Head coach Vince Elliott plans to give the Kingwood football program a new start beginning with new uniforms, a new team emblem and a new attitude.

“We want to mark the beginning point in the changing of the program,” Elliott said. “It marks our new attitude, new game plan and new philosophy.”

The emblem for the team is now similar to that of the NFL’s Detroit Lions, giving a tougher look than that of the old lion paw print logo.

“We are changing the image of the program, like the ending of an era,” Elliot said.

Elliott was named the new head football coach earlier this year, replacing 10-year head coach Jerry Stearns, who also served as athltetic director and girls’ basketball coach.

Kingwood finished 1-9 in their first year in Class 3A, and the number of players has been dropping over the past few years. Elliott hopes he’ll be the guy to restore the program.

“We are trying to use the Kingwood football program to build men for the future that align with the goals of the school,” Elliott said.

Elliott helped build the football program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a four-year player and graduate assistant under Jim Hilyer. That experience helped build his coaching career.

“I saw how hard everybody worked to start up the football program, and can use it as a model in rebuilding Kingwood,” said Elliott, whose full-time job is district sales manager for Kraft foods.