Building a consistent powerhouse tougher th..

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

While looking over this week's edition of Felt's Facts, a collection of news and notes from state high school football historian George Felt, I was struck by the all-time winning percentage for coaches with a minimum of 10 years on the sidelines.

The man standing at the top is San Juan's Monty Lee at .824. Lee has been guiding the Broncos since 2003.

The only other active coach in the top 10 is Pine View's Ray Hosner at .732. He's been at Pine View since 2001.

In fact, seven of the top 10 wrapped up their coaching careers by 1990.

San Juan's Lee leads the active coaches winning percentage list, which only requires five seasons to land on the list. Duchesne's Jerry Cowan is at No. 2 on the list at .767 then Pine View's Hosner.

Checking out the lists makes me wonder if it's still possible for a coach to win such a high percentage of games. Is the talent too spread out to win 80 percent of your games for a minimum of 10 seasons? Can someone make a run at Lee's .824 winning percentage? If so, how does a coach do it?

-Kevin Winters Morriss

Here are the top 10 lists for your perusal:

All-time by Winning Percentage (min. 10 years)

1) .824 • Monty Lee (San Juan, 2003-present)

2) .804 • Ken Schmidt (Skyline, 1968-79)

3) .801 • Taft Watts (Millard, 1943-63)

4) .786 • Lew Monsen (Millard, 1973-83)

5) .779 • Chad Van Orden (Timpview, 1990-2004)

6) .770 • Dunn "Snyde" Taylor (Millard, 1933; Jordan, 1935-49)

7) .762 • Udall Westover (Orem, 1954-68)

8) .754 • Gean Plaga (West, 1967-84)

9) .745 • Walter Brooks (Dixie, 1949-74)

10) .732 • Ray Hosner (Pine View, 2001-present)

Active Coaches — by Winning Percentage (min. 5 years)

1) .824 • Monty Lee (San Juan, 2003-present)

2) .767 • Jerry Cowan (Duchense, 2003-07, 2012-present)

3) .732 • Ray Hosner (Pine View, 2001-present)

4) .726 • Marshall Sheriff (Millard, 2000-present)

5) .706 • Cole Meacham (Manti, 2000-present)

6) .697 • Mike Favero (Logan, 1999-present)

7) .697 • Dave Peck (North Sanpete, 1984; Cyprus, 1995-99; Bingham, 2000-present)

8) .692 • Brody Benson (Highland, 2006-present)

9) .687 • Brandon Matich (Park City, 2005-09; East 2010-present)

10) .679 • Larry Wall (Bountiful, 1985-present) —

Building a consistent powerhouse tougher than ever for HS football coaches