New Whitehouse football coach Marcus Gold is interviewed by the media on Monday. 

WHITEHOUSE — While coaching football at Wylie East High School, Marcus Gold witnessed firsthand the support Whitehouse High School garnered from its fan base.

He said to himself he wanted to be a part of that program some day.

Gold did that in 2016 when he was hired as defensive coordinator and on Monday he was named the new head football coach of the Wildcats during a Whitehouse ISD board of trustees meeting at WHS.

“When I was at Wylie East, we played Whitehouse in the playoffs and that was the year Patrick Mahomes was here,” Gold said. “The game was in Garland, about 10 minutes down the road from Wylie, and Whitehouse brought about four times as many fans as (Wylie East did) and I saw the band and all the support. It showed what this community was all about. When the job (defensive coordinator in 2016) opened up, it made me want to apply.”

On the recommendation of Dr. Christopher Moran, the WISD superintendent, the board unanimously approved Gold’s hiring as the Wildcats head coach.

Board president Greg Hood said Gold will receive a 12-month contract for the 2018-19 school year.

“We look forward to you guiding our young men on the football field as well as guiding them to be productive citizens,” Hood said.

Gold takes over for Adam Cook, who was elevated to WISD athletic director last month when Randy Copeland announced his retirement.

Gold has been defensive coordinator for Cook the last two years. He previously coached at Irving High School, Wylie East High School, Ferris High School and Ennis Junior High.

Gold was a standout student-athlete at Irving High. He chose to walk on to play football at Texas A&M over scholarship offers he received from other universities, including Brown University. Gold earned a scholarship under Aggies coach Mike Sherman and his staff while at A&M.

“I told the board this is like a mini-Aggieland with all the community support and staff support,” Gold said. “We have great kids. We are set up for success and I am excited about the opportunity.

“I am blessed to have this opportunity. I like that we have high expectations. … This is the best job in East Texas.”

In 2016, Gold’s first year as defensive coordinator at Whitehouse, he helped the Wildcats improve by some 20.6 points per game, eighth best among all teams in Texas.

“We are very excited to have Coach Gold leading our football program here in Whitehouse,” Cook said. “He has done an outstanding job of coordinating our defense the past two seasons and our teams have improved greatly with his leadership and influence. Coach Gold possesses a great passion for the game of football and he recognizes the opportunities that it creates to teach our young athletes about life. I look forward to watching our student-athletes, which includes my own son, Sam, develop as football players and young men under Coach Gold.”

 

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