Tuesday, May 14, 2024
QUARTERBACK COACH: Matt Holly is headed to Azle to coach his Godson at quarterback.
A search is underway to replace record-setting offensive coordinator Matt Holly, who is leaving his position at Granbury High School to become the quarterback coach at Azle High School.
It's a double loss for Granbury athletics with Holly's wife, Andi, also leaving her position as a track and field coach, but she will be getting to add powerlifting to her duties with the Hornets.
It's a move sparked by the longtime friendship between Holly and Azle offensive coordinator Chad Jones. The pair's friendship goes back to Holly's days as a graduate assistant at Tarleton State University, where he got to coach Jones for a year.
"We've just been friends for a long time. I've known many of their coaches over there for a long time. Their athletic director (Becky Spurlock) was assistant athletic director when I was in Keller," Holly said.
Friendship is undoubtedly one of the benefits, much like being the quarterback coach for Jones' son Jay, who is Holly's godson.
"Yes, Jay is my godson, and I'm really looking forward to coaching him during his senior season," Holly said.
Holly is undoubtedly leaving a better situation than when he first found it in Granbury in 2016.
Last year, the Pirates broke several offensive records, including the most points scored in a 10-game season (47.3 points per game), most TD passes in a season (Austin Jinkerson, 25), and the single-season reception record (Zane "Crash" Davis, 59). Jinkerson (41) and Davis (113) also set career records in Holly's offense.
The move puts Holly and Jones back together again after they coached together at Arlington Heights, where they began developing the pro-style spread offenses used by Granbury and Azle's football programs.
"We've just been looking for an opportunity to work together again, and this just kind of presented itself this year," Holly said.
Holly has had some time to reflect on his work in Granbury, but he's quick to point out he has worked with some great coaches and athletes.
"I've been blessed with some great quarterbacks. I had Kyler Young as a senior my first year here when I came in, and he just fell right into it," Holly said.
Granbury showed it wasn't afraid to tinker with its lineup in Holly's offense.
"We had a receiver Kevin Moore become the quarterback the next year. Things progressed as we grew the offense around players like running back Zach Watson and now having Jadon Rogers," Holly said. "I mean, those two guys make you better. You don't have to do much coaching. Those guys just hand them a ball, and they kind of do the rest. Then you have Kyler Gibson, and then moving on to Austin Jinkerson for three years. I've had both of those kids for three years. They are great young men, and they're great players. They trusted me, and we had a great relationship, and it made it easy to call plays."
Holly is taking plenty of great memories of his time in Granbury with him, but his favorite was being in tune with his players.
"Just the ability to be able to be on the same page with my quarterbacks. Those guys just bought in, and it made a huge difference for our program," Holly said.
