EDITOR’S NOTE: STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCLUDE QUOTES FROM NAVARRO AND AN UPDATE TO HIS OVERALL RECORD
ELSA — Edcouch-Elsa football head coach Christian Navarro resigned from his position Friday, stepping away from coaching duties while remaining as the school district’s athletic director.
Navarro’s decision to step down was one related to personal family matters.
“I had to take care of my own,” he said. “It’s a family obligation that would limit the time I’d be able to give to my boys. They deserve better than a part-timer. If I stayed with the job, it would have been an injustice to them.”
Prior to his stint at Edcouch, Navarro spent two years as head coach at Valley View (2011-2012), leading the team to it’s first winning season (6-4) during his second year at the helm.
Navarro spent the past three and a half years as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach, taking over midseason in 2018 following a 1-6 start by then-head coach Bradly Chavez. The Yellow Jackets closed out the season with a 1-2 mark over the final three games, including a 40-0 victory over Laredo Cigarroa.
Under Navarro, the Yellow Jackets returned to the postseason during each of his three full years at the helm, tallying a 17-10 mark during that span. He leaves Edcouch with a 18-12 regular season record, going 0-3 in the postseason.
The search for Navarro’s replacement didn’t take long, with Edcouch-Elsa alum Victor Cardenas selected to take over in an interim role.
“Really man, Victor is my brother,” Navarro said. “He’s worked hard for me for many, many years. I told the board I wasn’t going to leave them empty handed. Victor is more than capable. He can do the job. Its not a problem. He’s going to be the interim this year. If he does great, we’ll open it up for him to apply and see where it goes. As of right now, Victor the interim, but he can do the job. I have full and complete faith in the man. That is another reason I was able to step down. He’s ready to lead.”
Cardenas, who played safety for the Yellow Jackets from 1996-98, takes the reins after spending the past three seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator and associate head coach.
Prior to his recent role, Cardenas began his coaching career at Edcouch, serving as a seventh, eighth and then ninth-grade football coach from 2005-2009. After a five-year stint as defensive coordinator at Valley View, Cardenas returned home, taking over as special teams coordinator and first assistant to then-head coach Joe Marichalar in 2015.
“I was built by Edcouch-Elsa to invent in Edcouch-Elsa,” he said. “It’s a dream come true to be able to give back to the community that molded and invested in my development. Grew up in Edcouch-Elsa, played at Edcouch-Elsa and now living my dream as head coach of Edcouch-Elsa! If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”
