Dodge will enter his farewell coaching tour with a 217-72 career record and six state championships. Four of those titles came during a dominant run at Southlake Carroll in the 2000s, and the past two championships have come the past two seasons at Westlake. That storied career began in the mid-1980s at Westlake, where Dodge worked as a student-teacher and worked with then Westlake football coach Ebbie Neptune, who later became Dodge’s father-in-law.
“It’s come full circle,” said Dodge, who was named Westlake’s coach in 2014. “That’s one reason why I wanted to become the head football coach and athletic director here at Westlake, and it’s been nothing short of fantastic.
“I’ve had the privilege of every Friday night of walking through that red archway and tapping the top of it, which says Ebbie Neptune Field. That’s been a tremendous joy. We all have different bucket-list type of things we hope will happen, and being the head coach and athletic director at Westlake was one for me. (When) I had the opportunity, it was one of the greatest days of my life to come back to Westlake and be a part of this great tradition.”
Dodge said that any decisions about his successor will be made by the Eanes school district administration. Westlake defensive coordinator Tony Salazar, a Dripping Springs native, has been Dodge’s right-hand man going back to their time together at Marble Falls in 2012-13. Salazar has been honored as the top assistant coach in the state and has bypassed several opportunities to become a head coach at other schools.
“I have had discussions about that with our administration, but ultimately, that will be up to them,” Dodge said.
Dodge leaves a legacy almost unmatched in the state’s rich coaching history. He ranks fifth all-time in titles won as a head coach, and all of his championships came in the state’s highest classification. No coach has won as many state titles at the state’s highest level.
According to Dodge, his desire to coach began to form at Port Arthur’s Thomas Jefferson High School, where Dodge broke several state passing records under head coach Ronnie Thompson. After graduating in 1981, he spent five years as the on-and-off starting quarterback for Texas, where he finished with a career record of 9-5-1 and set several passing records. He still ranks ninth on the Longhorns’ all-time passing list with 2,791 yards and stands ninth in touchdown passes with 18.
After student-teaching at Westlake, Dodge began his coaching career as an assistant at Rockwall in 1987. He became a head coach for the first time in 1994 at Cameron Yoe, but his career began to soar when he took over the Southlake Carroll program prior to the 2000 season. At Carroll, Dodge solidified his reputation as a pioneer of the spread passing game and a guru for quarterbacks. He led Carroll to arguably the most dominant stretch of football in state history from 2002-06, when the Dragons won 79 of 80 games and captured four state titles.
Dodge then became the head coach at the University of North Texas but managed just a 6-37 record. After a year as the quarterbacks coach for the University of Pittsburgh, Dodge returned to Central Texas and took over the Marble Falls program for two years before returning to Westlake.
Now in his final season as a coach, Dodge said he accomplished his goal when he took the Westlake job.
“One of the things we tried to do on our watch was maybe to raise the bar a little bit,” he said. “That’s been tough because of the great standard that Ebbie Neptune, Ron Schroeder, Derek Long and men like that that have come before us had set. I feel really great as we go into this last season that our athletic department and football program are in a great place.”
Dodge has tutored multiple quarterbacks that went on to storied collegiate careers, including Westlake graduate Sam Ehlinger and Carroll product Chase Daniel. Current Westlake quarterback Cade Klubnik is the latest quarterback to star under Dodge, and the Clemson pledge and his class helped keep the coach on the sideline for another season or two.
“Originally, the plan was to be here for six years for one full cycle for kids from seventh grade (through high school),” he said. “That worked out, and we won a state championship (in 2019). But once that was over with, we still felt that there was some meat on the bone, so to speak. Cade and these guys, it is a very special group.”
Dodge, who turned 58 on Wednesday, said he’s excited about spending more time with his 83-year-old mother and watching his son, Riley, head the football team at Southlake Carroll. He’s also “ready to be more of a Paw Paw with my three grandchildren.”
But before then, Dodge says he’s excited for a chance to lead Westlake to a third consecutive championship.
“I’m ready to jump into the beautiful grind that is Texas high school football and see what we can do with this 2021 team,” he said. There aren’t many chances to win back-to-back-to-back championships in the state’s highest classification. Is it an extra motivation to three-peat? Sure it is.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Westlake football coach Todd Dodge to retire after 2021 season
