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Coach Kimbrough honored
By Kim Nguyen, knguyen@acnpapers.com
The special 50th anniversary edition of “Dave Campbell’s Texas Football” magazine has a familiar face in it: legendary Plano Senior head coach Tom Kimbrough.
The magazine named Kimbrough among the Top 10 Most Memorable Coaches.
“This is definitely one of the two nicest recognitions I’ve ever received: being included in this magazine and the naming of the stadium,” he said. “I can’t imagine receiving a greater honor than this. Tom Landry and Darrell Royal are the obvious No. 1 and No. 2 coaches, and only three other high school coaches were included.”
Kimbrough led the Wildcats to a 171-28-7 record, four state championship games and three state titles during his 16 years as head coach from 1976 to 1991.
“Kimbrough never changed what he stood for in his 16-year head coaching career: a strong work ethic, organization and discipline,” the magazine wrote. “Plano was a quintessential powerhouse program, churning out talented players and disciplined teams year after year. They were called ‘plain ol’ Plano’ – there was nothing flashy about the Wildcats of Kimbrough, except for the shiny trophies they claimed at the end of the year.”
“It wasn’t just me; people always want to place that achievement solely on me,” Kimbrough said. “All those highlights are the work of the many coaches, assistant coaches, district staff and administration and of course, the players. I want to share my recognition with them.”
Kimbrough said he was fortunate enough to work with a good team of people and players who were dedicated to hard work and a winning attitude.
“I share this recognition with the coaches that were on my staff, like Gerald Brence, who is now the district athletic director, and Mike Hughes, the Plano West athletic director and head coach, both my assistant coaches,” he said. “I also had great players like Jaydon McCullough, who is now the Plano Senior High School athletic director and head coach.”
Kimbrough said he also shares any success at Plano with John Clark, the Wildcats’ head coach before Kimbrough.
“John Clark was very inspirational and was my role model,” Kimbrough said. “Any success I had, I share with him because he taught me everything I know. He was so instrumental in whatever success I’ve had over the years.”
Clark had already led the Wildcats to a state championship in 1967, and Kimbrough was the assistant coach when Plano won its first Class 3A title in 1971.
When Kimbrough assumed the head coach role in 1976, he felt a lot of pressure to keep the winning momentum.
“They had been winning already, and I actually tried to talk him into staying one more year,” he said of Clark. “But in that first year [as head coach], things worked out. Granted, it was a tough year because we lost two games, and two was too many back then.”
In his second year as head coach, Kimbrough got the Wildcats back into the groove and won the Class 4A 1977 State Championship in a thrilling game against Highland Park. The magazine also highlights the “Miracle Game” as one of the 10 Most Memorable Games.
“The Wildcats came back from a 28-0 score in the middle of the third quarter to win that game, 29-28,” Kimbrough said. “That game sure was a great one.”
And two weeks later, Plano football made news again by setting a record in game attendance.
“Almost 50,000 fans filled the stands at Texas Stadium,” he said. “In 32 years, no one’s been able to get close to breaking it.”
Aside from the 84.7 percent win record and three state championship wins, Kimbrough says another highlight of his career would be working with the students and influencing them with positive values, such as appreciation for hard work, respect, integrity, teamwork, determination and perseverance.
“When I got into coaching, I really enjoyed the Xs and Os, the scheming and coming up with plays to try to win the games,” he said. “But through the years, I learned that there’s something more important than winning. I learned that being a positive role model and setting an example for the youngsters was important. I was teaching them effort and preparation. I was just fortunate enough to get some wins along the way.”
Coach Kimbrough left the coaching staff in 1991 to become the Plano ISD athletics director, a position he served until 2003, when he was promoted to the executive director of facility services. Kimbrough was inducted into the Plano ISD Hall of Honor, and the stadium in Murphy was built in 2003 and bears his name.
Kimbrough and his wife, Linda, a Pearson Early Childhood School teacher of students with impairments, have two children: Kyle, who works for Bank of America, and Kimberley, a second grade teacher at Barksdale Elementary School.
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