Darby House has been named head football coach and athletic director for Nacogdoches High School.
House comes to Nacogdoches from Poteet High School located south of San Antonio. At Poteet, House turned around a team that was 0-10 in 2018, winning 10 games in 2021 and earning the school’s first playoff victory since 1958 while also clinching its first district title since 2005. In 2022, the Aggies finished 6-5, advancing to the playoffs for a fourth straight season with House at the helm.
“We wanted someone with a track record of building a successful program and that’s certainly the case with Coach House,” said Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo. “He took over a program in Poteet that was struggling and turned it around by establishing a strong foundation. Nacogdoches will be a great fit for Coach House.”
The turnaround at Poteet attracted statewide attention. In 2022, House was named to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s 40 Under 40 list as one of the top young coaches in the state.
“I’m grateful to Dr. Trujillo for this opportunity,” House said. “There’s tremendous promise here, and I can’t wait to get started.”
House expects to begin work at Nacogdoches ISD next week while he and his family start the process of relocating here.
Before leading the turnaround at Poteet, House served as athletic director and head football coach at Somerville High School, located northwest of Houston. At Somerville, House led the school to just its third playoff berth ever in football.
House was an assistant coach from 2013 to 2016 in Beeville, where he helped out with basketball and baseball programs while performing passing game coordinator duties for the football team.
Under House’s leadership, athletic success has not been limited to football. At both Somerville and Poteet, girls basketball and volleyball teams had postseason success as well as individual regional qualifiers in golf, track and tennis for boys and girls.
While at Poteet, House founded the South Texas Coaches Association. The organization, in its third year, will host all-star games for volleyball, boys and girls basketball, and football. Last year, the South Texas Coaches Association provided scholarships totaling $17,000. House is a graduate of Skidmore-Tynan High School in Skidmore, Texas. After spending a year at Texas A&M-Commerce, House earned his degree at Bethany (Kansas) College, where he was a three-year starter at quarterback and set school records in all-time passing yards (6,715), completions (539) and touchdowns in a game. At Bethany, House earned a bachelor of science degree in physical health and wellness.