El Dorado put the finishing touches on its varsity coaching staff last week with the hiring of Darryl Lewis of New Orleans and Junction City native Byran Jones. Both are first-year coaches.
Lewis just wrapped up his playing career at Louisiana Tech, where he was a three-year starter at safety. He will coach safeties at El Dorado, replacing Trent Ellis, who took a job at Warren.
“Darryl had just finished playing safety there for the Bulldogs. He was trying to decide if he wanted to get into coaching or go pro. He was looking at maybe trying to go to some combines or camps,” said El Dorado head coach Steven Jones. “But he decided to hang up the cleats and get into coaching. We’re very fortunate to have him. He was a three-year starter at Louisiana Tech. He’s a very talented guy, very energetic. He’s going to bring a lot to the table.
“I think Louisiana Tech had over a hundred people on their team last year. Darryl was selected by his teammates as one of the captains.”
Jones was hired as the assistant offensive line coach. He played defensive line at the University of Arkansas after playing both offensive and defensive line at Junction City. He was a two-time MVP of the state championship game.
“Byran Jones is a guy I’ve been trying to hire for the last four years,” said Steven Jones. “He’s been living in Northwest Arkansas. He played defensive line for the Razorbacks. Since he’s from Junction City, I kept up with Byran all throughout my coaching career. I finally got lucky enough to talk him into coaching with us. With his playing experience from the other side of the football, he’s really going to be a big help in knowing what the offensive line is trying to do. We’re excited to add him. He brings a lot to the table. He’s already establishing a great relationship with our players. I would say Byran keeps them in line. He’s done a great job of keeping those guys accountable.
“With those two additions, we have a great staff. There’s just a lot of excitement in our coaching office.”