Coach Randy Allen is preparing for his 28th year at the helm as head football coach at Highland Park High School in Dallas. He's been coaching for over 50 years; 43 of those as a head coach at Ballinger, Brownwood, Abilene Cooper, and HP. He has coached his teams to the Texas UIL playoffs in 40 of those seasons. He has the second most wins in Texas high school football history with a record of 472-100-6. He has three state championships under his belt for the Scots. A native of Abilene, Coach Allen attended SMU on a football scholarship, and also played baseball. He received a Master's degree in education from Texas A&M. He has won numerous awards including his induction in the THSCA Hall of Honor (2005), the NFHS National Coach of the Year (2018), and the DFW FCA Tom Landry Award (2024).
Coach Allen has been married to his wife Carolyn for over 50 years. They have two children, Zac and Ashley, and are blessed with eight grandchildren.
What originally inspired you to become a football coach? My Dad was my first coach, and he inspired me to become a football coach. He practiced with me and taught me about football, came to all my games and talked highly of the high school coaches in Abilene.
What are you most proud of in your coaching career?
I am most proud of the young men I have coached who have gone on to be great husbands, fathers and have careers giving back to their communities. A good example is Matthew Stafford, the 2025 NFL MVP and a Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, who is a father to 4 young girls, a great husband and role model for young people.
Was there a specific game or season that stands out as our favorite and why?
The 2017 State Championship win over Manvel is memorable. We were behind until the last minute of the game and scored the winning TD with 34 seconds left. Our defense tackled the Manvel receiver on the 1-yard line to win the game, 53-49. Some sports writers called it the best state championship game ever. I remember the competitiveness of our team. We believed that no matter what happened, we would find a way to win. John Stephen Jones was our QB who threw for 565 yards and James Herring made the tackle on the 1-yard line to seal the victory.
What’s the biggest lesson football taught you – on and off the field?
Coaching football is much bigger than wins and losses. The relationships you have with the players are more important. The character they develop by working hard and overcoming adversity are lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Instilling in them these beliefs to succeed and learn to give back to the community are part of my responsibility.
What makes a great coach?
-Loyalty is number one. Loyalty to the coaches, schools, and players.
-Developing relationships with players and being able to motivate them to be their best.
-Hard work of film study and knowing the offense, defense, and game plan.
-Being a great teacher on the field and in the classroom.
-Becoming an expert at some phase of your sport.
How do you handle tough losses or challenging seasons?
Prayer and Bible study. Realizing I was called to coach is like a preacher being called to preach. The priorities in my life are Faith, Family and Football. Use setbacks to make the players hungry for a comeback the next week. My purpose is to love my players to put them in position to be successful. When my teams come out on the losing end, I want to teach the players how to learn from a loss and keep football in perspective.
What is the main thing people don’t see about being a head coach that they should know?
The number of hours coaches spend to make sure they give their teams the best chance to be successful. The character talks, Bible studies and book studies coaches do with their players. The expertise that coaches have about the positions they coach. Head coaches make decisions on what is best for the team.
If you could go back and give your younger coaching self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Enjoy the time you get to coach the young men in your program. Enjoy the relationships and friendships with your coaching staff.
Can you share a bit about your journey with Jesus Christ and how your faith has grown over the years?
I became a believer when I was 12 years old. I believed that Christ is the Son of God and gave His life on the cross to save me from my sins and give me eternal life. That belief that I could best serve him by influencing the young men I coach has been my purpose. I’ve worked with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Young Life, Kamp Kanakuk and Coaches Outreach to fellowship with other coaches who have strong relationships with Christ. We have a voluntary chapel the night of our games with a guest speaker who shares a story from the Bible. My faith grew when I committed to spend 10 minutes minimum a day reading and meditating on the Bible.
How did your faith shape who you are – not just as a coach, but as a man?
My faith gave me my purpose for coaching. My faith was important in hiring coaches. My faith was important when I was making decisions about whether to take another coaching job or stay where I was.
Give an example in your coaching career where you had to lean heavily on your faith?
When I took my first head coaching position, we went 2-8. I thought I had made the worst decision of my life by taking a program that hadn’t won in years and struggled my first season. I was depressed and thought about leaving. As I prayed and read the Bible, I knew God wanted me to love the players and coaches and keep developing them. It was one of the most rewarding times of my coaching career to stick it out and see how God worked in the lives of our players and coaches.
How do you model Christ-like leadership to your players and staff?
We have Coaches Outreach Bible studies for our coaching staff. We pray for one another after each study. We have coaches share with the team about character after practice. Most of the time they'll use a scripture to illustrate the character trait. Our coaches give testimonies at FCA meetings. I also speak at different events of the YMCA or youth groups about my faith.
What advice would you give to new coaches just starting out?
Make sure you love to coach and would not be happy doing anything else. Get on a coaching staff with a head coach who is successful and has Christian values. Be sure your wife is supportive and believes you are in coaching to develop young men and their character and faith in Christ.
Describe a specific time when you talked about faith with your players or fellow coaches.
I took a player to an FCA camp at Texas A&M University. We heard speakers give their testimonies. After the meeting, I witnessed the athlete as he prayed with his counselor to receive Christ as his Savior. I talked with him afterwards and we hugged, and I told him I loved him and was so proud of his decision. He invited me to his wedding, and he is now a coach and having a strong impact on his family and players.
How did prayer or scripture play a role in your preparation, motivation, or mindset as a coach?
I’ve used prayer journals with our teams. I have every player’s picture and a list of prayer requests. I usually write the answer to the prayer when it happens, and I keep it so I can remember all the times I was worried about something, and God answered my prayer.
Reading the Bible for 10 minutes a day has changed my life by thinking God’s thoughts and not being conformed to what I read in the newspaper or on the internet.
Looking back, how do you see God’s hand at work throughout your coaching career?
The journey has been awesome. To see how God has taken my career and provided opportunities to influence young men. To see how those young men have matured, and now I am coaching their sons. To see my former players having Christian influence on their sons and the community is so motivating. To see how God moved my family from one job to another and end up in Highland Park. And, the blessing of being close to my children, their spouses, and my eight grandchildren is amazing.