White Deer is kicking off a new era by going back to its roots. During a board meeting Monday night, White Deer ISD named veteran Ruben Guerrero to lead the Bucks and Does athletic programs as the new athletic director and head football coach.
This is Guererro’s second stint at White Deer. Guerrero spent 11 years with the Bucks from 1995-2006 serving as the head football coach the last six years.
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“I’m excited to get going in White Deer,” Guererro said. “My plan was to retire after this season but as the school year went on, I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. I’m looking forward to this job and it’s a good move for my family. I have two granddaughters that go to White Deer.”
Guererro has been in coaching for 37 years with the last five coming as the defensive coordinator in Sunray. Over the past two years, Guerrero has been a part of a staff that’s led the Bobcats to 24 wins including five playoff victories. He also boasted one of the best defensive lines in the Texas Panhandle.
Prior to his time at Sunray, Guerrero has coached all across the state including with a couple of well-known college football coaches. Guerrero got his start under former Baylor head coach Art Briles at Stephenville and was hired by former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme at Copperas Cove.
“I’ve had some really good mentors throughout my coaching career,” Guerrero said. “Coach Briles hired me on as a student-teacher at Stephenville. I learned a tun about running an off-season program and everything it took to be successful. Coach Mumme gave me my first coaching job. I was in the junior high at Copperas Cove and then went to the high school. He taught me how to treat people the right way and how to build relationships. Since then, I’ve tried to model my career that way.”
When Guerrero was at White Deer the first time around, the Bucks were an 11-man program. Now, White Deer is a Six-Man football team which is unfamiliar to even a coach with nearly four decades of experience. Despite never coaching at the Six-Man level, Guerrero is ready for the opportunity.
“I had some former players reach out to me and asked if I’d be interested in coming back,” Guerrero said. “I know I haven’t coached at the Six-Man level before but I’ve been watching a ton of film and reading up on the game. It’s just football. We are going to have a high expectation and run the football to open up the pass. That’s football.”