Legendary Texas high school coach Todd Dodge could be on the verge of a comeback.
The Dallas Morning News reported Friday that Dodge is a candidate for the opening at Lucas Lovejoy High School. Dodge tweeted that he had to cancel a previously-scheduled football camp for Saturday morning, which happens to be the same time Lovejoy ISD is holding a board of trustees meeting for “(c)onsideration and possible action on athletic director and head football coach.”
Lovejoy, located northeast of Dallas, is a rising program in Class 5A Division II. Since 2020, the Leopards are 35-9 with three trips to the regional finals; three of their playoff losses came to the eventual state champion, and the fourth came to the eventual state runner-up.
The Lovejoy job came open when head coach Chris Ross took the offensive coordinator job at Stephen F. Austin earlier this month.
A Dodge hire would be the closest possible hiring any football team could make to guarantee a state championship.
The former Texas quarterback and North Texas head coach has won seven state championships, all in Texas's highest classification. His Southlake Carroll teams went 79-1 from 2002-06, the only loss coming by one point in the 2003 state championship game. At Austin Westlake, Dodge walked away with a 40-game winning streak, claiming Class 6A state championships from 2019-21.
Dodge's seven state championships place him fifth in state history -- with the distinction that all of his seven crowns came in the largest classification at that time. Dodge is 7-2 in state games, with one loss coming by one point and another in overtime.
Dodge did as much or more than any coach to revolutionize the passing game in Texas high school football. Nearly every one of his QBs at Carroll and Westlake went on to play FBS football.
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