston has the Red Raiders at 2-0 and made them more optimistic. The first title in the school's history, as well as the program's debut appearance in the AP poll last season, are just some of the things that Traylor has accomplished. They were both candidates for the same job at the University of Texas when they were in college. Charlie Strong, a Texas outsider, needed to build inroads to the state's high school coaches after taking over for Mack Brown. It's a tradition for college coaches who aren't from Texas to hire at least one of their own staff. Bruce Chambers was the head coach of Dallas Carter when Brown arrived in Austin in 1997. Paying dividends in goodwill is a smart business. When Strong arrived, the two men were coming off state titles. They both had stellar reputations and talked with a thick drawl. The job could've put both of them against each other, two coaches who were familiar with each other but didn't know each other well, vying for the same position. They had an unspoken bond. The high school coaches in Texas were a group of guys who stuck together. From the standpoint of "Hey, what do you think?" we talked almost every night. What people have you spoken to? What's going to happen? "I said that." Traylor said that they didn't try to mind-game each other. We were very close to one another. We were open with each other. Someone had to get the victory. The decision was made by the family. His kids were almost done with high school when he decided to coach them. He didn't want to let it go. Garret was about to be a senior when his father died. I wanted to finish out with my son and daughter because I had to coach them in power lifting. The job went to Traylor. He had to make his own decisions. Jake, my son, was a senior as well. I told Jake I would take the job if he offered it. I've been teased by Jake for a long time that I love Jake more than Joey. I had to assure Jake that I loved my son as much as Joey loved his son. Through a process that could've split the oldest of friends, the two coaches became inseparable. He would probably have gotten the job over me anyway. He's a great guy. This dance continued with other jobs. Rhule tried to get Traylor, a former Texas high school coach, to join him at Arkansas, but he instead went to Arkansas with Chad Morris, a former Texas high school coach. Both of them were considered for the UTSA job. Both of them were candidates for Texas Tech, with Traylor signing a $28 million extension that runs to 2031 at U San Antonio. Traylor said that he and Joey had talked for hours about each of the jobs. If I find out that Joey is not the angel that I think he is, it will ruin me. The cover of "Dave Campbell's Texas Football" magazine, the annual harbinger of fall in the state since 1960, featured Terry and McKinney on it, with the headline, "For". Hi @JoeyMcGuireTTU & @CoachTraylor 👋@TexasTechFB @UTSAFTBL | #dctf #txhsfb #WreckEm #210TriangleOfToughness pic.twitter.com/xKXFrbIFa4 After he was introduced at Texas Tech, he said he was issuing a challenge to the editors. Do you not? "I said that." If they're really about Texas high school football, which they're supposed to be -- it's like the Bible of Texas high school football -- Jeff Traylor at UTSA and Joey McGuire at Texas Tech should be on the cover. In his senior year in high school, Traylor's name appeared in the Gilmer preview, a full circle for him. Traylor thought he had arrived. You were on the cover 36 years ago. 1,400 Texas high schools are in this magazine, and I'm proud to say that I'm on there with one of my dearest friends. I feel like I represent all 1,400 head coaches and their assistants. It's not that big of a deal to be that guy. I wouldn't be telling the truth. When Gilmer renamed its football field Jeff Traylor Stadium in 2015, Traylor said it was the biggest honor of his life. At the convention, the magazines were passed out and it was a dream come true for the Texas Tech coach. "I'm not that old, but I've been doing this for a long time," he said. As a young coach, I walked in. I can close my eyes and listen to Bob Stoops speak. I watch those guys. Mack Brown had an effect on my career. I don't want to compare myself to them but I get to see a lot of young coaches that I've run into over the years and they're asking me about it. It's a big honor for me. They were part of a welcoming committee, mentors, and comedy duo over the course of a few days in San Antonio. He blamed Traylor for the fact that the biggest difference in being a speaker and attendee was what he had to wear. He said he was going to get laughed at for wearing this. I'm not going to allow Jeff to out-sportscoat me. I woke up this morning and said, "Jeff is wearing a sports coat, then I am wearing a sports coat." That is my man. As the Roadrunners have captured San Antonio's attention, Traylor says he wears his trademark coat and white hat for the same reason. He said it was intentional. Joey likes to tell people he's bald. Which isn't completely true. I'm proud of this roadrunner. You're invited to a lot of black tie affairs when you win a lot of games. This is my official San Antonio tuxedo. No one has rejected me yet. This is my tuxedo. They may be on college campuses now, but both coaches still want to be the coach in a community. Traylor had to be reminded that he doesn't have to go to the volleyball game the night before he plays a football game because they show up all over the place. Both of them know how to market their programs. The Texas Tech basketball team fired their previous coach Matt Wells after eight games, but that didn't stop the new coach from bringing the juices to the game. New Red Raider Football Coach Joey McGuire does a Raider Power Chant at the Basketball game at the USA tonight!@JoeyMcGuireTTU spoke to the crowd at halftime ❤️ pic.twitter.com/izIh0wXLpz
Making San Antonio "Roadrunner territory" is Traylor's goal. That trademark hat is the reason.
