Two roads, both starting in Texas high school football, both leading somewhere bigger. Bob Wager left upstate New York in the early 1990s with $500 and a motorcycle, making the 30-hour ride to what he calls the Mecca of football. Decades later, he's the high school relations director at TCU—a long way from the leather mills of his hometown.
Joey McGuire's path ran through Cedar Hill, where he won three UIL state championships before joining Baylor's staff as an assistant. He eventually took over as head coach at Texas Tech, and the decision paid off in a major way—McGuire led the Red Raiders to the Big 12 Championship and the program's first College Football Playoff appearance.
Both coaches credit their high school roots for shaping how they connect with players. McGuire, who stepped back from college coaching for a period to be present for his own kids, says the relationships built in the locker room are what drive coaches at every level. "At the end of the day, what drives all of us is really the time that we spend with kids," McGuire said. "That's the greatness and the magic of being in the locker room."
That philosophy has extended to the next generation of DFW coaches making the jump to college football. McGuire personally recommended Ray Gates—formerly of North Crowley—to North Texas head coach Neil Brown, calling him "a stud." Riley Dodge, who built his reputation at Southlake Carroll, is now on staff at SMU. The advice both veterans offer is consistent: be yourself, coach the way that got you there, and trust the relationships.
The DFW pipeline to college football runs deep, and the coaches who've made that transition point back to the same foundation—developing teenagers into young men, one locker room at a time.
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