“YOU EVER SEE A GUY LEAVE A GOOD THING… FOR A SITUATION?”

Marc Bindel heads to Celina, and you can’t help but wonder what he thinks he’s walking into

By Jeff Campbell

WARMUP

Marc Bindel

You ever watch someone make a decision and think, “Well… he’s either about to do something great… or he’s about to learn something the hard way”?

That’s where we are with Coach Marc Bindel.

Because this isn’t about whether he can coach.
That part isn’t up for debate.

This is about where he’s choosing to coach.

THE COACH YOU DON’T WALK AWAY FROM

Marc Bindel isn’t a guy searching for his first opportunity.
He’s a guy who became the opportunity where he was.

He returned to his hometown and joined Rider High School “ROHO” in 2009, not as the head guy, but as an assistant. And like most guys who actually know what they’re doing, he didn’t rush it. He built it. Fifteen years in one program. Fifteen.

Photo courtesy of Times Record News. Used for editorial/commentary purposes.

In 2014, he took over as head coach—and then did something that’s quietly rare in high school football:

He made the playoffs.
Every. Single. Year.

Ten seasons. Ten postseason appearances.

Not a flash. Not a run. A standard.

Rider High School only missed the playoffs once since the year 2000. The standard was winning.Photo courtesy of Times Record News. Used for editorial/commentary purposes.

And while he was doing that, he became the winningest playoff coach in Rider “ROHO” history with 19 postseason victories and finished second all-time in total wins at the school with 83—right behind Morris Mercer, a name that actually means something in that community.

Then, just to make things more interesting, he helped open Memorial High School and became its first head football coach in 2024. Brand new program. No history. No foundation.

Two seasons later?

Playoffs both years.
A 16–7 record.
Right back to doing what he does.

In 12 seasons as a head coach, he has never missed the postseason.

Let me say that again, because that doesn’t happen:

Never. Missed. The playoffs.

He’s sitting at 99–53, with two state semifinal appearances, and his 99 wins already rank third in Wichita Falls ISD history behind names like Joe Golding and Donnell Crosslin.If it wasn’t for a powerhouse known as Aledo High School, you know, that dominant Texas powerhouse with a record 12 UIL state football championships, who eliminated Bindel’s Wichita Falls Rider (ROHO) from the Texas State Football Playoffs 3 times, specifically in the 2017, 2018, and 2020 seasons. During these matchups, Aledo defeated the Raiders in the Class 5A Division II semifinal rounds. If it wasn’t for Aledo, Bindel would most likely have 3 state championships under his belt.

Jacob Rodriguez- Texas Tech linebacker who played under Bindel at Rider. Photo courtesy of Times Record News. Used for editorial/commentary purposes.

That’s not just success.

That’s consistency at a level most programs never reach.

And when he talks about Wichita Falls, it sounds exactly how you’d expect a coach like that to talk.

“My family has loved our 17 years in WFISD and the Wichita Falls community. We’re grateful for the time spent here, and the relationships we’ve built with athletes, coaches, faculty and just the overall community.”

That’s not PR talk.

That’s a guy who was rooted.

Friday Night Lights in Wichita Falls

THE IDEA OF CELINA… AND THE REALITY OF CELINA

Now, if you’re picturing the old Celina—the one people used to whisper about like it was football folklore—I get it.

That version of Celina made sense.

That was the program where you didn’t just play them, you prepared for them like you were about to take a final exam. That was G.A. Moore, discipline, tradition, identity. That was Texas high school football at its purest.

Gary Autry Moore Jr. was an American high school football head coach in the state of Texas. He retired after completing the 2011 season with a career head coaching record of 422–86–9, which at the time was the most in Texas high school football history.

But this?

This is not that.

And I don’t know how else to say it except plainly—this version of Celina isn’t living off tradition anymore. It’s living off memory.

Because what it’s actually been lately… is something else entirely.

THE PART THEY DON’T PUT IN THE PRESS RELEASE

The press release will tell you about championships, tradition, and community pride.

It does not mention that in the past year, the district has been dealing with a series of incidents that read less like a school update and more like a legal briefing.

You’ve had arrests involving staff members, including a case with multiple felony charges tied to the exploitation of students. You’ve had employees accused of being impaired on campus. You’ve had incidents involving the safety of vulnerable students. Administrators have been placed on leave. Lawsuits have been filed. The Texas Education Agency has stepped in. A third-party investigation didn’t just find issues—it identified systemic failures.

Systemic.

That’s one of those words districts use when they don’t want to say, “This is bigger than one mistake.”

And right in the middle of all of that, Celina made its move.

Not to fix the system.

