[baseball1974]

Somebody brought this up the other day in another thread, and I thought it would be interesting to see how everyone went about picking their list. I know it's difficult for some to stay unbiased on topics like this, but it would be a much better topic if you left that at the door. It is easy to base a list off just wins, but over the years there have been many that have done a lot more in less time. However, all coaches can tell you that longevity is the most difficult thing to accomplish in the coaching world. As for my list, I based it off, wins, post season, etc. to establish what I thought was the best 10 coaches of all time at the high school level in the state of Kentucky.

TOP 10 KY High School Football Coaches of All-Time

1) Dale Mueller(20 years)-Highlands, 250 wins, 14 State Championship appearances, 11 State Titles
2) Bob Beatty(13 year in KY/13 in Missouri)- Trinity, 165-21 win/loss record, 12 State Championship appearances, 10 State Titles, and a National Championship in 2011.
3) Sam Harp(32 years)- Danville, 326 wins, 10 State Championship appearances, 7 State Titles
4) Mike Glaser(31 years)- Saint Xavier, 336 wins, 11 State Championship appearances, 7 State Titles
5) Phillip Haywood(40 years)- Belfry, 388 wins, 9 state Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
6) Bob Schneider(44 years)- Newport Central Catholic, 345 wins, 9 State Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
7) Dudley Hilton(35 years), Bell County/Bourbon County, 345 wins, 3 State Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
8) Mike Yeagle-Beechwood, 181-27 win/loss record, 10 State Championship appearances, 8 State Titles
9) Joe Jaggers(33 years)- North Hardin/Fort Knox/Trigg County/Nelson County/Old KY Home, 292 wins, 6 State Championship Appearances, 5 State Titles
10) Jack Morris(24 years)- Mayfield, 254 wins, 9 State Championship appearances, 4 State Titles
10A) Bob Redman(35 years)-Louisville Male/Durret/Waggener/Ballard, 317 wins, 6 State Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
10B) Hillard Howard(25 years)-Pikeville/Letcher Central, 244 wins, 5 State Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
10C) Lynn Ray(30 years)- Covington Catholic, 232 wins, 5 State Titles(undefeated in State Titles games).
10D) Ivan McGlone(38 years)-Russell/Huntington Vinson, 316 wins in Ky/28 in WV, 3 State Championship appearances, 2 State Titles

[killbilly usmc]

Seems like there is another Morris that should be on that list soon.

[Real Badman]

Somebody brought this up the other day in another thread, and I thought it would be interesting to see how everyone went about picking their list. I know it's difficult for some to stay unbiased on topics like this, but it would be a much better topic if you left that at the door. It is easy to base a list off just wins, but over the years there have been many that have done a lot more in less time. However, all coaches can tell you that longevity is the most difficult thing to accomplish in the coaching world. As for my list, I based it off, wins, post season, etc. to establish what I thought was the best 10 coaches of all time at the high school level in the state of Kentucky.

TOP 10 KY High School Football Coaches of All-Time

1) Dale Mueller(20 years)-Highlands, 250 wins, 14 State Championship appearances, 11 State Titles
2) Bob Beatty(13 year in KY/13 in Missouri)- Trinity, 165-21 win/loss record, 12 State Championship appearances, 10 State Titles, and a National Championship in 2011.
3) Sam Harp(32 years)- Danville, 326 wins, 10 State Championship appearances, 7 State Titles
4) Mike Glaser(31 years)- Saint Xavier, 336 wins, 11 State Championship appearances, 7 State Titles
5) Phillip Haywood(40 years)- Belfry, 388 wins, 9 state Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
6) Bob Schneider(44 years)- Newport Central Catholic, 345 wins, 9 State Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
7) Dudley Hilton(35 years), Bell County/Bourbon County, 345 wins, 3 State Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
8) Mike Yeagle-Beechwood, 181-27 win/loss record, 10 State Championship appearances, 8 State Titles
9) Joe Jaggers(33 years)- North Hardin/Fort Knox/Trigg County/Nelson County/Old KY Home, 292 wins, 6 State Championship Appearances, 5 State Titles
10) Jack Morris(24 years)- Mayfield, 254 wins, 9 State Championship appearances, 4 State Titles
10A) Bob Redman(35 years)-Louisville Male/Durret/Waggener/Ballard, 317 wins, 6 State Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
10B) Hillard Howard(25 years)-Pikeville/Letcher Central, 244 wins, 5 State Championship appearances, 3 State Titles
10C) Lynn Ray(30 years)- Covington Catholic, 232 wins, 5 State Titles(undefeated in State Titles games).
10D) Ivan McGlone(38 years)-Russell/Huntington Vinson, 316 wins in Ky/28 in WV, 3 State Championship appearances, 2 State Titles

Good list. I don't remember the coaches name, but the coach at Lynch was pretty good. 4 State championships and 2 Runner-up's if I recall correctly. I believe eventually, Ty from Lou. Central will make the list. One could also argue Larkey at the bottom of the list for his Rockcastle days.

