Getting a head coaching job in high school football is not just about how many games you have won as an assistant or who you know. It is about showing a principal and an athletic director that you are ready to run a program, and that means being prepared long before the job is posted. I have been hired as a head coach more than once, in Alabama and in Arkansas, and here is what I would have ready, how I would prepare for the interview, and what I would do once I got the job.
What to Have Ready Before You Apply
When a job opens, the timeline moves fast. If you start building your plan after the job is posted, you will be behind. Have these things written down and ready to go before you ever send in an application.
Your Program Plan and Philosophy
Write down what you believe about football and about kids. What does your program stand for? What will your players learn besides football? How will you measure success beyond the scoreboard? Keep it to a page or two, in plain language, so a principal who has never coached can read it and understand what you are about.
Your Staff Plan
Know how you would build a staff. Which positions matter most to you? How would you handle the coaches already on staff? Will you need teachers in the building who can coach, or do you have people you would bring with you? Administrators want to know you have thought about this, because staff problems turn into their problems.
Your Discipline Plan
Write out your team rules and how you handle discipline, including grades, attendance, behavior in the building, and social media. Show that your consequences are fair, consistent, and tied to the school’s own policies. This is one of the first things a principal will ask about.
Your Offseason Plan
Lay out what your players will do from the end of the season through the summer. Weight room, speed work, 7-on-7, camps, and how you plan to keep kids in other sports. Show that you value multi-sport athletes and that your offseason is built to help them, not pull them away from other coaches.
A Budget Mindset
You do not need to know the school’s exact numbers, but you should know what it takes to run a program. Equipment, reconditioning, travel, meals, and camps all cost money. Be ready to talk about how you would prioritize spending and how you would work with boosters and fundraising without causing problems for the administration.
Research the School
Before you apply, learn everything you can about the school and the community. Look at enrollment, the conference and classification, recent records, and how many kids are out for football. Find out how long the last few coaches stayed and why they left. Look at the facilities, the feeder program, and whether the head coach also teaches.
If you can, talk to people who know the program. Former coaches, officials, and coaches in the same conference can give you a sense of what the job really looks like. The more you know, the better you can show the principal and AD that you understand their school and what it needs.
Prepare for the Interview
Most high school interviews include the principal, the athletic director, and sometimes a superintendent or a committee. Every one of them is looking for someone who will make their job easier, not harder. Show up ready to talk about kids, academics, and how you run a program, not just schemes.
Questions They Will Likely Ask
- What is your coaching philosophy?
- How do you handle discipline when a player breaks a team rule?
- How will you build and lead your staff?
- How do you deal with parents?
- What will your offseason look like?
- How do you support academics and other sports?
- What will you do in your first 90 days?
Practice your answers out loud, and keep them short and specific. When they ask about discipline, walk them through your plan. When they ask about parents, tell them how you communicate before problems happen. Bring a printed copy of your program plan so they can see you have done the work.
Questions You Should Ask
The interview is also your chance to learn if this job is a good fit. Ask questions like these:
- What do you expect from your head football coach in the first year?
- How many staff positions are tied to teaching jobs in the building?
- What does the budget look like, and how is fundraising handled?
- How are facilities shared with other sports?
- What is the relationship between the program and the junior high?
- How do you prefer to communicate with your coaches?
Good questions show that you are thinking about the whole program, not just the games. They also tell you a lot about what you are walking into.
What to Do in the First Weeks After You Are Hired
Once you get the job, the first few weeks set the tone for everything that follows. Here is where I would put my time.
Meet With Your Administration
Sit down with your principal and AD and ask how they want things done. Learn how purchases are approved, how facilities get scheduled, and how they want you to handle a parent complaint. Getting on the same page early saves you trouble later.
Meet With Your Players
Have a team meeting as soon as you can. Tell them who you are, what you expect, and what happens next. Then meet with as many players as you can one on one. Learn names, grades, and what other sports they play.
Build Your Staff
Talk with the coaches who are already there before you make decisions about them. Then fill the open spots with people who fit your plan. Have a staff meeting early so everyone knows the expectations.
Take Inventory
Count your equipment, check your helmets and reconditioning dates, and look at your facilities. You need to know what you have before you can plan what you need.
Start the Offseason Program
Get kids in the weight room and get a schedule in place. Your offseason is where the culture starts, and the players need to see right away that things are organized. Everything has to show up on Friday night, but it starts in the weight room in January.
What to Do This Week
- Write a one-page program philosophy in plain language.
- Draft your discipline plan and team rules.
- Build an offseason calendar from the end of the season through August.
- List the staff positions you would fill first and why.
- Practice your answers to the interview questions above out loud.
- Write down five questions you would ask a principal and AD.
Take the Free Head Coaching 101 Course
If you want help getting ready, sign up for the free Head Coaching 101 email course. It walks through the parts of the job that being an assistant does not always prepare you for, and it comes straight to your inbox. When you are ready to build out your full plan, the Head Coach Academy has video lessons and a 12-chapter, 184-page workbook that covers getting hired, building a staff, discipline, working with your administration, money, and evaluating personnel, so you can walk into that interview with your program already on paper.