Todd Dodge, Austin (TX) Westlake High football coach, will retire at season’s end.
If you know Texas high school football, then you know the name Todd Dodge. Dodge, who played quarterback for the University of Texas Longhorns, is (to put it mildly) a very successful high school football coach. With an overall record of 217-72 and six Texas state championships under his belt, Dodge may leave the game later this year with his seventh ring.
He has done that work, first, at Southlake Carroll High School in Dallas, where he won four 5-A State titles. He has won two more (6-A titles) at Austin’s Westlake High, where he took over in 2014 at a school to which he returned after working in the 1980s with then-Westlake head coach Ebbie Neptune.
Coming home, coupled with winning so many titles in Dallas, had the Austin community buzzing back then. It was like the community had just gotten the greatest coach of all time to coach their kids. In a lot of ways, they were right, too.
Now after nearly a decade of success, Dodge says it’s time to put away his clipboard and hand over the program to his successor. He made his retirement announcement at Chaparral Stadium recently.
Of course, the community is abuzz again, this time speculating on who might replace Dodge. It might be the current Westlake DC, Tony Salazar, a Dripping Springs native who is also Dodge’s right-hand man. They have a history together, going back to 2012 at Marble Falls, Texas.
No matter who the new man might be, that person will have a steep hill to climb to equal Dodge’s achievements. Dodge ranks fifth in all-time titles won as a head coach. Now, let’s see if Todd can get #7. And, if he does, Dodge will close out his career with three consecutive state championships. No wonder some people call him “The Nick Saban of Texas high school football.”
Will he do it? Well, the Chaparrals are undefeated after four games- not even challenged yet- and they won their last game, 63-6. Currently ranked #2 statewide, Westlake trails only Carroll, the team they beat for the championship last year.
