Farmersville head coach and athletic director Randy Barnes is stepping down from his position, according to Farmersville ISD.

The school district released a statement Monday morning citing ongoing health concerns for his stepping down. Offensive coordinator Zac Quinlan will assume the role of Head Football Coach and Athletic Director.

“The District is thankful and very appreciative for the service and positive contributions that coach Barnes has made to our athletic programs and our Farmersville community,” Farmersville ISD said in a press release. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors and Godspeed.”

Barnes was 3-7 in his one season with the Farmers football program and 145-112 for his career at four stops. 

When Barnes moved to Farmersville from Rains ahead of last season, Quinlan joined him on his staff. When he got the news over the weekend of taking on the new job starting Monday morning, he said it’s been a whirlwind few days to prepare.

“It’s been a bit hectic but whenever you take on this role a lot of people want to reach out and talk to you,” Quinlan said. “It’s been awesome to hear some of those voices and I’m excited to take on a new role. The decision was made last Friday and I think Randy pushed pretty hard for me to take over this role. I’m grateful the school board, community and kids had a lot of faith in me to continue to do what we are doing. I think continuity was important for the students, the staff and the department as a whole, so we want to make sure we can continue to build positive momentum.”

Heading into the end of the 2022 season and preparing for the next football season, Quinlan will be taking on the first head coaching duties of his career. While he knows there will be some challenges on the field, he believes the biggest change will be his work off of it.

“The athletic director job attached to it is going to be the biggest change to me,” Quinlan said. “Managing an athletic department, coaching staff and players for all of our sports will be a challenge but I’m looking forward to it.”

In his first season as offensive coordinator for the Farmers, Quinlan’s offense averaged 32.4 points per game in 2021. That was more than 12 points per game higher than the team scored the previous season as the Farmers won three games. 

With the goal to improve the team further in 2022, Quinlan said continuity will be key on that front. He hasn’t named an offensive coordinator replacement, but if someone does come in he wants to keep things the same for the player’s sake. 

“We’ll see if we bring someone in but what we do will be very similar to what we ran last season,” Quinlan said. “I don’t want to change any of the terminologies to the team and want to keep it very similar. These kids have had four different offenses in four years and it’s a hard process to develop. I don’t want our kids to think slow I want them to play fast and know what to do. So whenever we decide what to do staff-wise the plan will be to keep things the same.”

Speaking with Barnes over the weekend, Quinlan said his mentor was happy he took over the job. The plan was always for him to eventually become head coach, even if it was sooner than expected.

“He said he was really excited I was stepping into this role,” Quinlan said. “When he took this job he said it was going to be a short-term run. I don’t think he expected just one season but he wanted to groom me into the position to be a head coach and AD. I have nothing to say but positive things about him and how he’s helped my career.” 

Quinlan is excited about the prospects of taking over the Farmersville athletic department. While he knows football is around the corner, for now, he’s focused on helping out his spring sports programs however he can.

“I think we got a really good coaching staff in place,” Quinlan said. “Right now, I want to focus on supporting our baseball, softball and track and field teams to finish the year then we’ll regroup to 7-on-7 and spring ball. There won’t be a ton of changes but there will be some things I want to put my stamp on.”

To read the full story, see next week’s issue of The Farmersville Times. Support your community newspaper for less than $40 a year.

By Kyle Grondin • [email protected]