Greatest High School Football Coach of All Time From Every State
Few things can unite a community like a winning high school football team.
Hoover High’s Josh Niblett
The thing is, those winning teams don’t just appear out of thin air. You have to put the right person in charge. And when you do find the right head coach … hold on for dear life. Because they’re going to get very, very popular.
In the history of high school football across the country, the very best head coaches have created dynasties that include state championships, undefeated seasons, and, sometimes, players who go on to become college All-Americans and play in the NFL. They’ve also left indelible marks on their communities.
Here’s a look at the greatest high school football coach of all time from every state.
Arkansas: Wilson Matthews
High Schools: Rogers High School (Rogers), Little Rock/Little Rock Central High School (Little Rock)
State Championships: 10 (1947-50, 1952-57)
Overall Record: 118-17-3 (.855)
Bottom line: Wilson Matthews won a staggering 10 state championships in 11 seasons as the coach at Little Rock High, which became Little Rock Central High in 1953. That run was capped by back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1956 and 1957, including a mythical high school national championship in 1957.
Matthews left Little Rock Central to become a defensive assistant at Arkansas, where he spent a decade coaching defensive ends and linebackers before moving into administration. Matthews died in 2002, at 80 years old.
California: Bob Ladouceur
High School: De La Salle High School (Concord)
National Championships: 11 (1994, 1998, 1999-2003, 2009-12)
Overall Record: 399-24-3 (.940)
Bottom line: You’ll notice a slight change to the criteria for former De La Salle High head coach Bob Ladouceur — his 11 national championships put him in the conversation for the greatest high school football coach of all time. Ladouceur coached 426 career games and won a staggering 94 percent of the time.
How famous did Ladouceur become coaching at De La Salle? Two different books were written about his team and its famous 151-game winning streak from 1992 to 2004. He was portrayed by Jim Caviezel in the 2014 film “When the Game Stands Tall.”
Colorado: Dave Logan
Cherry Creek High’s Dave Logan
High Schools: Cherry Creek High School (Greenwood Village), Arvada West High School (Arvada), Chatfield High School (Littleton), Mullen High School (Denver)
State Championships: 11 (1997, 2001, 2004, 2008-10, 2014, 2019-22)
Overall Record: 315-69 (.820)
Bottom line: Colorado native and former University of Colorado and NFL star Dave Logan has one of the more impressive post-playing careers of anyone you’ll come across — he’s not only the greatest high school football coach in Colorado history but an award-winning radio host and sports broadcaster in Denver.
Logan has coached at four high schools — Arvada West, Chatfield, Mullen and Cherry Creek — and has won state championships at each stop. Logan won his 11th overall state title in 2022 with Cherry Creek.