Lamar High School’s legendary football coach Tom Nolen to retire

Mike Lindsey, in his second stint with Lamar, will transition from linebackers coach to head coach to replace Nolen. The former Auburn University player has stints at Friendswood from 2006-11 and at Beauregard High School in Opelika, Ala., where he won a state title as a defensive coordinator in 2016.

Nolen’s 307 University Interscholastic League wins ranked third among active coaches in Texas behind Corpus Christi Calallen’s Phil Danaher (445) and Highland Park’s Randy Allen (376). Nolen’s 307 UIL wins currently rank him 11th all-time.

Joe Tusa was Houston ISD’s athletics director in 1985 when he hired Nolen, who had four TCIL state championships in tow from 1975-81 at Strake Jesuit before the move to HISD.

Three decades later, it’s difficult to tell the story of HISD football without Nolen.

“Surely,” Tusa said. “He’s the most successful and has been in it longer than anyone. Like I say, he’s been in contention every year.”

To be exact, only five coaches have more than his 20 UIL district titles all-time. Lamar saw three playoff appearances in 26 seasons before Nolen. The Texans saw it 31 times under his guidance, which ranks third most in UIL history.

The lone Class 5A Division I state finalist banner in 2012 via a 15-1 campaign is the high-water mark. Lindsey was on staff for that season. It was the first time an HISD team played for it all since 1992.

At Lamar, Nolen coached bundles of memorable players from Rod Babers and Brian Orakpo to Darrel Colbert Jr. and Anthony Cook.

Jon Kay was in his first season as a North Shore assistant in 1996 when he faced a Nolen-coached team at Rice Stadium. Coincidentally, Kay saw Nolen’s last game as North Shore’s head coach last season in the Class 6A Division I regional semifinals at Rice Stadium.

Kay says Nolen may not realize how many people he influenced. Nolen’s career is earmarked by his old-school, no-nonsense approach, which stands out as a gem in an era characterized by flash as much as substance.

“When you speak to him, you know that’s going to be the case and I thought his kids played with the same kind of personality,” Kay said. “All business, get to the point. Put the product out on the field and get to work.”

That old-school style doesn’t mean Nolen was resistant to change. Everything was under center for Lamar and then the Texans switched to the pistol offense in time for the landmark 2012 season.

Grand Oaks coach Mike Jackson coached against Nolen many times during his mid-2000s tenures at Milby and Chavez. Jackson considers Nolen a close mentor. Even 10-plus years into the profession at Chavez, Jackson wanted to emulate the best in HISD, which was Nolen.

“He’s a very, very special man to me,” Jackson said. “Not only do I admire what he did on the field, I admire the way that he did it and the way that he went about his business. I think a lot of young coaches would do well to emulate the way that he did things.”

Nolen’s reach is beyond the field, too. He was part of the grassroots efforts in founding the Greater Houston Football Coaches Association, which Nolen was president of in 1990 and is still heavily involved in. Kay served as president of the GHFCA last year and worked closely with treasurer Nolen. The GHFCA has become a safe haven for professionally developing coaches in the Houston area and is one of the largest of its kind in the country.

Nolen’s career inspires and stands out even more considering the mobility of today’s coaches. Just 10 UIL coaches have stayed at one stop longer than Nolen has at Lamar all-time. There were 30 coaching changes in the Houston area alone this offseason before Nolen’s retirement.

“He’s well respected throughout the state,” said former Converse Judson coach D.W. Rutledge, who’s familiar with Nolen through his role as the executive director of the Texas High School Coaches Association. “Just a coach that coaches for the right reasons. He’s in it for the kids. He’s mentored those kids. He’s put out a lot of young men that I’m sure are leaders in our society.

“He’s to be commended for his career. There’s no doubt about it.”