He said it was hot in this city. Everyone in the city has it on. I'm going to sound bad here. If you like the Longhorns, wear them in Austin, if you like the Bears, wear them in Waco. You can either rep the Roadrunners or leave the city. I don't like partial fans of Roadrunners. I wear it all the time. I'm happy with it. We are not that small school anymore. We would like to play football.
Two guys are at a pep rally. It's a compliment to them.
"I'm telling you that the school pride, the chance to make a difference in kids' lives, the things that football does for our community, those are some of the things that football does for our community," he said. There is nothing like it. There is a Friday night football game in Texas. They make films about it.
The pressure cooker was used to prepare them. You'll find "For Sale" signs in your yard if you lose a lot of games in a small town. The responsibilities at a high school in the state are a good place to start running a college program. He had 32 full-time coaches working for him.
He said that coaching against some of the best high school coaches in the country prepared him for this. I think everything trickles up not down, that's why I laugh. People are having a difficult time defending the zone in pro football. Maybe they should call some high school coaches. It may be able to help them out.
There are a number of other coaches at Texas high schools who could step in and run a college program right now according to Traylor and McGuire.
"If they're honest and don't let their ego get in the way of what they say, then most coaches would say this too," he added. There is no difference in the way that Lee Wiginton is coached on a Friday night. The guys are elite. They are both high school coaches.
The new president of the Texas High School Coaches Association is the coach at Allen High School, Murray's alma mater, who just took over.
Wiginton said that he was thumped out of the playoffs by both of those guys. I was in a district with Coach McGuire and it was great to face him and see how he does things.
As the father of Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King, King has seen both of their recruiting methods up close.
King said that they have street cred. They were doing the same thing as they were recruiting all the kids. They're going to shoot you indifferently. They were never personal with them in terms of commitment or non- commitment. They still stay in contact despite the fact that it was business.
The number of college prospects that came out of Cedar Hill influenced his recruiting philosophy and organizational style, according to him.
He said he had some guys. I had a lot of good players. Many great recruiters do it the right way. I saw a lot of recruiters that sold stuff that was not true. I was able to see the other side of some of the recruiters who didn't know where they were at and didn't know the athletes.
UTSA was the only school that signed only state prospects according to Traylor, who was a two-time Big 12 recruiters of the year at Texas.
All Texas high school football players were signed.
He boasted that he had six former Texas high school head coaches on his staff. He had to get it.
He doesn't like that Traylor has me beat. I will have to look for more.
The state coaching organization adores them.
When they became college coaches, they stayed the same as high school coaches. Texas high school coaches look at them and say they are part of us. People are genuine. People are sincere. The people are humble.
It carries its own weight when the state is watching.
Traylor said it was almost like a sense of responsibility because you wanted to do well. They are your friends and you don't want to let them down. You want them to know that you care. The way we want our teams to look and the way we treat our players are all things that we are proud of. It's a big deal to us.
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