New Eldorado coach Chad Tutle couldn't turn down opportunity to coach Eagles
It will be his third house in two seasons, but Chad Tutle couldn’t pass up a shot to lead the Eldorado Eagles football program.
Tutle, who has been the offensive coordinator at three West Texas stops including just one season at Coahoma, is on the move again after he accepted the position as head football coach and athletic director at Eldorado.
Tutle, who led offenses at Iraan and Winters in addition to Coahoma, replaces Jon Long.
Long, a former San Angelo Central assistant who guided the Eagles to the third round of the playoffs for the first time in 71 years, left Eldorado after two seasons to take a position as strength and conditioning coordinator at Caddo Mills under Kodi Crane, a former Central assistant and brother of current Central coach Kevin Crane.
“It’s pretty tough to leave Coahoma, we’ve only been here a year,” said Tutle, whose wife Kindra is an elementary school teacher. “There are great kids here and we have a lot of family here, but it was just a good opportunity in Eldorado and I couldn’t pass it up.”
Unable to find a place to live in Coahoma before last year’s football season, the couple and their two children lived in Big Spring, 10 miles away. Last Sunday, as the Tutles were unpacking in a new place in Coahoma, the coach got the call from Eldorado.
“She’s a great wife and a rock star as a teacher,” said Tutle, of his wife, who will also work for Schleicher County ISD.
Tutle, an Angelo State graduate, was first hired by Jason Herring at Sonora in 2006. Tutle also worked with Sean Leamon, David Sine and Craten Phillips at Sonora before moving onto Iraan, where he worked for Mark Kirchhoff and then Corby Maurer. He was promoted to offensive coordinator his final year coaching for the Braves.
From there, Tutle worked two seasons as offensive coordinator for Winters head coach Matt McCarty.
The son of longtime coach Gene Tutle -- who earned All-West Texas Coach of the Year honors during his stint at Bronte in the late 1980s – Chad Tutle has soaked up a lot of coaching knowledge in his 16-year career.
“I’ve been very blessed,” Tutle said. “Even moving around to a couple of schools, I’ve continued to work with some good guys and it’s been a blessing for our family."
Tutle counts the chance to coach at Eldorado as another blessing.
"I’ve been around Eldorado most of my career," he said. "The kids have always been hardworking and very tough kids. You can do anything with those type of kids. They're 'Yes-sir, and no-sir,' kids, both the boys and the girls, and very tough kids who win games and are loyal to the people that love them."
While the Eagles have played for two head coaches in the past five years, both left the program better than they found it.
Michael Johnson, also a former Central assistant, helped Eldorado win a playoff game for the first time in 19 years before Long took over in 2020 and posted a 16-6 record in two seasons with three playoff wins.
Amy McDaniel is a multimedia sports journalist. Send news tips to amy.mcdaniel@gosanangelo.com. Consider supporting West Texas journalism with a subscription to GoSanAngelo.com.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Eldorado names Chad Tutle to take over football program
