Magic name second head coach before first game
McALLEN — On the way to the news conference to announce Schuyler Anderson as the Rio Grande Valley Magic’s second head coach before it’s ever played a game, owner Chad Dittman missed a turn and arrived 20 minutes late.
Hopefully, Dittman is more proficient in his second crack at picking a coach for the Magic than he is at navigating McAllen and finding King’s Fast Lube, the site of the news conference.
Anderson, who was the co-head coach and offensive coordinator for Dittman’s Corpus Christi Hammerheads, was named the second head coach in the Magic’s brief history. The Magic also announced a host of player signings, including former Brownsville Porter, Illinois and Texas A&M-Kingsville quarterback Billy Garza, former NFL punter Leo Araguz and one-time Rio Grande Valley Dorados player Travis McAlpine.
Anderson replaces John Fourcade, who was named to the position in August but recently resigned because of travel concerns and a desire to find a coaching job closer to his home in New Orleans. Dittman said having a second head coach before the team’s March debut “isn’t something we planned out of the gates.”
Anderson turned down a teaching/coaching position at San Antonio St. Anthony’s High School to work for the Magic.
“We’d like to have our coach for the first 10 years but sometimes in this business it doesn’t work that way,” Dittman said. “We’re happy that Schuyler’s available and willing to take on the job. He turned down a better-paying job just for the opportunity so it shows that it’s a really good opportunity.”
Despite having to name a head coach to replace Fourcade, Dittman said “things are going well” for the Magic in their preparations for their first season. He said they’ve sold 1,000 season tickets and that their March 27 home opener “will be sold out.”
Brian Sandalow covers the Rio Grande Valley Magic for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436.
