Grace Names New Varsity Head Football Coach

race Community School is thrilled to announce that Tim Russell will lead the Grace Cougar Football Program. Coach Russell was selected after Grace Community conducted a nation-wide search of over seventy applicants for two months.

“At Grace, football, like everything else we do, is an opportunity to shepherd and train our young people to know and serve the Lord,” said Dr. Jay Ferguson, Head of School at Grace Community School. “As well-respected as he is in East Texas for his coaching ability, Coach Russell is perhaps most well known as a man of deep Christian conviction. We are thrilled to have Coach Russell discipling our young men through the excitement and challenges of East Texas football here at Grace.”

“We are extremely excited to have Tim Russell leading the Grace Cougar football program,” said Dr. Joseph Walker, Athletic Director at Grace Community School. “Coach Russell’s track record in East Texas speaks for itself, and his name is highly respected by coaches, players, and parents alike. More importantly, Tim Russell is a man of God who is passionate about his faith in Jesus Christ. He will have a profound impact on our community.”

Coach Russell has been a football coach for nearly 30 years in East Texas. Before joining Grace Community School, Coach Russell was the athletic director and head football coach at Harmony ISD, where he led the Eagles to the playoffs 12 out of 15 seasons. Coach Russell guided the Eagles to the most wins of any coach in the school’s history. He was named the East Texas Coach of the Year, five-time District Coach of the Year, produced the only undefeated regular season in the school’s history, and had the largest point differential in the state.

“Grace is more than a school, athletic program, or football team: it is a community of believers that have a common goal of helping young people and their families come to Christ,” said Coach Russell, Varsity Head Football Coach at Grace Community School. “Having the opportunity at this time in my career to be a part of something that so strongly supports the combination of successful football with faith is something that I truly feel called to do.”

Coach Russell received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston. He and his wife, Jana, have two daughters, Macey and Bailee. Macey is attending Harding University and Bailee went to be with the Lord in 2016 after being killed by a drunk driver.