Not to rebuild trust.

But to try and sweep it under the rug as if it never happened.

ENTER MARC BINDEL

And here comes Marc Bindel—a guy who has done it the right way.

A guy who built programs over time.
A guy who understands relationships.
A guy who stayed somewhere long enough to mean something.

And I can’t help but imagine him sitting there, hearing the pitch.

“Great tradition.”
“Growing community.”
“Supportive environment.”

And somewhere in the back of his mind, I wonder if he asked the question nobody else asked:

“Are we talking about the same place?”

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TEXAS

Because here’s where it really shifts.

Wichita Falls is one kind of Texas.

It’s steady. It’s rooted. It’s people who’ve been there long enough to remember what things are supposed to look like.

Collin County?
That’s a whole different deal.

Don’t even get me started on Prosper, Texas, which is literally the next door neighbor of Celina. It’s what is bleeding into Celina… that place is like if a neighborhood HOA got together and said, “What if we all just decided we’re better than everyone?” And then everyone agreed.

It’s a whole town full of folks who aren’t just well-off—they’re confident about it. You ever meet somebody and you can tell they’ve never had to wonder if their card’s gonna go through? That’s Prosper. Every single person.

I’m not saying they’re elitist… I’m just saying if humility walked into Prosper, it’d have to check in at the front gate. Even their educators behave like they’re running a Fortune 500 company instead of a classroom.

So yea…Collin County. That’s growth. That’s movement. That’s people arriving faster than systems can handle them. That’s a place where, if you’re not careful, you wake up one day and realize you don’t actually recognize what you’ve built anymore. 

And Celina—whether people want to admit it or not—is starting to look less like the Texas a coach like Bindel comes from…

…and a little more like the places Texans used to say, “Yeah, we’re not trying to be that.”

It’s fast. It’s crowded. It’s political. It’s people climbing over each other for positions they’re not always ready for.

And that brings up another uncomfortable reality.

See, when a place tries to grow up overnight, it starts thinking, “We’re just gonna go out and get the best of the best.” Like it’s the NFL Draft or something.

But what ends up happening is… you’re not always getting the rising stars.

You’re getting the folks other districts were like, “Hey… you know what… this might be a good time for a fresh start… somewhere else.”

It’s kind of like shopping at the clearance rack and convincing yourself you found a hidden gem… and then you get home and realize, “Oh… this was on sale for a reason.”

THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE PLACE

At some point, you have to talk about leadership.

Not in a mean way. Not in a personal way. Just in an honest way.

Because when you look across certain departments—and it doesn’t take long—you start to ask questions. You look at roles like Special Education leadership, Human Resources, and other key positions, and you don’t exactly walk away thinking, “That’s a group that’s going to steady the ship.”

You walk away thinking, “Well… I hope somebody double-checks that.”

And when those are the people setting the tone?

You don’t have a culture problem.

You have a leadership problem.

AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES THIS MOVE… CONFUSING

Because none of this lines up with who Marc Bindel is.

This is a guy who built something stable.

This is a guy who values structure.

This is a guy who stayed where he was planted and grew something that worked.

And now he’s stepping into a situation where the ground isn’t just unstable—it’s still being figured out.

This whole thing feels like one of those moments where you go:

“I’m not saying he made a bad decision…
I’m just saying if you told me this was a setup in a movie, I wouldn’t be shocked.”

Because you don’t leave something that’s working…

…for something that’s still explaining itself.

SO WHAT IS THIS, REALLY?

Maybe this is belief.

Maybe Bindel looks at Celina and thinks, “I can fix it.”

Maybe he sees past the noise, past the headlines, past the dysfunction, and believes he can restore something.

And if that’s the case…

Then this isn’t a football job.

This is a rebuild of something much bigger than football.

FINAL THOUGHT

Photo courtesy of Times Record News. Used for editorial/commentary purposes.

Because right now, the question isn’t whether Marc Bindel can succeed.

He can. And if he happens to read this—Coach, you absolutely can succeed. People believe that.

The real question is whether Celina is still the kind of place where success can actually be built and sustained. Whether the decisions and hires of the last 3-5 years will step aside long enough (you know who you are) to allow a program to be rebuilt the right way—one grounded not just in winning, but in respect, accountability, and representing a district with integrity.

That’s a much harder question to answer.

BOTTOM LINE

Marc Bindel didn’t take over a powerhouse.

He took over a situation.

And whether this becomes a comeback story…

or a cautionary tale…

It isn’t going to depend on his résumé.

It’s going to depend on whether Celina can become something worth leading again.

But as always, God Bless to you Coach Bindel. Bring the old Celina back or make them your Celina.