At some point during the 2023 high school football season, a new coach will become the all-time leader in wins. When exactly this will happen is a matter of debate in more than one way.
J.T. Curtis from John Curtis Christian in River Ridge, Louisiana, has 615 career wins, according to coaching wins historian Steven Floyd’s records. Curtis is just six wins away from breaking the all-time record held by John McKissick from Summerville, South Carolina. Or is it seven wins?
The confusion arises from McKissick’s reported total career wins. His Wikipedia page and the National Federation of High Schools’ record book both list him with 621 wins. However, Floyd’s careful research indicates McKissick had 620 wins. Similarly, the NFHS record book states Curtis has 588 wins, while Floyd’s count is 615.
The difference in numbers is due to forfeited wins and losses. In 2012, Summerville lost to Goose Creek (S.C.) during the regular season, but Goose Creek had to forfeit 10 games, including the Summerville win, due to using an ineligible player. This forfeiture turned into a win for Summerville, making the extra victory for McKissick.
Curtis’ record is also affected by forfeits. After the 2015 season, John Curtis Christian was penalized for a recruiting violation involving a player’s housing. The Louisiana High School Athletic Association made the Patriots forfeit 20 wins, including the 2013 state championship. As a result, some reckonings of J.T. Curtis’s record show far fewer wins than the 615 reported by MaxPreps.
To keep things the same, MaxPreps will look only at what happens on the field when figuring out total coaching wins over time. This method aligns with Floyd’s research approach and is also endorsed by Texas historian Joe Lee Smith. The reason for this approach is that forfeit wins and losses often happen long after a season ends, making them difficult to accurately assign or subtract.
So, sometime around the middle of October, high school football might see a new leader in all-time wins. If John Curtis Christian, which was picked as the best team in the state for the 2023 season by Zack Poff of MaxPreps in June, manages to win their first six games, J.T. Curtis could secure his 621st win against Archbishop Rummel (Metairie) on October 6. That’s nearly 30 years, almost to the exact day, since McKissick became the coach with the most wins in the nation. Or is it 31 years?
McKissick’s “official” record-breaking moment happened when he got his 406th win, a 42-0 victory over Wando (Mt. Pleasant), on October 8, 1993.However, as it happens, McKissick had actually achieved the record a year before with his 395th victory, also against Wando, in 1992.
The mistake in Gordon Wood’s career record came to light in 2001 when Texas historians found out that Wood had been given extra wins by accident. This included six extra wins in his first year at Rule (Texas), where his record was listed as 8-2 instead of the correct 2-8. This corrected Wood’s record to 396 wins. Later on, Joe Lee Smith figured out that two of Wood’s wins at Roscoe (Texas) in 1945 shouldn’t count because he was still serving in the military during World War II.
As a result, Wood’s actual all-time wins record was 394 wins, not 405, and McKissick took over from Wood in 1992 with the Wando win.
Curtis is easily the coach with the most wins currently active in the nation. He’s ahead of No. 2 Robert Hyland of St. Mary’s Springs (Fond du Lac, Wis.) by more than 100 wins. Hyland crossed the 500-win mark last year and has 503 wins, which makes him just the fourth coach in high school history to reach that milestone. Curtis and Hyland are at the top of the list of the 50 coaches with the most wins in 2023.
The lineup doesn’t have the well-known coaches who’ve been around for a while, like Bill Castle from Lakeland (Fla.), Ken Leonard from Sacred Heart-Griffin (Springfield, Ill.), Chuck Kyle from St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio), Jim Teague from Reidsville (N.C.), Bruce Rollinson from Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), and Paul Sacco from St. Joseph (Hammonton, N.J.). All of them called it a day after the 2022 season.
Castle wrapped up his career with 474 total wins, the most ever seen in the history of Florida state. At the same time, Leonard concluded with 416 victories, a record in Illinois. Both Castle and Leonard enjoyed a flawless 14-0 season, securing a state championship in their last years. Teague’s tally reached 380 wins, Kyle closed with 376, Sacco completed with 357, and Rollinson finalized with 341.
Read also: Top 300 Ranking High School Football America 2023 Preseason
Top 50 Winningest Active Coaches In High School Football
1. (No. 1 last year) John T. Curtis — 615
Current school: John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.)
Record: 615-77-6
Years: 54 (1969)
State championships: 28 (includes forfeited 2013 championship).
Last year: 12-2
2. (2) Robert Hyland — 503
Current school: St. Mary’s Springs (Fond du Lac, Wis.)
