What an untimely week for job to win out over family.

Doug Karleskint this season has been to every Wylie Bulldogs football game, which, for a parent of a player, is not unusual.

More than a few sat umbrella-ed against the light rain a few weeks back in Wichita Falls to see sons take on and take down Legacy.

Karleskint, however, has had a tougher trek.

The former Abilene Christian University assistant basketball coach was hired between the junior and senior seasons of son, Jadin, to be the head coach at the University of Texas-Tyler.

His son, the starting quarterback, wanted to finish high school with his teammates. Kyla Karleskint stayed in Abilene with Jadin and eighth-grader Jack while dad moved on to East Texas.

It made Game Day a bit more of a haul in his pickup.

Roughly calculating back-and-forth trips to five stadiums - Sandifer here, Lowrey in Lubbock (twice), Tiger Stadium in Wolfforth, Dick Bivins in Amarillo, and Memorial in Wichita Falls, Doug Karleskint has put on 7,000 or more miles since the season kicked off in late August.

Tyler and Abilene are about 290 miles apart.

The roundtrip to Amarillo topped 900 miles.

There are few Buc-cee’s options along the way.

Karleskint saw his son help lead Wylie back into the playoffs with a second-place finish in District 2-5A.

“It has been worth it,” he said.

Now the bad news.

CAN'T BE TWO PLACES AT ONE TIME

The Bulldogs earned a bi-district round home game but not a Thursday night date.

Wylie is host to El Paso Del Valle at 6 p.m. Friday at Sandifer.

At 5 p.m. mountain time in Denver, the Tyler Patriots open their season against Regis.

It would not look good if the new coach missed his team’s first game.

Thus, Jadin will have one less fan in the stands.

And if Wylie wins - the Bulldogs have won all three bi-district games, handily, against El Paso teams, he may have to miss the area round game. UT-Tyler plays at home Nov. 20, the likely date for a second-round game.

Still, it has been worth the long hours on the road to see his son, who should top 2,000 yards passing against Del Valle and has thrown for 30 touchdowns. Last week, Jadin Karleskint threw six touchdown passes against Abilene Cooper on 22-of-28 passing for almost 250 yards. It was a Senior Night performance to remember.

“He has been awesome,” Jardin Karleskint said of his dad’s effort to see his son play football. “Obviously, it has been hard on him. I have a great supporting cast in my family and I love them.”

The elder Karleskint was named head coach March 16 by Athletic Director Sam Ferguson, a former Abilenian. Ferguson was AD at McMurry before joining the staff at ACU. Son Angelo was a 2023 Wylie High graduate.

“It was after a lot of talking with my wife about how we wanted to navigate this deal with Jadin being the quarterback and his senior year,” Karleskint said. “Ultimately, I wanted to be a head coach again.”

Before his three years at ACU, he was the head coach at Central Missouri and Arkansas Tech.

When considering the job, Karleskint looked at the schedule. Sure enough, his debut coincided with the start of the high school football playoffs.

“We had already contracted games the 13th and 14th, and it I knew it would come to a head at some point,” he said.

The Karleskints quickly became fans of Thursday night games.

“If it was Friday, there is no way,” dad said of seeing his son play.

COMMITTED TO STAYING

March 16 also was the start of spring football practice for the Bulldogs. The Karleskints met with coach Clay Martin to nail down that Jadin would stay in purple and gold.

“I knew (Jadin) wasn’t wanting to move at all so I said, ‘Hey, we’ll make whatever work,’” Karleskint said.

No one likely figured in gas prices rising by more than $1 but the truck has been gassed up each week and ready to roll.

“I wanted to start a GoFundMe,” he said, laughing. “I’ve been wearing I-20 out, just up and down

For all 10 games.

“I wouldn’t consider missing one,” he said.

Travel time depends on traffic, which requires timing.

“Last night took over five hours,” he said last Friday before the Cooper game. “But you can time it to where it takes four hours. And it could be six hours. It depends on DFW traffic.”

It’s not a hard drive and “I get a lot of recruiting done,’” he said.

Maybe his employer is picking up some of the cost.

QUARTERBACKS ABOUND

Doug Karleskint was a quarterback at Fort Scott High in Kansas, not too far from Kansas City, Mo. Both Doug and Jadin Karleskint are 6-foot-3, decent for basketball for better for a quarterback.

Dad was an all-state quarterback as well as his brother, Matt.

“We have a lineage of quarterbacks in the family,” he said. Jadin, he said, grew up watching Patrick Mahomes star for the Chiefs and was a quarterback from Day 1, dad said.

Karleskint said his son is the better quarterback. Jadin isn’t so sure.

“Uh, I don’t know about that,” Jadin Karleskint said, laughing.

From a quarterback’s perspective, then, how has Doug Karleskint’s son done at Wylie?

“Really proud of him,” Doug Karleskint said. “When we got to Abilene, he told me there were nine quarterbacks in his class and I was like, ‘Dude, you might want to look at an alternative positions. That’s a deep class that already knows the coaches and system.’ But he said, ‘No, I’m not going to switch. I’m going to be a quarterback.’”

Jadin Karleskint drew the starter’s job as a junior and had a productive year. Martin noted several times in 2025 that his junior was improving each game. Having a starter back this fall was one reason Wylie made good on predictions to take second behind Palo Duro and get back into the playoffs.

Dad has left the coaching to the coaches.

“Probably the only coaching I’ve given him - when it doubt, throw it up to 15 (Blaze Ruffin) and 17 (Jackston Williams) and 2 (Dylan Regala), your good receivers out there,” Karleskint said.

Jadin Karleskint said the best pointer that he remembers is “to stay positive with yourself.”

The two will watch the game and Jadin will describe what was developing on the field.

“Being a quarterback myself, it takes me back 25 years,” dad said.

Hw appreciates the time his son puts into prepping for the game.

“As a coach’s kid, it kinda comes with the territory,” he said. Still, a coach is pleased to see that in action.

“He always has been a guy with a chip on his shoulder, and I think he plays like that.”

Football has brought a close relationship closer.

“I am nothing but the supportive dad. I don’t do any of the coaching and all that. He is way better of a player than I ever was,” Doug Karleskint said.

That goes for being in the stand. Karleskint called himself a calm fan.

“I get nervous because I want him to succeed so bad because I know how much it means to him,” dad said. “Football has been such an important piece of his life.”

Kyla Karleskint is a big fan, too.

“She gets nervous, too,” Karleskint said.

“Wylie has been so good to our boys,” he continued. “It has been a blessing that we came here. When we moved to Abilene, there were a lot of unknowns. I thank the coaches and players for a very seamless transition.”

THE FUTURE

Jack Karleskint won’t play Wylie High football. He will move with mom to Tyler next year.

“Just to get the family back together. But we’re Wylie Bulldogs fans for life.”

As long as Wylie stays in the playoffs, there’s a chance Doug Karleskint will be back in the stands.

For now, though, he’ll have to settle for being on the court.

Wylie has had a good year. What’s ahead for the Tyler Patriots?

“Ask me in March,” Karleskint said, smiling. “I like our talent. We’ll see how it all works out.”

He could say the same for his eldest son.