Lee Vallejo had mere moments to decide his fate.
The former Hardin-Simmons football player had just finished a graduate assistantship at his alma mater and was attending a coaching clinic with the Cowboys’ head coach Jimmie Keeling. While there, Vallejo ran into Brownwood head coach Steve Freeman. Steve remembered Vallejo had worked with his son, Colby, at a football camp. Colby had gone on to become a backup quarterback at Texas A&M and later transferred to Abilene Christian.
Steve said Brownwood had a wide receivers coach’s spot open on its staff and that he would love to have Vallejo on board.
“I'm going to the bathroom,” Steve said. “When I come back, give me your answer.”
Vallejo took the job and began his coaching career working under Brownwood offensive coordinator John Walsh and later became the Lions’ quarterbacks coach. The two have been interconnected ever since. When Walsh was hired as the head coach of Denton Guyer in 2006, he wanted Vallejo to join him as both a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator to mentor Walsh’s son, J.W.
Vallejo has sent every QB who has played for him to the NCAA Division I level. It began with Kirby Freeman (Miami 2004-07, Baylor 2008) and Jarrett Lee (LSU 2007-11) at Brownwood. Casey Pachall (TCU 2009-13) was in the pipeline to be the Cowboys’ next starter when Vallejo left for Guyer. The first quarterback to come out of Guyer was Jake Witt (Nicholls State 2008-09), followed by J.W. (Oklahoma State 2011-15), Jerrod Heard (Texas 2014-18), Shawn Robinson (TCU 2017-18, Mizzou 2018-present) and finally Luke Stillwell (now playing tight end, Kilgore College 2018, Colorado 2019-present). Vallejo’s starter at Guyer for the past two seasons, Eli Stowers, is currently committed to Texas A&M.
“The kids we've had, they've always bought into what we do. They buy into our system, they buy into our program,” Vallejo said. “Our offense has always been pretty versatile and able to do a lot that our kids, they excel in it … it just always was a good match and that's how it all worked out.”
On June 25, it was announced that after four state finals appearances and two titles, Vallejo was following John Walsh again, this time to San Marcos, taking the same roles he had at Guyer. He wasn’t the only coordinator joining the Rattlers’ staff, though.
Kurtis Kloiber’s decision to come to San Marcos took even less time than Vallejo’s decision to go to Brownwood. After Walsh was hired as the head coach, he told Kloiber he was interested in bringing him on as a defensive coordinator and encouraged him to visit the city.
“I don't need to, Coach,” Kloiber responded. “I'm coming with you.”
Kloiber’s coaching career began in Denton in 1995, beginning at the middle school level his first three years before being promoted to Denton High School’s varsity staff. He’s been a secondary coach, a defensive coordinator and head coach at multiple schools, including Pilot Point, Valley View and Vernon. He’d gone against Walsh as an opponent a few times, once when Walsh was still at Brownwood and another when Walsh was starting up Guyer. In 2013, Walsh brought him on as Guyer’s defensive coordinator.
“We're very, very like-minded. Like, he wanted me to come in and build (the defense),” Kloiber said. “I just trusted him. He's a great leader and I recognized that from the get-go when I started coaching for him. And I always thought if I had an opportunity to stay with him — I've had some aspirations to be a head coach in my career, but I'm really at the latter end of my career. And I really think that I just work for somebody that's super quality. And that's what he is. I mean, the definition of ‘quality coach,’ he checks every box.”
Walsh considers Vallejo and Kloiber his left and right hands. The trust and familiarity he has with both coaches gives him confidence that they can build San Marcos’ program the right way.
“I think where they're similar is, they're just workaholics. I mean, they're gonna work from dark to dark and they're just gonna make sure the job's done before the day ends,” Walsh said. “Anything offensively, that we do, (Vallejo's) been a major part of building and teaching. And the success we've had offensively, he's been a major reason why.
“(Kloiber), man, he's a great people person. Kids want to follow him, coaches want to follow him. And he's a great defensive mind. You know, I'm still involved in the play-calling on offense, so having Coach Kloiber here is gonna be like having a second head coach. He's got the defense, I don't have to worry about it. I'll never ask a question because I just have that much trust that he's going to put our kids in the best possible situation they need to be in.”
Kloiber’s looking forward to getting to work with the team.
“(I'm excited) really to get in here and get in with this particular group of kids and teach them kind of the way that we do things,” Kloiber said. “And getting in there and working with the staff and really bringing things from the ground up.”
Vallejo already has his eyes set on this upcoming season.
“I know they haven’t beaten New Braunfels … If we get that first (win), man, it would be a good start, a good beginning,” Vallejo said. “I think the kids are hungry here and I think they're that they're really itching for something like that. And I think it could be done here. I think this year, I mean, who's not to say why can't we make the playoffs? You know, go a couple of rounds deep this year. I think we've got the kids do it.”
