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Texas High School Football program hires former NFL placekicker Phil Dawson as head coach

Lawrence Andrew Fernandezby:Lawrence Fernandez•03/11/25•

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Phil Dawson - Texas high school football
© John Gutierrez / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Former NFL placekicker Phil Dawson will continue his Texas high school football coaching career with the Midland Christian Mustangs. The former Texas Longhorn will take over from Chris Cunningham, who led the team for the last three seasons.

The Florida-born kicker will be at the helm of a squad that went 10-12 in the past two seasons. While Cunningham mentored the Mustangs to a 6-5 record in his first year, it’s nowhere near Midland Christian’s 10-3 record during the final season of long-time head coach and athletic director Greg McClendon.

Luckily for this TAPPS Division II District 1 school, Phil Dawson isn’t a novice in terms of turning Texas high school football programs around. The 2012 NFL Pro Bowler transformed the Hyde Park Panthers from being a 0-10 team to a 19-14 record during his tenure.

That improvement includes a 6-5 record and a playoff berth last season. However, the Mustangs lost to the Austin Regents during the divisional quarterfinals.

Phil Dawson went undrafted in 1998 despite being a Second-Team All-Big 12 Conference member the previous year. He tried out with the then-Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots but did not make the active roster.

Dawson signed with the Cleveland Browns when the storied franchise was resurrected in 1999. He stayed with the Browns for 14 seasons, his longest tenure with an NFL team. During his time in Cleveland, he earned Second-Team All-Pro selections in 2007 and 2012. In his first All-Pro season, Dawson converted 26 out of 30 field goals and 42 out of 43 extra points. Five years later, he missed only two field goal kicks and drilled all 29 point-after attempts.

After his lengthy tenure in Cleveland, Dawson joined the San Francisco 49ers and remained with the team for four seasons. Phil Dawson closed his pro football career with a two-season stint with the Arizona Cardinals. He officially announced his retirement on August 2019 and signed a one-day ceremonial contract to retire as a Brown.