Longtime Houston H.S. Football Coach Seals Retires

For the past two years, Ray Seals agonized over the decision. The prospect of retirement was always alluring, but he continuously deferred that desire in favor of tutoring his players.

But on Tuesday morning, Seals couldn’t defer any longer. After 46 years of coaching in the Houston Independent School District — including 23 as head football coach at Madison — the iconic 67-year-old announced his retirement.

“It’s really a mix of emotions,” Seals said. “You spend almost two-thirds of your life doing something, and then all of a sudden, you let it go. You don’t know if you’re making the right decision or not.

“To put it this way: It’s not a celebration.”

His polished résumé, however, will warrant celebration. During his coaching career, Seals compiled a 212-96 record with 21 playoff appearances and was named the HISD Coach of the Year 10 times, the 2008 NFL 
High School Coach of the Year and the inaugural Don Shula NFL Coach of the Year in February.

‘Like a father figure’

In addition to his accolades, Seals also established the groundwork for Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young and San Francisco 49ers fullback Moran Norris to blossom into NFL stars.

“Coach Seals is like a father figure to me and a lot of people,” Norris said. “So if he’s happy, I’m happy with the decision. I’m going to miss coach Seals when I go over to Madison, because it’s going to be different.”

Seals’ tenure in HISD started in 1972, when he was hired as an assistant at Sam Houston. After some seasoning at Sterling, Milby and Madison, he received his first head coaching job in 1983 at Milby before taking over the Marlins in 1988.

As a result of his coaching acumen, the Prairie View A&M graduate was eventually inducted into several Halls of Honor, including ones from the Texas High School Coaches Association, the Greater Houston Football Coaches Association and HISD.

Work with kids a priority

“He’s one of the many legends in Houston ISD athletics,” HISD athletic director Marmion Dambrino said. “It’s great for him because he begins another chapter of his life, but it’s sad for me because he’s going to be hard to replace.”

Former Chavez coach and current La Marque head coach Mike Jackson was equally as sentimental and praised Seals’ passion for his players during their District 20-5A showdowns. But Seals definitely won’t defer that passion any time soon.

“I still want to do something with kids, because that’s been my life,” Seals said. “Because the number of kids we sent to college, to me, is the most rewarding thing of my career. Not those awards or games that I won.”