$150k to go 0-5: North Texas’ 10 Highest Paid High School Football Coaches

Anyone who grew up watching one of the best TV shows of the aughts, Friday Night Lights, knows that the Texas high school football field is the place where boys become men. And anyone who grew up with a massive crush on Coach Eric Taylor knows that it’s not just any man who can be trusted to mold the clear eyes and full hearts of an ambitious teenage squad who start the season believing they can’t lose. 

This time of year, the head high school football coach at any given high school might be the most important man in a town, and as it turns out, most are paid as such. Over the summer, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram requested the salaries of head football coaches at nearly 150 North Texas high schools. 

The Fort Worth paper found that the average head coach in the area makes $125,724. In 2024, the average salary for Texas teachers was just under $62,500.

As The Dallas Morning News pointed out in a recent report, head football coaches play an unusual role in a high school, and their relatively high pay reflects that. Most work through the summer, and many serve in athletic director or coordinator positions outside of their responsibility to their teams. Joe Martin, executive director of the Texas High School Coaches Association, told the Morning News there is a 20% attrition rate in coaching each year, mainly due to the burnout and mental health challenges that come when a whole community is demanding success. 

For many of North Texas’ highest-paid coaches, though, success has come season after season, and many have remained in their posts for years. 

North Texas’ highest-paid head coach for the 2025 season is Riley Dodge, leader of the Southlake Carroll Dragons. Southlake’s football squad has gained fame for its consistently deep playoff runs — last season, its only loss came in the state championship game — and so far this season, it’s sitting at five wins and zero losses. 

Dodge’s salary for the season is $175,000, nearly $20k more than his closest competitor’s, the Star-Telegram reports. Southlake is pouring money into Dodge. Just three years ago, he ranked 20th in the North Texas rankings with a $131,000 salary. 

Highland Park and Rockwall-Heath High School’s coaches come in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, raking in nearly $159,000 each. Highland Park’s Randy Allen claims the title of winningest coach in the state, and led the Scots to a three-peat state championship in 2016, 2017 and 2018. 

At No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 are Duncanville, Allen and Kennedale high schools, respectively. Head coaches at those schools are making between $150,000 and $156,000 a year. This is also where we start to see a more inconsistent record when it comes to the start of the 2025 season. 

Southlake Carroll sits undefeated, and Highland Park’s only loss so far has come at the hands of Rockwall-Heath. Rockwall-Heath has also seen one loss in an early game against Prosper. Duncanville has only played three games so far this season, and they’ve won two and lost one. Allen, like the Dragons, is undefeated at 5-0. Kennendale is sitting at 2-3. 

Then there’s Lake Worth High School. Head coach Todd Peterman is making $150,000 this year, and so far, the team has recorded zero wins and five losses. 

Still, Lake Worth Superintendent Mark Ramirez told the Star-Telegram that he feels coaches’ salaries are worth it because most students come to school to “compete.” 

“Coaches add that value. Connecting with students, motivating them and giving them direction. And a lot of times, especially football coaches, serving as father figures,” Ramirez said. 

The eighth, ninth and 10th highest paid football coaches are at Decatur, Arlington and DeSoto high schools. They are making between $144,000 a year and $146,900. 

It takes a while for Dallas ISD to show up on the list, and the Star-Telegram reports that salaries for coaches at Dallas Skyline, Dallas Roosevelt and Dallas Samuell were unavailable. South Oak Cliff High School’s Jason Todd is the 24th highest paid coach in the region, and Dallas ISD’s highest paid football coach, with a $135,875 salary. Joshua Ragsdale, head coach at Dallas ISD’s Conrad High School, sits at No. 25 with a salary only a few bucks lower than Todd’s.