VYPE: How long have you coached the Chandler Lions’ football team?
Jack: I have been the head coach for seven years, and I was the assistant coach for one year.
VYPE: What all sports do you coach? (Head coach or assistant)
Jack: High school and junior high football, high school and junior high powerlifting, and junior high baseball.
VYPE: What do you enjoy most about coaching?
Jack: I really enjoy getting to be creative through plays and schemes and getting to see it all come into action. I love the chess battle. However, what I enjoy the most is the relationships I get to build with my players that get to continue after their high school career. I have had a few players who want to be coaches now and choose to come back and help coach while they are going to school.
VYPE: What caused you to get into coaching?
Jack: When I was an athlete in Chandler, we had a ton of success, with amazing support from the community and a team that felt more like a brotherhood. Coming back to Chandler, I wanted to show these kids that if they work hard and do things right, they could have that same type of experience. It’s always a highlight for me when a team comes together and I get to watch them have that same experience.
VYPE: Who are some coaches that have impacted or influenced you or your career?
Jack: Two of my High School coaches, Neal Bacon and Dickie Smith, were very inspirational to me. They each had different coaching personalities, but both taught me so many life lessons that I still apply today. How I choose to coach stems a lot from how I was taught by those two guys. What got me to walk into coaching was my wife’s late father, Mark Howard, a long-time baseball coach at Chandler. Seeing the impact he made on his players and town and the relationships he created throughout the state made me realize how honorable coaching is.
VYPE: Who are some college or professional coaches that you look up to, if any?
Jack: Our offense is very unique compared to most high school teams in Oklahoma. I don’t know of many other teams that consider themselves “wide zone” teams. I love following Kyle Shanahan, head coach of the 49ers, and seeing the creativity he uses in a wide zone, West Coast offense. I’ve also always followed Nick Saban. I like his mentality in coaching, as he holds his team and program to high expectations. I relate a lot to his morals and principles.
