On Thursday, he was talking with Bartlett schools superintendent Mike Mayfield, preparing to mow the lawn on Bulldog Stadium.
In between those two dates a “whirlwind” took place as Bujnoch was quickly hired as Bartlett’s athletic director and head football coach, replacing Lee Vi Moses.
Moses resigned late last month after one season as head coach to take an assistant coaching job at Harker Heights. Mayfield and the school board scrambled to find a replacement, and eight days after they contacted Bujnoch (pronounced “bueno”) on July 2 his hiring was approved by the board.
After 14 years as an assistant, nine as defensive coordinator at Class 3A Hutto, Bujnoch said he is looking forward to his first head coaching job as he takes over a Class A Bulldogs program that went 3-7 last year.
“This is something I’ve been preparing for for a long time,” Bujnoch said. “The last couple years at Hutto, we’ve had some success and people have started to take notice. I came close to getting one job this summer, but this worked out great. It’s a lot of work, but let me tell you, it’s a lot of fun, too.”
The job he almost got was the head coaching position at 2A Florence - which will open its season against Bartlett. But aside from it being the dawn of a new era, Bujnoch said the already-emotional game won’t have any added emotion.
Bujnoch said the tradition of Bartlett - three state championships under three different coaches in the 1990s - was an effective lure. He also liked Bartlett’s small-town atmosphere after growing up in what he calls a “large small town with a 4A (school) attached to it” - Bay City.
“I really like small towns,” Bujnoch said. “And this place, the first two years I coached at Hutto we played against them, and one of those years (1999) was their state championship year. I’ve had my eye on them since.
“My wife (Angela) and I just love the area, north Austin. She was born in Elgin and has family around here. We’re looking to stay here for a while.”
At Hutto, Bujnoch and the Hippos defeated district rival Cameron Yoe en route to reaching the 3A Division II state championship game in 2005, then lost to Tatum.
He had a one-year stop in Bay City before that as a secondary coach after beginning his career with two-year stints as secondary coach in Hallettsville and Ferris. He got the Ferris job after graduating from Southwest Texas State (now Texas State), where he played for two years before a shoulder injury ended his career.
Bujnoch becomes Bartlett’s fifth head football coach since the start of 2000.
“I’m looking to come here to make a difference,” he said. “I think I can help these people. I think I can help these kids. And I think they feel the same way. It’s a good group of kids, and I don’t see a reason why we can’t win a few games.”
ecarifio@temple-telegram.com
