MARSHALL, Texas — Marshall High School head football coach and athletic director Claude Mathis is taking his talents back to DeSoto, four years after leaving the DFW-area program.
The DeSoto Independent School District Board of Trustees confirmed Mathis' hiring as the school's new head football coach during a meeting Monday night.
Mathis is credited with turning DHS into a powerhouse before leaving to join the coaching staff at SMU after the 2014 season.
During his first stint with the Eagles (2008-2014), he guided the team to a 74-18 record. They reached the state quarterfinals three times, as well the state semifinals in 2012 and 2013. DeSoto was even awarded and a No. 1 national ranking by Sports Illustrated, Rivals and MaxPreps under Mathis.
With Mathis at the helm, the Eagles led the nation in total offense, averaging 551 yards per game to break the Texas 5A state record.
Two years after Mathis left DeSoto, Todd Peterman and his Eagles team took home the UIL 6A DI State Championship. Mike Robinson was hired to replace Peterman following the 2017 season, according to WFAA. After a 9-3 season in 2018, Robinson stepped down paving the way for Mathis to return.
At SMU, Mathis served as the running backs coach under Chad Morris.
He accepted the Marshall post in 2017 when Clint Harper took over as the athletic director at Duncanvile ISD.
In his two seasons at Marshall, Mathis led the Mavericks to a 16-8 overall record, went undefeated in district both years and captured two district championships.
The search is now on for Marshall to bring in a coach to build on Mathis' success.
