UPDATED at 4:09 p.m. on Feb. 18: Brownwood's head coaching position was posted onto the Brownwood ISD website on Tuesday morning. 

___

The Brownwood ISD Board of Trustees voted 4-3 against extending head football coach Sammy Burnett’s contract past the 2025-26 calendar year on Monday night. The news was first reported by BrownwoodNews.Com.

Burnett has led his alma mater to a postseason berth in all seven seasons at the helm. He was 51–31 overall. Brownwood finished with a 6–5 record in 2024 after back-to-back double-digit win seasons.

“It was a dream come true to coach in my hometown, a place that has given me so much,” Burnett told News.Com in a phone interview. “My only goal was to give back to this program what it gave me. I know that was accomplished because of the outpouring of support I’ve received from the players currently in the program.”

BISD Trustee Amary Doremus summed up the four votes against Burnett’s extension as a reflection on his coaching rather than his character. He also credited Burnett as an integral player in the near $60 million bond passed in 2023.

“Being a Brownwood alum and coming into this program I had really high expectations,” Doremus said. “Just from what I’m seeing, I think Sammy’s an amazing person, I think he’s a great guy, I think he does so much for those boys and is such a good leader in the way he speaks to them and what he does. But when it comes to coaching, it’s been talked about within the community and with parents of kids who are in the school, we’re living it day to day.”

Marc Followwell addressed the Board in opposition to extending Burnett. Brownwood High School has won seven state championships overall but has endured a drought since 1981.

“The Brownwood Lions have had a rich and storied history spanning decades that commands the respect of our opponents, but recently we have observed a troubling trend – a lack of motivation and drive and our community support for our teams,” Followwell said. “When there’s a lack of accountability we risk fostering an environment where mediocrity becomes the norm rather than the exception. Mediocrity is now the norm at BISD.”

Brownwood High School assistant coach Draco Miller spoke to the Board in favor of extending Burnett, citing legendary coaches like Highland Park’s Randy Allen and Denton Guyer’s John Walsh who left Brownwood and went on to soaring achievements.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would stand before you to defend a coach from Brownwood that’s the epitome of Brownwood, played for Brownwood, bled for Brownwood, played (for) the greatest coach in Brownwood, returned tradition to Brownwood,” Miller said. “I played here, went away for 20 years and come back, never thought that I would. Everybody in Brownwood wants to win No. 8, we all do, but it’s been since 1981. Coaching is not the problem.”