Rockwall-Heath High School has a new football coach.
The Rockwall school board on Monday approved hiring former Rockwall and Denton Guyer coach Rodney Webb as the new leader of the Heath football program.
“I am excited for the opportunity to return to Rockwall ISD, where the talent runs deep on both sides of I-30,” Webb said in a statement, according to WFAA Dallas. “At one time, I lived in Heath for 13 years and still have family and friends there, so I know how deeply they care for kids and are passionate about a winning culture.
“Rockwall-Heath High School has many winning programs led by dedicated coaches. I look forward to joining them, becoming a part of the community and wearing the red and black proudly.”
Rockwall ISD Athletic Director Russ Reeves told The Dallas Express that he was looking for experience.
“I think, coming into Heath in the situation that they were in, experience was a paramount criterion for a head coach. So, that’s where I put my focus,” Reeves said Tuesday.
“Coach Webb is obviously going to rise to the top, and then you start looking at his resume and everything he has accomplished; he was a fantastic candidate.
“The good thing is that when you’re hiring someone that you know, you know what you’re getting,” Reeves continued. “We know what we’re getting with Coach Webb. The community knows what they’re getting with Coach Webb, and that rarely happens.
“To be able to get someone of his character as well as his coaching pedigree, we’re just really fired up to get him.”
According to the official announcement on the Rockwall ISD website, Webb spent the last year as the athletic director in Highland Park ISD after retiring from a 32-year coaching career in which he coached Rockwall, Denton Guyer, and Royse City high schools.
He is 160-78 in his coaching career in Texas after starting in New Mexico.
Webb becomes the fifth head football coach in school history and replaces John Harrell, who spent one season as the head coach before resigning amid hospitalizations that stemmed from his offseason training program.
Several student-athletes were hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis, a potentially fatal condition that releases protein and electrolytes from damaged muscle tissue into the bloodstream.
A third-party investigation was launched and found “sufficient evidence” linking the condition of the student-athletes to the workout program.
Harrell was placed on administrative leave immediately after the incident and resigned when the investigation results were announced earlier this month, despite support from several team members and parents insisting Coach Harrell would never purposely put his student-athletes in danger.
Following the resignation, the district moved quickly to find the next coach.
“Obviously, we moved quickly because the kids need to have a leader,” Reeves told The Dallas Express about the hiring process. “We were able to interview and make a determination very quickly, which was in the best interest of the kids in the school.”
“We’re very excited to have Coach Webb back,” he added. “What he means to this community, he loves his community, and the community loves him. What he brings from a community standpoint is an unbelievable asset, but then you couple that with his coaching success, we can’t be more blessed to have him back.”