Record: 503-115-2
Years: 52 (1971)
State championships: 17
Last year: 11-2
3. (3) Jim Roth — 484
Current school: Southern Columbia Area (Catawissa, Pa.)
Record: 484-67-2
Years: 39 (1984)
State championships: 13
Last year: 13-3
4. (4) Gary Rankin — 473
Current school: Boyd-Buchanan (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Record: 473-82-0
Years: 41 (1982)
State championships: 17
Last year: 7-5
5. (5) Philip Haywood — 471
Current school: Belfry (Ky.)
Record: 471-154-0
Years: 48 (1975)
State championships: 7
Last year: 6-6
6. (7) Tommy Knotts — 466
Current school: Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.)
Record: 466-66-0
Years: 39 (1983)
State championships: 14
Last year: 14-1
7. (8) Jerry Sinz — 458
Current school: Edgar (Wis.)
Record: 458-90-0
Years: 48 (1975)
State championships: 7
Last year: 10-2
8. (9) Jim Hightower — 460
Current school: St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.)
Record: 460-134-1
Years: 48 (1975)
State championships: 5
Last year: 13-1
9. (10) Larry “Bud” Wright — 447
Current school: Sheridan (Ind.)
Record: 447-209-2
Years: 58 (1965)
State championships: 8
Last year: 11-2
10. (11) Jerry Pezzetti — 440
Current school: Ankeny Centennial (Iowa)
Record: 440-182-1
Years: 62 (1961)
State championships: 2
Last year: 5-5
11. (12) Randy Allen — 435
Current school: Highland Park (Dallas, Texas)
Record: 435-93-6
Years: 42 (1981)
State championships: 4
Last year: 11-1
12. (13) Lea “Bill” Hurst — 423
Current school: Centreville Academy (Centreville, Miss.)
Record: 423-143-0
Years: 46 (1975)
State championships: 9
Last year: 5-7
13. (14) Alan Chadwick — 419
Current school: Marist (Atlanta)
Record: 419-78-0
Years: 38 (1985)
State championships: 3
Last year: 10-3
14. (15) Dudley Hilton — 418
Current school: Bell County (Pineville, Ky.)
Record: 418-132-0
Years: 45 (1974)
State championships: 3
Last year: 10-3
15. (17) Reno Saccoccia — 412
Current school: Steubenville (Ohio)
Record: 412-83-0
Years: 40 (1983)
State championships: 4
Last year: 12-3
16. (19) Herb Brogan — 395
Current school: Lumen Christi Catholic (Jackson, Mich.)
Record: 395-91-0
Years: 43 (1980)
State championships: 10
Last year: 11-3
17. (20) Lewis Cook — 393
Current school: Notre Dame (Crowley, La.)
Record: 393-92-0
Years: 38 (1977)
State championships: 4
Last year: 10-3
18. (23) Jeff Bellar — 393
Current school: Norfolk Catholic (Norfolk, Neb.)
Record: 393-77-0
Years: 41 (1982)
State championships: 10
Last year: 13-0
19. (26) Bill Young — 392
Current school: Catholic Memorial (Waukesha, Wis.)
Record: 392-121-0
Years: 45 (1978)
State championships: 9
Last year: 13-1
20. (20) Gary Swenson — 391
Current school: Valley (West Des Moines, Iowa)
Record: 391-123-0
Years: 47 (1976)
State championships: 6
Last year: 8-5
21. (22) Dwight Lundeen — 390
Current school: Becker (Minn.)
Record: 390-166-3
Years: 53 (1970)
State championships: 3
Last year: 8-2
22. (18) Ken LaChapelle — 388
Current school: Northbridge (Whitinsville, Mass.)
Record: 388-127-6
Years: 47 (1976)
State championships: 10
Last year: 3-8
22. (26) Russ Radtke — 388
Current school: Knox (Ind.)
Record: 388-156-0
Years: 46 (1977)
State championships: 1
Last year: 9-4
24. (28) Robbie Pruitt — 386
Current school: Williston (Fla.)
Record: 386-95-1
Years: 39 (1984)
State championships: 7
Last year: 10-1
25. (23) Mike Snyder — 383
Current school: Seminole (Okla.)
Record: 383-135-0
Years: 43 (1980)
State championships: 1
Last year: 3-7
26. (29) Lou Marinelli — 380
Current school: New Canaan (Conn.)
