Celina (Texas) coach Bill Elliott announces retirement after 30-year career

After more than 30 years at Celina (Texas) — first as an assistant and the past 13 years as head coach — Bill Elliott is calling it a career.

Elliott, who has been leading the program since 2012, made the decision after a season where he led the team to an 8-0 start but was put on paid leave due to alleged sexual misconduct by his son Caleb, a former coach and teacher within Celina’s school district. He remained away from the team through the rest of the regular season and playoffs, with Celina finishing 15-1 and falling in the 4A Division I state semifinals to Stephenville.

On Tuesday, a day before Elliott’s retirement was announced, the Celina Independent School District said that an investigation found no evidence of any district employees who knew Caleb Elliott’s behavior prior to it being reported in October 2025.

The allegations also prompted investigations from Celina police, the Texas Rangers, the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the Collin County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

After the announcement of the investigation’s findings from the school district, State Rep. Jeff Leach, an attorney advocating for the families of children allegedly abused by Caleb Elliott, had a strong criticism of the outcome.

“If the head coach and principal did nothing wrong, then the board should reinstate them immediately,” Leach said in a post on X. “If the head coach and principal acted improperly, then the board should fire them, and they should never be allowed to teach or coach in Texas ever again. If the board allows either of them or anyone else with culpability to resign and ride off into the sunset with full benefits, no repercussions, and no accountability, then there should be hell to pay, starting with replacing the entire board. Bottom line: there is smoke, and there is fire.”

It’s unknown at this time whether there were conditions associated with Bill Elliott’s decision to retire immediately after the investigation was completed. The news ends a 30-plus-year coaching career for Elliott, who started as an assistant at Celina in 1993.

He was then promoted to the head coaching role in 2012 and led the team to a state championship in 2024.