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Former UTSA assistant Gutierrez new head football coach at TMI

Leopoldo "Polo" Gutierrez was recommended for the TMI job by former UTSA head coach Larry Coker, who hired Gutierrez as a graduate assistant in August 2010 and promoted him to a full-time position as running backs coach four months later.  

New TMI head football coach Leopoldo "Polo" Gutierrez, with UTSA running back Tyrell Clay, was an assistant coach at UTSA for five seasons. 

SAN ANTONIO – Former UTSA running backs coach Leopoldo “Polo” Gutierrez is the new head football coach at TMI – the Episcopal School of Texas.

Gutierrez was recommended for the job by former UTSA head coach Larry Coker, who may help Gutierrez on a volunteer basis. Coker has a grandson who is a freshman at TMI.

“I may do that,” Coker said Monday, when asked if he’s considering coaching part-time at TMI. “I think the world of Polo. He’s a very good coach, a hard worker and very loyal. I’m happy for TMI. They’ve got a good coach.

“I don’t want to retire. I don’t really want to go searching for another college job or high school job, but I think maybe I still have something to offer kids, and that’s what I’d like to do, something like that.”

Gutierrez also has offered the offensive coordinator’s position to Kevin Brown, who held the same job for four years at UTSA before getting fired after the 2015 season.

Gutierrez joined Coker’s staff at UTSA as a graduate assistant in August 2010, and was promoted to a full-time job as running backs coach four months later. He lost his job when Coker was fired in January.

“We’d like to have Coach Coker out there, whether it’s just for games or some practices,” Gutierrez said. “He’s a huge asset. I learned so much from Coach Coker. He would be a great influence on our players at TMI.”

Gutierrez, 29, succeeds former Churchill and Texas player Ted Constanzo, who went 18-32 in five seasons with the Panthers.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity,” Gutierrez said. “I was blown away by a couple of things when I interviewed for the job. TMI has college facilities and when I say 'college facilities,' I mean they have a new weight room, an indoor pool, outstanding practice and game fields. They do it right.

“I was also impressed by the history of TMI and its football program. They’ve had some outstanding students and athletes go through that school. You’re talking about people like (Army Gen.) Douglas MacArthur. It’s a unique situation. I’m looking forward to working with the kids at TMI. I’ve met with kids who are going to go to Harvard, Yale, Duke, universities like that. Academics are through the roof at TMI.”

New TMI head football coach Leopoldo "Polo" Gutierrez, left in white shirt during a UTSA game, was born in Laredo and raised in Corpus Christi. 

TMI will compete as an independent this season in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

“I’m treating it like UTSA,” Gutierrez said. “We’re starting the program all over again. We’re going to play with a chip on our shoulder. We’re always going to be the underdog and that’s fine. We want to prove people wrong, make them eat their words, but we know we’ve got to earn that respect.”

TMI opened in San Antonio as West Texas Military Academy on Oct. 3, 1893. MacArthur, who received the Medal of Honor and commanded Allied forces in the Pacific during World War II, was in the school’s first class.

“It’s a very disciplined environment,” Gutierrez said. “Football is fun for the students. It gives them an opportunity to be kids. I’m going to be very demanding. We’re going to work hard, but we’re going to have fun. At the end of the day, they’re still young men and football is a game.”

Born in Laredo and raised in Corpus Christi, Gutierrez graduated from Carroll High School in 2005 and played college football at New Mexico State. He was a three-year starter as an offensive lineman for the Aggies after playing nose guard his freshman year.

Gutierrez graduated from New Mexico State in December 2009 and was at UTSA by the end of that year, helping Coker and his staff with their first recruiting campaign as a volunteer. By the time the Roadrunners kicked off their first season in 2011, Gutierrez was a full-time assistant coach.

“The No. 1 thing I learned from Coach Coker, and he exudes this, is caring about people,” Gutierrez said. “Care about your players, care about your coaches, care about their families. Players will run through walls for you if they know you care about them. They don’t care what you say until they know that you care. Coach Coker was always huge on that.

“The second thing is having that door open as a head coach to your players and assistant coaches. If we had a problem at UTSA, we knew we could always go talk with Coach Coker. He would give you advice as a national-championship coach, as a friend, as a co-worker, as a head coach. What I also learned at UTSA is that you can take young men, and as long as they bust their tails and work hard, they can beat teams that are bigger, faster and stronger. That’s what we’re going to do at TMI.”

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