With the start of Brownwood Lions preseason football practice looming, new defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Marvin Wilson was a guest of Sammy Burnett on the Brownwood Lions Coach’s Show on KOXE earlier this week.

Wilson is beginning his second stint as a coach in Brownwood, formerly serving under head coach Steve Freeman. Wilson, who most recently coached at Ballinger, is replacing Brett Mouser, who has taken a position at Giddings High School. Wilson is the son of former Brownwood assistant coach Rick Wilson and spoke of his decision to return to Brownwood.

“It was easy,” Wilson said. “A lot of it has to do with growing up in Brownwood and knowing Brownwood. My kids have heard enough stories between my dad and I. It was time to give them the opportunity to make their own stories.”

Burnett said of Wilson, “Marvin’s father coached me and if not for him taking a job in Sulphur Springs, Marvin would have graduated from Brownwood. Brownwood’s in him, it’s who he is and where he comes from. It’s nice to have another one of those guys back. If we want to get Brownwood back to where it was at a time when it was great you’ve got to have people here who understood what it took to get it there. Having Marvin back is definitely a blessing for us and we’re looking forward to the future, working together and seeing our kids grow on the D-line.”

Wilson also further elaborated on the road that led him back to Brownwood.

“I was at Odessa Permian under Darren Allman, who was in Brownwood when I was,” Wilson said. “Coach Freeman called and got us back here. Coach (Keith) Woolf, who was here then, took his first AD job and we went, and I was his defensive coordinator in Anson for a couple of years. He decided to go to Bastrop and that wasn’t right for me and my family. Coach (Andy) Howard was in Brady at the time, and he needed a defensive coordinator, so we spent three years in Brady. Coach (Chuck) Lipsey, who was in Bangs for a good long while, came over to Brady. Then he said we were going to Ballinger, so we went to Ballinger for five years. Coach Burnett called this year and we hadn’t packed the house in a while, so we decided to do it again.”

Describing his coaching style, Wilson said, “I want to say I get intense with them, but we have a good time. If you’re not having fun, if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, you’re never going to get good at it. We’ll be serious for most of it and we’ll cut up for a little bit of it. We’re going to learn, we’re going to get aggressive and we’re going to get physical and play hard.”

Wilson and his wife Amber have two sons, Ben, who will be a freshman, and Kaden, who will be a seventh grader.

The Brownwood Lions, and the rest of the state, begin preseason football practice Monday.