If early expectations are measured by the company he keeps, Kearney Head Football Coach Logan Minnick brings a promising future to the Bulldogs. Minnick has coached under the leadership of three Missouri Football Coaches Association (MFCA) Hall of Fame inductees.

“I was fortunate to play under Hall of Fame Coach Rob Bowers at Richmond High School. We had some good teams when I played there in 2004. I went on to play college football at William Jewell,” said Minnick.

*Kearney Bulldogs Head Football Coach, Logan Minnick*

“My first year out of college, I had the opportunity to go back and teach at Richmond and coach under Rob Bowers, which was huge for me,” Minnick added.

Rob Bowers, a member of the MFCA Hall of Fame coached the Richmond Spartans football program for 22 years. With a 149-99 record, Bowers coached his teams to seven conference and nine district championships and competed in three state semifinals.

“I was at Staley for two years under another hall of fame coach, Fred Bouchard, which was a great experience,” said Minnick.

In his 20 years of coaching, Fred Bouchard, also a member of the MFCA Hall of Fame, has a 201-48 record that includes five state championships. Bouchard is currently head football coach at Missouri Class 4 MICDS in St. Louis.

Minnick went on to say, “In 2011, I had the opportunity to coach at North Kansas City under Head Coach Leon Douglas.”

Leon Douglas was a 2019 nominee for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award and has gained dozens of local and national coaching recognitions.

Minnick’s Kearney connection is familiar to Bulldog fans. He was on the staff when MFCA Hall of Fame coach, Greg Jones, led Kearney to a state championship in 2015 and returned as a state finalist the following year. Jones had a 119-23 record when he began his current position as head football coach at Liberty North High School.

“Coach Jones has a great attention to detail,” says Minnick. “He made sure his teams had players who loved playing football. He’s a great salesman, making sure all the athletes in the hallways are a part of the football team. He really knows how to get the kids excited and buying into the program.”

It’s difficult to land a head coaching position with no head coaching experience. Successful coaches recognize it’s sometimes necessary to take a job with a struggling program.

*Kearney scrimmaged against the Raytown Bluejays in the 2019 Liberty Jamboree.* Photo: David Smith - MaxPreps

The Raytown Bluejays suffered losing seasons for 28 years. They lost 13 straight games to their cross-town rival, Raytown South. “I took the Raytown head coaching job because I needed head coaching experience, said Minnick. “It took about a year to start turning the program around.”

Shifting a losing culture begins with accountability. “Just getting the kids to show up for practice was the first challenge,” said Minnick. “We put up a pushpin map and created a car-pool plan. Coaches and senior players with cars committed to driving their teammates to practice. Sometimes I had five players in my car. Not having a ride would not be an excuse to miss practice.”

Under Minnick, self-determination and accountability began to improve. “If a player didn’t show up for weightlifting or skipped practice, they didn’t play. Once we got them to show up, they started having fun,” Minnick added. “Sometimes we couldn’t get them to go home.”

Minnick accepted what could have been an ill-fated challenge by taking the Raytown head coach position. With four consecutive winning seasons, two conference championships, three district championship appearances and advancing the Bluejays to the state quarterfinals – against overwhelming odds – he turned the Raytown program into a winner.

“We had a heck of a run (at Raytown). I witnessed a program and a community take on a complete shift in culture. It (was) an absolute privilege and honor to bring a program with so much tradition back to relevance and good standing,” said Minnick.

Welcome home, Coach Minnick. Welcome back to Kearney Bulldog Football.

KPGZ Sports – Mike Davis contributed to this story.