Keller ISD announced on Wednesday the hiring of LD Bell defensive coordinator Eric Vance as the next head football coach for Keller Central. He replaces Mike Sports, who spent four years with the Chargers.
Central struggled last year going 0-10 while scoring just 107 points.
The Chargers, who went 0-7 in District 4-6, are 1-19 the past two years and riding a 16-game skid.
According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, Vance spent the past three seasons at Bell (his alma mater) and helped turn the program around. After winning only nine games during a five year stretch, including a 2-8 record during Vance’s first year in 2021, the Blue Raiders posted back-to-back winning records.
They went 7-3 last season and 4-3 in district – finishing in third place but narrowly missing out on the playoffs due to a tiebreaker. Bell’s defense allowed fewer than 200 points each of the past two seasons while giving up 19 points per game.
Vance and Bell’s biggest performance came in Week 11 against Euless Trinity – beating the Trojans 24-21.
It was Bell’s first win over Trinity since 1997.
According to DCTF, Vance played college ball at Vanderbilt and went on to play in the NFL with the Chargers, Bucs and Patriots.