[baseball1974]

Seems like there is another Morris that should be on that list soon.

I agree and he could end up bypassing everyone. Is this his 13th or 14th year? He has got to be close to 150 wins isn't he? There are just so many that deserve to be on it, it's impossible to include all of them unless we did a Top 50 or something.

[baseball1974]

[quote=Real Badman]Good list. I don't remember the coaches name, but the coach at Lynch was pretty good. 4 State championships and 2 Runner-up's if I recall correctly. I believe eventually, Ty from Lou. Central will make the list. One could also argue Larkey at the bottom of the list for his Rockcastle days.[/QUOTE/]


Are you talking about Ed Miracle?

Larkey is sitting very close to 300 wins. Having no state titles hurt him for this list.

[Hatz]

I agree and he could end up bypassing everyone. Is this his 13th or 14th year? He has got to be close to 150 wins isn't he? There are just so many that deserve to be on it, it's impossible to include all of them unless we did a Top 50 or something.

Chuck Smith. He has to be on the list. End of discussion there.

I would also add Tom Duffy.

Both of these have had shorter careers than some you mention but longevity doesn't trump what one does in the time they have as head coach. :Thumbs:

[EKUAlum05]

Chuck Smith. He has to be on the list. End of discussion there.

I would also add Tom Duffy.

Both of these have had shorter careers than some you mention but longevity doesn't trump what one does in the time they have as head coach. :Thumbs:

Agree with Smith. Maybe not Top 5 due to longevity, but definitely a Top 10 guy.

Mike Holcomb needs more love as well. Probably the best results of any coach based off what he had to work with. 3 Titles and a Runner-Up at Breathitt County.

[Fly Like a Duck]

Dang...what a list. You could argue either of them being the best, but BEST to go about it like this. I agree with adding Holcomb and Smith...another, is Dan Haley.

You have guys here in this list like Bob Schneider who built the program from the ground up and probably never in his wildest dreams thought it would be the empire it has become.

Then there are guys like Dudley Hilton and Joe Jaggers, who won multiple titles at multiple schools. Jaggers won multiple titles, at multiple schools..multiple times. Not only that, but none of their schools had won state titles BEFORE their arrival and haven't since they left (which, to be fair I think Bell County will win another one).

Then you have guys like Beatty and Mueller who took BMW's and turned them into Bentley's.

One heck of a list.

[Playboy5]

That's a pretty solid list! Well done!

[CS17]

Very solid list... even if he is still coaching I think Joe Morris should definitely be on there somewhere.

[AtlPirateFan]

I think I would swap 3 and 4 on your list. I also think Chuck Smith has to be on there and while he may not have the years or the overall Win/Loss record I think Scroggins has to be heavily consider if for no other reason than 5 State Championships, with the schedule they play he may never look as good in the win/loss column but 5-0 in State Titles is impressive.

[Iam4thecats]

Kevin Wallace has 3 state championships and 3 runner ups as well as close to 300 wins with about a 78% winning record.

[baseball1974]

I think I would swap 3 and 4 on your list. I also think Chuck Smith has to be on there and while he may not have the years or the overall Win/Loss record I think Scroggins has to be heavily consider if for no other reason than 5 State Championships, with the schedule they play he may never look as good in the win/loss column but 5-0 in State Titles is impressive.

Actually, I think #3 through #6 could be interchangeable.

I agree with you about Chuck Smith being on the list, but who do you replace? The reason I kept him off was based off of the comparison of other coaches with less than 15 years. So in comparison, you'd have to look at Bob Beatty and Mike Yeagle. Beatty coached in KY for 13 years, went to 12 championships, and won 10 of them. Yeagle was similar, going to 10 and winning 8 titles. I agree he is one of the best, and if he stays at the high school level then he will no doubt be top 5 all-time when he retires, and if he hadn't gone up to college, he may have already have been there.

