MONAHANS, Texas — The Monahans Loboes will have a new leader in 2018.
Longtime head coach Mickey Owens announced his retirement from the school on Thursday after a 13-year stint as the head coach of the Loboes. He had one other stint as a coach at Monahans from 1984-1995. He said that he had made his decision during Christmas and the holiday season.
“Older guys have told me that when you get ready to retire, you’ll know,” Owens said in a phone interview on Thursday. “I still love to coach and I never considered coaching a job. I enjoyed coming to work but after 34 years of coaching, the stress gets to you. I just thought it might be best to step away.”
Photo via Facebook: Monahans Football
Owens leaves Monahans as the winningest coach in program history, accumulating a record of 121-41 over 13 seasons. He turned the Loboes into a consistent contender in West Texas, making the playoffs each of the last 10 seasons, 11 of the last 13 overall and an appearance in the state semifinals in 2011.
Owens will stay on as athletic director through the end of the school year while the district looks for his replacement. Even though he won’t be on the sideline as the head coach of the Loboes in 2018, Owens is thankful for the memories and shows great appreciation for a place that he calls home.
“I cut my teeth here in Monahans,” Owens said. “It’s just a fantastic community and we raised all three of our kids here. It’s a great community here and I’ll miss the coaches and the relationships we built with the kids over the years.”
As for what’s next, Owens is looking at everything with an open mind. He doesn’t want to even call it retirement.
“I hate to say retired. I hate that word,” Owens said. “I had someone tell me once you retire, there’s only one big event left. I’m just getting out of coaching and changing careers. What that career is in I have no idea.”
Per The Odessa American, no timeline has been set to find Owens’ replacement.
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