12/29/2025
Where are all the rising young Indiana high school football coaches?
Mt Vernon Fortville just hired Mike Kirschner, who has coached at Ben Davis, Mt Vernon, Warren Central and Hamilton Heights over the past decade. Coach K is now back for another run with the Marauders. MV fans, how do you feel about that choice?
Benton Central hired Herb King, who is taking over his 6th Indiana high school football program.
West Vigo hired long time Coach Brian Crabtree away from North Vermillion.
Perhaps the Indiana prep coaching bench is not quite so deep after all.
We will see somewhere around 45 to 50 jobs change hands following the 2025 season. That's on top of 70 after the 2024 season and 60 after 2023.
Add em up. That's 175 schools changes coaches over a 3 year period. We have 320 schools that play football. That's a 3 year coaching turnover rate of 55%
That is not sustainable and is damaging to the overall health of the game.
Of even greater concern is the amount of young coaches who are leaving the game.
Its official. Indiana has a coaching problem at the high school football level. Turnover is way too high. The bench of qualified rising assistants is thinning out. Many are leaving the game completely.
IFCA - what are you doing to address these issues?
The coaching turnover problem has a direct and highly negative impact on competitive balance. Challenged programs are having a very difficult time attracting qualified candidates. The rich get richer. The poor sink further. Its a self fulfilling prophecy.
Crown Point HC Craig Buzea has 7 former head coaches on his staff. Is that an example of a local football magnet drawing the best coaching talent or just general hoarding?
On the other end of the spectrum, Whiting and LaPorte have churned thru a combined 10 head coaches in the past 5 years.
The levee is about to break. IFCA, The IHSAA and individual school corporations need to round table quickly and address this growing problem. Before too long, many schools will adopt the nuclear option, which is to drop football completely because the juice is no longer worth the squeeze.
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