The three I struggled with on wanting to add them were Tom Duffy, who coached for 24 years with 213 wins for three different programs, as well as going 4-0 in state title games. Mike Holcolmb, who is in his 32nd year I think, closing in on 300 wins, has been succesful at two different programs, and has gone 3-1 in state championship games. I should have found a place for him. The last guy I struggled with was Kevin Wallace from Bowling Green. He also use to coach at Warren East. He's currently sitting somewhere in the 260 range for wins and is still going strong, could have won a state title this year. Hes been to 6 state title games and won 3 of them. Dan Haley is the only other one I had trouble with, but it was difficult trying to find reason for why one should be in there over the other. I probably could have replaced McGlone for Holcolmb, and Wallace and Duffy could've also been in there for Hillard Howard or Bob Redmand.

[Hatz]

Actually, I think #3 through #6 could be interchangeable.

I agree with you about Chuck Smith being on the list, but who do you replace? The reason I kept him off was based off of the comparison of other coaches with less than 15 years. So in comparison, you'd have to look at Bob Beatty and Mike Yeagle. Beatty coached in KY for 13 years, went to 12 championships, and won 10 of them. Yeagle was similar, going to 10 and winning 8 titles. I agree he is one of the best, and if he stays at the high school level then he will no doubt be top 5 all-time when he retires, and if he hadn't gone up to college, he may have already have been there.

The three I struggled with on wanting to add them were Tom Duffy, who coached for 24 years with 213 wins for three different programs, as well as going 4-0 in state title games. Mike Holcolmb, who is in his 32nd year I think, closing in on 300 wins, has been succesful at two different programs, and has gone 3-1 in state championship games. I should have found a place for him. The last guy I struggled with was Kevin Wallace from Bowling Green. He also use to coach at Warren East. He's currently sitting somewhere in the 260 range for wins and is still going strong, could have won a state title this year. Hes been to 6 state title games and won 3 of them. Dan Haley is the only other one I had trouble with, but it was difficult trying to find reason for why one should be in there over the other. I probably could have replaced McGlone for Holcolmb, and Wallace and Duffy could've also been in there for Hillard Howard or Bob Redmand.

It's all in good fun 74. :Thumbs:

I think what Smith did by taking a program that was 5-26 in the previous three years of his arrival (?) and within four years had snapped the 19 game losing streak to Danville and lost in the State Semi-finals to defending champ Breathitt 12-7. A few years later "the streak" began.

Duffy fielded small numbers and won big games. Whether at Danville or HHS. In fact he took Danville and went 13-0 in his fifth year and dominated AAA in '84 with a less than 30 man roster while coaching a school whose size really qualified for Class A.

Great list BTW.

[Cellking]

Chuck Smith, Mike Holcome, Garnis Martin and Ed Miracle all are worthy.

[mysonis55]

Joe Morris should be getting very close to this list. If we win Saturday, he will have 5 state titles and 3 runners up trophies. He has a very high win loss percentage as well.

[baseball1974]

Joe Morris should be getting very close to this list. If we win Saturday, he will have 5 state titles and 3 runners up trophies. He has a very high win loss percentage as well.

He falls into the same realm of where chuck smith is. Actually, they both have very similar coaching accolades. He is close, but I took the longevity plus championships to tilt the scales. There were a couple that had less than 15 years as a head coach, and I added them because their numbers were so astronomical that you had to put them towards the top. The two I'm referring to are Mike Yeagle and Bob Beatty and really Dale Mueller could be in that mix as well with only 20 years. Joe is not out by much, but just how I looked at it, was if I was going to add somebody to the list with less than 20 years for an "all-time" list, then the numbers would have to blow everybody away. Chuck Smith is an interesting one though because I just wonder what his numbers might be if he hadn't spent all those years at the college level? You could say the same about Joe Morris too. What would Morris' numbers be if he hadn't spent over a decade as an assistant coach? He could've very easily had those type numbers if he would have took a head coaching job sooner than he did. A lot of "ifs" and "buts."

[samson81]

Great list. I love topics like this. Coaches like Holcomb and Smith deserve so much respect and credit for taking over programs at the bottom and taking them to the top so quickly. Prior to their arrivals, Boyle and Breathitt were afterthoughts in KY. Now they are programs with expectations to contend for a title almost every year.

When I look at this list I can't help but wonder what Yeagle's numbers might look like if he had stayed at Beechwood longer. They would be astronomical.

[baseball1974]

Great list. I love topics like this. Coaches like Holcomb and Smith deserve so much respect and credit for taking over programs at the bottom and taking them to the top so quickly. Prior to their arrivals, Boyle and Breathitt were afterthoughts in KY. Now they are programs with expectations to contend for a title almost every year.

When I look at this list I can't help but wonder what Yeagle's numbers might look like if he had stayed at Beechwood longer. They would be astronomical.