Record: 380-112-7
Years: 44 (1976)
State championships: 13
Last year: 12-1
27. (31) Mike Grant — 376
Current school: Eden Prairie (Minn.)
Record: 376-79-0
Years: 40 (1981)
State championships: 11
Last year: 9-3
28. (34) Monte Kohler — 370
Current school: O’Dea (Seattle, Wash.)
Record: 370-63-2
Years: 38 (1985)
State championships: 4
Last year: 10-2
29. (33) Ed Domsitz — 367
Current school: Archbishop Alter (Kettering, Ohio)
Record: 367-169-1
Years: 47 (1976)
State championships: 2
Last year: 6-6
30. (35) Bob Howard — 363
Current school: Webster City (Iowa)
Record: 363-110-0
Years: 46 (1977)
State championships: 3
Last year: 6-4
31. (36) Mike Gillin — 359
Current school: Mooresville (Ind.)
Record: 359-140-0
Years: 44 (1979)
State championships: 0
Last year: 8-3
32. (38) Larry French — 356
Current school: Middlesboro (Ky.)
Record: 356-172-0
Years: 45 (1978)
State championships: 2
Last year: 7-4
33. (40) Burton Cates — 355
Current school: Eastern Randolph (Ramseur, N.C.)
Record: 355-129-0
Years: 39 (1984)
State championships: 1
Last year: 11-2
34. (43) John DiBiaso — 353
Current school: Catholic Memorial (West Roxbury, Mass.)
Record: 353-81-2
Years: 41 (1982)
State championships: 15
Last year: 12-0
35. (45) Bob Wolfrum — 350
Current school: Wyomissing (Pa.)
Record: 350-87-1
Years: 36 (1987)
State championships: 1
Last year: 13-1
36. (46) Kevin Clancy — 348
Current school: Strath Haven (Wallingford, Pa.)
Record: 348-151-2
Years: 42 (1981)
State championships: 2
Last year: 12-1
36. (46) Terry Curtis — 348
Current school: UMS-Wright Prep (Mobile, Ala.)
Record: 348-93-0
Years: 34 (1989)
State championships: 8
Last year: 12-1
38. (46) Kevin Wallace — 346
Current school: St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.)
Record: 346-116-0
Years: 37 (1984)
State championships: 6
Last year: 10-2
39. (46) Ken Potter — 345
Current school: Jesuit (Portland, Ore.)
Record: 345-82-0
Years: 36 (1987)
State championships: 4
Last year: 9-2
40. (44) Randy Baughman — 344
Current school: Licking Valley (Newark, Ohio)
Record: 344-126-1
Years: 42 (1981)
State championships: 0
Last year: 5-4
40. (NR) Denney Faith — 344
Current school: Albany (Texas)
Record: 344-110-4
Years: 36 (1987)
State championships: 1
Last year: 14-2
42. (NR) Danny Horn — 341
Current school: Central of Clay County (Lineville, Ala.)
Record: 341-96-0
Years: 34 (1989)
State championships: 8
Last year: 7-3
43. (NR) Dino Garr — 339
Current school: Rye (N.Y.)
Record: 339-112-4
Years: 47 (1976)
State championships: 3
Last year: 9-2
44. (NR) Paul Benefield — 337
Current school: Fyffe (Ala.)
Record: 337-55-0
Years: 31 (1992)
State championships: 6
Last year: 15-0
45. (NR) Brian O’Reilly — 336
Current school: Pinkerton (Derry, N.H.)
Record: 336-128-0
Years: 45 (1978)
State championships: 11
Last year: 9-3
46. (NR) Jeff Herron — 331
Current school: Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.)
Record: 331-68-0
Years: 32 (1989)
State championships: 5
Last year: 8-4
47. (NR) Pat Rice — 330
Current school: Waunakee (Wis.)
Record: 330-44-0
Years: 31 (1992)
State championships: 7
Last year: 11-1
48. (NR) Joe Frappoli — 327
Current school: Florence Township Memorial (Florence, N.J.)
Record: 327-159-5
Years: 49 (1974)
State championships: 6
Last year: 7-2
48. (NR) John Hart — 327
Current school: Brownsburg (Ind.)
Record: 327-98-0
Years: 38 (1985)
State championships: 2
Last year: 10-2
50. (NR) Reginald Samples — 326
Current school: Duncanville (Texas)
Record: 326-87-2
Years: 33 (1990)
State championships: 1
Last year: 15-0
