Tired: High school football coaches in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex make a lot of money.
Wired: Most of them are still underpaid.
The Texas high school football reason runs from August to early November or the final Saturday before Christmas, depending on how far you advance in the playoffs, but the job never stops. Many of these men (most?) also have duties overseeing the other sports on campus, making their winter and their spring somehow busier than their fall. But it's more than that.
There's no faster way, especially in Texas, for a town to drive growth than a successful athletics program -- which begins with a successful football program. Winning football programs drive population growth, which pushes up home prices, which increases the tax base, which in turn funnels back into the school district. That's the story in a number of Texas towns, and even more who are trying to get there.
The Dallas Morning News has published the salaries of 140 head coaches in its coverage area, and we've highlighted the top 25 below. The list is led by Southlake Carroll and followed by his father, Lucas Lovejoy's Todd Dodge. The elder Dodge is a 7-time state champion, including one over his son Riley, who now leads Todd's former program. Todd Dodge retired in 2021 after three state titles at Austin Westlake, then returned in 2024 to Lucas Lovejoy, a rising program in booming Colin County. Riley Dodge has lost all of two regular season games since taking over his alma mater in 2018, but has also yet to end Southlake Carroll's state championship drought, which dates back to the pre-historic times of 2011. He reached the state game in 2020 and again last season, but this year's team may be his best -- the Dragons are the unanimous No. 1 team in the state and are a consensus top 10 team nationally.
Elsewhere, Highland Park's Randy Allen is a 4-time state champion who may or may not be able to afford to live within his own school district, where the median home price is well north of $2 million. Duncanville's Reginald Samples, DeSoto's Claude Mathis, and Argyle's Todd Rodgers have each won multiple state championships, while others like Denton Ryan's Dave Henigan, South Oak Cliff's Jason Todd and Celina's Bill Elliott are state champions who did not crack the top 25.
(All salaries rounded to the nearest thousand.)
1. Riley Dodge, Southlake Carroll -- $175,000
2. Todd Dodge, Lucas Lovejoy -- $165,000
3. Marvin Sedberry, Jr., Terrell -- $160,000
4. Rodney Webb, Rockwall-Heath -- $159,000
5. Randy Allen, Highland Park -- $157,000
6. Lee Wiginton, Allen -- $154,000
7. Reginald Samples, Duncanville -- $147,000
8. Claude Mathis, DeSoto -- $145,000
9. Scott Peach, Arlington -- $145,000
10. Richard Barrett, Kennedale -- $144,000
11. Todd Rodgers, Argyle -- $143,000
12. Cody White, Plano -- $142,000
13. Brian Basil, Flower Mound -- $142,000
14. Trey Brooks, Rockwall -- $142,000
15. Chris James, Arlington Sam Houston -- $141,000
16. Rudy Rangel, The Colony -- $141,000
17. Marcus Shavers, North Forney -- $140,000
17. Jeff Fleener, Forney -- $140,000
19. Mike Alexander, Flower Mound Marcus -- $140,000
20. Laban Delay, South Grand Prairie -- $140,000
21. Kenchee Ross, Grand Prairie -- $140,000
22. Michael Odle, Lewisville -- $139,000
23. Antonio Wiley, Coppell -- $138,000
24. Tommy Allison, Prosper Walnut Grove -- $138,000
25. John Towles, Hebron -- $137,000