Nebraska high school coaching legend retires after 25 seasons

One of the longest-tenured high school football coaches in Nebraska is officially hanging up his whistle.

Kearney (Neb.) coach Brandon Cool told his team on Monday afternoon he’s retiring from the program after 25 years at the helm, according to multiple reports. Cook took over the program in 2001 and took them to the playoffs in his first year.

He followed that up with one of the more impressive runs in recent memory, making the postseason in all but two of his 25 seasons. He won 24 playoff games, including a state championship in 2006, a state runner-up finish in 2017 and a Final 4 appearance in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to be the head football coach at Kearney High School,” Cool said in a statement released by the school. “A special thanks to all the past and present assistant football coaches. As I have said before, there is no better coaching staff in the state of Nebraska than my staff that I have had the honor of working alongside.”

Over the course of his quarter century leading the program, Cool amassed a record of 186-82, winning just a shade under 70 percent of games he coached. This season, Kearney ended the year 7-4 after falling to Omaha Westside in the NSAA Class A quarterfinals.

Cool was the third-longest tenured coach in Class A, trailing only John Gingery of Lincoln East and Larry Martin of Omaha North.

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