Texas High School Football: White Oak tabs new head coach

White Oak football has its new head coach for the 2026 season and beyond.

Tanner Thiel will become the school’s new athletic director and head coach, according to DCTF’s Matt Stepp. Thiel has been the head coach at Grape Creek high in San Angelo.

In 2025, White Oak went 5-5 and did not make the postseason. The Roughnecks finished as the No. 711 team in the Lone Star State, according to the Rivals Composite Rankings. At the end of the season, it was announced that the school was looking for a new AD and head coach.

Michael Ludlow left his post after three seasons in charge of the Roughnecks. After an 0-10 campaign in 2023, White Oak won five games each of the last two seasons. This past fall, it got off to a 4-0 start but couldn’t keep momentum going as the competition improved.

Grape Creek is coming off a 7-5 campaign last fall. The Eagles won their first-ever postseason game, winning a first-round matchup against Crane in the UIL Class 3A D2 tournament. Thiel was named the Grape Creek head coach ahead of the 2018 season.

Across eight seasons in charge, Thiel compiled a 17-60 record, according to MaxPreps. This past season was especially notable as it was the first time the Eagles had finished with a winning record since the 2016 campaign.

This story will be updated.

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