Linden hires new coach for the rest of the season

Social media was abuzz with information circulating that the newly appointed AD and Coach reportedly quit during the second game of the season. Jason Ferguson came into the season with high expectations, but it was apparent it wasn’t going to be a good fit.

There was so much chatter on football forums that both Dave Campbell’s Texas Football and Sports Illustrated reported on the situation.

In an article on Dave Campbell’s texasfootball. com that was updated Monday, September 16, 2024, Matt Stepp noted that “the saga started for Linden-Kildare on April 29 when the district named Jason Ferguson as their next athletic director and head football coach. Ferguson’s resume on the field as a coach is excellent, holding a career 57-26 record with stops at DeLeon, Memphis and Shelbyville. Ferguson’s tenure at Shelbyville was cut short halfway through the 2016 season after an arrest.”

Details are still coming in, but in a forum called Smoaky.com, Coach Ferguson was interviewed by the administrator, who posted this: “In a meeting with the L-KISD superintendent this morning, it became clear that he and the administration have very different visions for their football team as well as their athletic program in general. He was asked to resign and refused, and also refused a reassignment. So, he was terminated. An interim AD/ HFC is in the works as he understands it. He wishes the student-athletes of Linden-Kildare ISD nothing but success. That’s what Coach Ferguson told me just a few minutes ago.”

According to Linden-Kildare Superintendent Rex Burks, he could not com- ment regarding some of the information that has been commented on some of the discussions that were happening on social media but could confirm that Ferguson is no longer with the school or a coach.

Even though it has been reported that there have been four coaches in only a few weeks, that is only partially true. After Ferguson was no longer with the program JD Russell came in and helped with the football team, but after meeting with his family decided he couldn’t give the athletes the time they needed to be successful.

It was then that Burks decided to coach the team so they wouldn’t have to forfeit a game while looking for a new coach. Burks said even though it had been several years since he had coached, he had enjoyed the opportunity, but he too could not give the football team the time they needed because of his job as superintendent.

It was announced that Jeremy Hogan would be taking over the reins as interim coach. Burks said there were several people interested in helping with the team but ultimately at this point, for the good of the students and the program it was good to keep the hiring within the current staff working at the school.

Burks, who is also new this year, believes that it is important to take a long-term approach to the success of the football team.

It may take time to grow the program to get it to where it needs to be, but it is going to take some learning and at times patience to get there.