Holcolmb led one of the most dominant teams in ky history. I'm not talking about how many titles they won or anything like that, I just mean from a standpoint that they dominated everybody they played, especially during that 42-game win streak, which I think was tied for longest at the time.

1995 - 2004
*Overall: 114-18 (.864)
*Post-season: 26-6 (.813)

3 State Championships
3 Perfect Seasons (15-0)
4 Regional Championships
2 Regional Runner-ups
42-game win streak from '95-97

[samson81]

Holcolmb led one of the most dominant teams in ky history. I'm not talking about how many titles they won or anything like that, I just mean from a standpoint that they dominated everybody they played, especially during that 42-game win streak, which I think was tied for longest at the time.

1995 - 2004
*Overall: 114-18 (.864)
*Post-season: 26-6 (.813)

3 State Championships
3 Perfect Seasons (15-0)
4 Regional Championships
2 Regional Runner-ups
42-game win streak from '95-97

I saw Holcomb's '95 & '96 teams up close and personal. They were awesome. A common thread between all of his great teams was a TOUGH, PHYSICAL line, and a great QB. Breathitt's geographical location makes his accomplishments there even more impressive,IMO.

[baseball1974]

I saw Holcomb's '95 & '96 teams up close and personal. They were awesome. A common thread between all of his great teams was a TOUGH, PHYSICAL line, and a great QB. Breathitt's geographical location makes his accomplishments there even more impressive,IMO.

They had a lot of talent but they did a great job putting that bunch through an extensive strength and conditioning program and developing a lot of that talent as well. Their line was very physical, but I expected that. What I didn't expect was how physical their receivers and defensive backs were. It seemed like every game film I watched from the 95' and 96' team, their receivers were manhandling the defensive backs and outside linebackers. They had a quarterback that could put it wherever he wanted and had 10 seconds to think about it, but they also had the outside wide open as well due to the defensive backs being thrown to the ground by their receivers. The first time I seen them play was during our off-week and my nephew was playing against them. I watched my poor nephew time after time go out to block one of breathitt's defensive backs or try to get around a block from a breathitt receiver, and just violently get manhandled and thrown to the ground.

[groundattack]

Mark Brown 33 Seasons, 279 wins, 1 State Championship. Check out his record at Marion, his state championship at Nelson and they haven't sniffed one prior or since, then started the John Hardin program.

[NKYfootballfan91]

dont give bob schneider too much credit. 2 of those titles and most those appearances came after he gave up the reigns of calling the offense in 2000. at that point, they discovered the forward pass. being there for 44 years doesnt make you a great coach. there are a lot of former players that dont have a lot of good things to say about this man. its hard to say what eddie eviston could have ranked on this list. 2 titles in 3 years is pretty good before leaving for the OC job at georgetown.

[ColtPride]

Louisville legend Paulie Miller Flaget High School.

[baseball1974]

dont give bob schneider too much credit. 2 of those titles and most those appearances came after he gave up the reigns of calling the offense in 2000. at that point, they discovered the forward pass. being there for 44 years doesnt make you a great coach. there are a lot of former players that dont have a lot of good things to say about this man. its hard to say what eddie eviston could have ranked on this list. 2 titles in 3 years is pretty good before leaving for the OC job at georgetown.

I don't know much about Schneider. Mainly, I was factoring in longevity as well as state title appearances. He averaged around 8 wins/year during that span, but the guy right below him on that list averaged 9.9 wins/season, had the same number of titles, but only 1/3 of the championship appearances that Schneider had. However, like I mentioned before, I really think #3 through #6 could all be interchangeable. If what you are saying is true, then I would probably swap him and Dudley and maybe even move Jaggers ahead of him too. I think after looking at it I probably should've had Jaggers higher anyway to begin with.

[OldJacket]

Archie Powers was a good one, won a lot of games at Corbin, Middlesboro and Williamsburg...

[baseball1974]

Archie was a great coach that brought Corbin around and ended up going to three state titles with them. The only one he lost was to Mayfield. I don't think he'd be crack this list or even a top 20 though.

[killbilly usmc]

I agree and he could end up bypassing everyone. Is this his 13th or 14th year? He has got to be close to 150 wins isn't he? There are just so many that deserve to be on it, it's impossible to include all of them unless we did a Top 50 or something.

16th year I believe, and he hit 150 during the 2012 season so he should be in the 180's now.

[mysonis55]

83-6 since the start of 2009

[DALE]

The late Walter J. Brugh from Paintsville. He was the winningest coach in KY when he hung up the whistle in 1994.