Top 10 high school football head coaches with less than 10 years experience

However, some of the greatest coaches in the high school game today would need to coach for another half century and would still fall a few years short of McKissick and Tighe. That goes to show that longevity isn't always a sign of coaching success.

Here's a look at some of the nation's top coaches who have less than 10 years of head coaching experience at the varsity level.
Top 10 head coaches under 10 years experience

Kenny Sanchez, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 2015
Granted he took over for his brother, Tony, who left to coach UNLV, but Kenny Sanchez was the defensive coordinator during a run of success that included six straight state championships and a national championship. As a head coach, Sanchez has led the Gaels to three more state titles and two more national championships. He is 43-4 in just over three seasons on the job.

Justin Alumbaugh, De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 2013
It's never easy following a legend. Just ask Phil Bengston. Don't remember him? He's the coach that followed Vince Lombardi with the Green Bay Packers. But Alumbaugh has done a spectacular job keeping the De La Salle machine running smoothly since the retirement of Bob Ladouceur (399-25-3). The Spartans are 66-6 with appearances in five straight state championship games (12 straight appearances including seven under Ladouceur), winning two in 2014 and 2015.

Although he has coached for over 20 years, Aguano has only been the head coach at Chandler since 2011. He has led Chandler to three state titles in the past four years — the first on-the-field championships in school history. Chandler has also won a pair of year-end bowl games, beating Valdosta (Ga.) in 2016 and Northwestern (Miami) in 2017. Chandler is 77-19 in his eight seasons as head coach.

Jon Holmes, Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), 2012
Promoted to head coach in 2012 after several years as offensive coordinator under former coach Tim Grunhard, Holmes has led the Stags to their greatest run in school history with four straight state championships and a pair of 13-0 seasons. Holmes is 67-10 since taking over as the head coach. The Stags were 41-26 in the six years prior to his promotion.

Jason Mohns, Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 2012
The Sabercats weren't pushovers under previous coaches John Sanders and Mike Reardon, winning five state titles in six seasons. But Mohns, who served as an assistant under Sanders before taking over the head coaching job, went one step further by winning a state record five consecutive titles between 2013 and 2017. Saguaro is 74-10 under Mohns, including 65-5 during the championship run.

Joey King, Cartersville (Ga.), 2014
Since taking over for 18-year veteran Frank Bearden, King has taken Cartersville to back-to-back state championships and a pair of 15-0 seasons. He coached the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2017 in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and he has a record of 55-4 two games into his fifth year with the Hurricanes.

Steve Jones, Kimberly (Wis.), 2011
Has a high school coach ever had a better start in his first job than Jones? After a pair of 9-2 seasons, Jones posted five straight 14-0 seasons, five state championships and 70 straight wins with the Papermakers. Jones spent five years as offensive coordinator under previous head coach Steve Jorgensen (who won a pair of state titles), before taking over the helm in 2011. Although the 70-game win streak came to an end in the first game of the 2018 season, Jones has a 90-5 career coaching record as of Sept. 1.

Troy McAllister, Phillips (Chicago), 2010
When McAllister began at Phillips in 2010, he reportedly had only 12 players show up to practice. The slow start for McAllister (2-7 in the first year) has turned into a roaring freight train as Phillips is 51-4 in the last four seasons with two 14-0 seasons and a pair of state championships. Phillips is the first Chicago Public League school to ever win a state championship.

Jeremy Thielbahr, Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.), 2011
Prior to Thielbahr's arrival at Eastside Catholic, the Crusaders had not won more than nine games in any of their previous six seasons. Under Thielbahr, Eastside Catholic has won two Class 3A state championships, posted double-digit wins for six straight seasons and racked up a record of 78-13. One of those state championships included a 2015 win over perennial champion Bellevue, ending a 67-game win streak.

Carl Abseck, Cedar Park (Texas), 2015
After many years as an assistant coach, including 10 years at Cedar Park, Abseck moved up to head coach in 2015 and promptly won a Texas Class 5A Division 2 state championship. Cedar Park went 38-3 in his first three seasons, including two seasons in which they went 10-0 during the regular season.