Luis Figueroa made two long-distance moves in pursuit of a football coaching career.
The first was to New Orleans so he could see first-hand the tremendous talent in this region of the country. Then back to his home state of Pennsylvania so he could coach at a college.
A third move will put Figueroa, 39, back in New Orleans as the head coach at Carver, a school he previously coached as an assistant from the 2014-17 seasons.
“The opportunity to be a head coach and the responsibility of being a head coach is something I’m so excited to get my opportunity to do that,” said Figueroa, whose official start date will come next week when he arrives from Pennsylvania. “It’s going to mean a little more in the long run because it’s the first one.”
Figueroa coached the 2023 season at NCAA Division III Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, after he coached the previous nine seasons at New Orleans high schools.
After Carver, Figuera coached four seasons at St. Augustine (2018-21) and one season at Livingston Collegiate (2022). He was the offensive coordinator and coached quarterbacks and wide receivers at Livingston.
Figueroa went to Albright because “the goal was always to coach college football,” he said, and decided after one season that high school was “the best fit.”
Figueroa moved to New Orleans the first time after he saw video online of former Edna Karr standout Speedy Noil and thought, “Whoa, what’s going on down there?”
“I just always was in tune with the national recruiting scene,” said Figueroa, who previously coached at high schools in Pennsylvania. “When I had seen Speedy’s highlights, I knew I wanted to be a part of that.”
Carver did not play the final seven games last season after the LHSAA determined the school used ineligible players during an 0-3 start to the season. The school already was on probation for violations from the previous year. Carver will play a full season and be eligible for the playoffs in 2024.
“People were downplaying the legacy and the size of Carver,” Figueroa said. “This is a really important job. Our kids deserve the absolute best, and I’m going to give them everything I got.”
Livingston coach Devon Francois hired Figueroa in 2022 after the pair worked one season together on the defensive staff at St. Augustine.
“He’s going to do a great job,” Francois said. “He had many years of working in the (Collegiate Academies) system already. He knows what the network is about.”