20 winningest active Texas high school football coaches entering 2024 season
![Albany coach Denney Faith cheers after 2022 UIL (Texas) 2A Division II state title at AT&T Stadium. Albany coach Denney Faith cheers after 2022 UIL (Texas) 2A Division II state title at AT&T Stadium.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4066,h_2287,x_0,y_203/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/high_school/01j5rxx93qw7ba5482ba.jpg)
Longtime former Corpus Chrisi Calallen (Texas) high school football coach Phil Danaher is the state's all-time wins leader — a could be under threat in a couple of years.
Highland Park's Randy Allen's 446 career wins is the most of any active coach in the state, and second all-time to Danaher's 490.
As the 2024 Texas high school football season approaches — games begin Aug. 29 — SBLive is taking stock of the 20 winningest active coaches.
Several great coaches who would have made the list left their respective posts after the 2023 season.
Longtime Refugio coach Jason Herring was fifth on the active all-time list with 293 wins before he stepped down from his post in March after 17 years and three state titles at the school, citing ongoing health concerns.
Bryan Wood, who had 203 wins over the last 24 years, left Burnet to be the offensive coordinator/QBs coach at NAIA Wayland Baptist.
Chris Soza retired from Beeville Jones in May after a head coaching career that spanned 28 years and 198 wins. Les Goad also retired from Hays last December with 205 career wins across several schools.
Tom Westerberg, who led Allen to four titles, retired in January with 191 wins and Kerry Therwanger (183 wins) called it a career after leading Timpson to a storybook first state title.
Plenty of coaching legends are still set to grace the sidelines across the state.
Here are the 20 winningest active Texas high school football coaches entering the season:
20 WINNINGEST ACTIVE TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACHES
1. Randy Allen
School: Highland Park | Wins: 446
2. Denney Faith
School: Albany | Wins: 360
3. Reginald Samples
School: Duncanville | Wins: 340
4. Larry Hill
School: Smithson Valley | Wins: 311
5. Mark Kirchhoff
School: Falls City | Wins: 268
6. Gary Joseph
School: Katy | Wins: 265
7. Jerry Bomar
School: Groesbeck | Wins: 258
8. Richard Barrett
School: Kennedale | Wins: 254
9. Todd Rodgers
School: Argyle | Wins: 244
10. Sam Harrell
School: Ennis | Wins: 237
11. David G. Sanchez
School: Laredo United | Wins: 231
12. John King
School: Longview | Wins: 223
13. Brent Davis
School: San Angelo Central | Wins: 221
14. Scott Suratt
School: Carthage | Wins: 218
15. Jake Fieszel
School: Gunter | Wins: 210
16. Jack Alvarez
School: Copperas Cove | Wins: 205
17. Bo Robinson
School: Yoakum | Wins: 203
18. Gary Koch
School: Houston Memorial | Wins: 194
19. Ricky Lock
School: San Antonio Southside | Wins: 193
20. Richard Whitaker
School: Port Lavaca Calhoun | Wins: 191
Records, via Texas High School Football History, are updated through 2023 season. Read the rest of the coaching leaders and all-timers here.
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2024 Texas high school football preview
Stay with SBLive's preseason coverage in the lead up to the 2024 Texas high school football season and the start of games on Aug. 29.
We're taking a position-by-position look at the top players returning in the Lone Star State this fall, starting with 50 quarterbacks, 70 running backs, 40 wide receivers, 25 tight ends, 25 offensive linemen, 30 cornerbacks, 25 safeties and 45 linebackers.
Which teams are district favorites? Top sleepers? We're going district-by-district and choosing both, starting with 6A Districts 1-16, 6A Districts 17-32, 5A Division I and 5A Division II.
We examined offseason player movement and the 12 transfers that will have the biggest impact in the fall.
Who are the most underrated teams in the Lone Star State entering the season? We're taking a look by region at the programs poised to out-perform expectations, starting with North Texas, Southeast Texas and Central Texas.
The Lone Star State is home to many of the country's top prospects. We examined the top 20 committed recruits in the state and where they're headed. And we narrowed down the 25 best uncommitted players in the state — and where they're at in their respective recruitments.
-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx