For the past 25 years, Terry Crawford has found himself at home on the sidelines of Panther Field as the head coach of the Abbott Panthers.
However, Crawford said he’s decided that the 2023 season will be his last at Abbott. He plans to retire from the coaching profession and pursue ministry full-time.
“I think I’ve been putting off the calling for a while now; I just feel like it’s the right time,” Crawford said. “I think now the Lord is calling me to go help run a church.”
Abbott takes the field in the 2022 1A Division I State Championship Game.
Crawford’s retirement will end a wildly successful stint at Abbott. He has won 227 football games at the school and coached the Panthers to their first-ever state football title in a 40-30 win over Crowell back in 2015.
Just last season, Abbott made it back to the state title game for the third time under Crawford’s reign but fell short to Westbrook in the 1A Division I State Title Game.
But even as he wraps up a coaching stint that the Abbott community will never forget, he won’t be going far. With his son a member of the Abbott coaching staff and his grandchildren living in the area, Crawford said he plans to remain in Central Texas.
“Right now, I’m being called to do more in my local church, so that’s what my plans are,” Crawford said. “But what I’ve found out in my journey through faith, He may change those plans. We make plans with the Lord’s will in mind, and we’re just going to continue to follow his will.”
As Crawford reflected on his 25 years in charge at Abbott, he said he’s proud to see just how far the athletic program has come. Not only did the Panthers earn their first-ever football state title, but they also won the 2017 UIL 1A Baseball State Title. It was especially meaningful for Crawford because he served as an assistant coach under his son.
“When we got here, it was a different mentality of a program. Now, it’s a program that’s elite,” Crawford said. “I had a former player stop me after [the state baseball title]. He said, ‘Coach, I always knew that we could possibly win a football state championship, but to win a baseball state championship in this community, I never thought that would be possible.’”
Yet despite the silverware the Panthers have to show for Crawford’s time at the school, he said it’s the relationships with the players that he will cherish the most.
Running back/defensive end Brady Schulz (14) will be among the key returners for Abbott this season.
“I remember the journey, I remember the kids, I remember the growth of certain kids, and I remember kids becoming better people,” Crawford said. “That’s what it’s been about, especially at the end of my career. As you get later in your years, you realize what’s really important.”
This season, Abbott will return four starters on offense and three on defense. Several of those players played a key role in Abbott advancing to the state title game a year ago.
And for a program that has won 30 consecutive regular season games and advanced to at least the state semifinals the past two seasons, Crawford said the bar remains high for his final season on the sidelines.
“We’re not going to have any different expectations,” Crawford said. “Our expectation is to be playing in the last week of the season, and the process we’ve used to get there is not going to change. Hopefully, we’ll see the benefits from that.”
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