By Thomas Jones, Sports Editor

To paraphrase West Austin resident DeLoss Dodds, Westlake just proved that they are the Joneses.

Of course, Dodds, the University of Texas athletic director, uttered that quote when referring to the scope of success by his Longhorn athletic program and its place in the collegiate sports world’s pecking order. 

But those words could easily refer to Westlake, where the hiring of Darren Allman as the new head football coach and Eanes’ athletic director solidified Westlake’s status as one of the premiere athletic programs in the state.

Allman could have any job in the state. And he left one of the best – his storied alma mater of Odessa Permian, no less – to take on the duties at Westlake.

The hire proves that Westlake’s football program remains among the state’s elite despite averaging 3.5 losses a season in the past six years. The Chaps have reached three regional finals and one state championship game in that span, and their rare status in a single-high school Class 5A school district helps ensure that the subvarsity feeder programs will remain strong. 

Westlake’s football team has continued to win with integrity, too. That won’t change under Allman, whose sterling reputation stretches as far as his native West Texas’ horizon. 

Eanes superintendent Nola Wellman is well compensated by the taxpayers, and she earned her keep with this hire. In the three weeks that followed Long’s announced retirement, Wellman conducted a thorough job search that spanned across the state. 

The open position attracted a quality of candidates that might surprise those not quite aware of what makes Westlake special. Several coaches with state championships on their résumés applied for the job, and Wellman had her pick of the state’s elite.

Glowing recommendations from luminaries such as the Ector County school district athletic director Leon Fuller, University of North Texas football coach Todd Dodge and University of Texas football coach Mack Brown helped Allman emerge as a leading candidate.

Steve Ramsey, a current Westlake assistant coach and an assistant principal on campus, also became a top candidate despite a lack of head coaching experience. Don’t mistake Ramsey’s status as a finalist for a token meant to appease current coaches and players. Ramsey has that rare, indescribable presence that defines leadership, and he has a football acumen that revealed itself this past season when he took over play-calling duties and helped reverse the season’s course after a winless nondistrict schedule. Ramsey will develop into a dynamic football coach if he decides to follow that career path.

But Allman has already trekked far down the rocky road of coaching despite just being 39. He has proven himself in pressure-cooker jobs like Brownwood, Highland Park and Permian. He understands the necessity of success, and he has shown an ability to blend a whole lot of wins with the honor and sportsmanship long nurtured in all WHS sports. 

An interviewing committee organized by Wellman helped confirm her selection. The committee included Eanes administrators Bill Bechtol and Lester Wolff, Westlake principal Linda Rawlings, Westlake volleyball coach and girls athletic coordinator Al Bennett, and athletic boosters Doug English, Allen Dornak and David Ballew.

Things on the gridiron will look different for a football program that hadn’t gone outside of its staff for a head coach in 30 years. Wave goodbye to the tackle-over formations or bearcrawling defensive linemen. Bid farewell to wheel coverage in the secondary and line splits 2 yards wide. But don’t expect anything less than what makes Westlake, well, Westlake. 

The soul of the program remains. The Chaps will keep winning, and they’ll keep winning with integrity. 

As Westlake senior football player Mike Walker told the school board before Wellman revealed the new coach, “the community and myself will all rally around the team regardless of who becomes the coach.”

It’s that attitude that has long made Westlake a winner, and it’s that attitude that still makes Westlake the state’s Joneses.