Coach Koonz announces retirement after 15 years at Holmes CC

Holmes Community College Head Football Coach Jeff Koonz announced recently that the 2019 season was his last at the helm of the program as he plans to retire at the end of the school year.

Koonz has worked 15 years at Holmes Community College, serving the last nine as head coach. He gleamed with pride when talking about his time at Holmes which saw the Bulldogs become a national powerhouse on the offensive side of the ball, especially in the running game. The Bulldogs led the MACJC in rushing the last six seasons and have finished the season as the NJCAA's No. 1 rushing offense twice in the last three seasons.

Koonz, a two-time MACJC Coach of the Year (2012 and 2016) and MAC Coach of the Year (2012 and 2016), holds a Bachelor of Science from SUNY-New Paltz and a Master of Science from Georgia Southern University. Prior to getting into college football coaching, he played football at SUNY-Plattsburgh and returned to his alma mater, Wallkill High School, to become the head football coach. He came to Holmes as head coach from Georgia Military College, where he served as the special teams strength and conditioning and defensive line coach.

Prior to coming back to Holmes, Koonz coached the defensive line at Georgia Southern University for three seasons and served as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Presbyterian College. Before Presbyterian College, Koonz served as defensive line coach for one season and defensive coordinator under Coach Robert Pool and Coach Hugh Shurden. The 1996 squad won the North Division Championship.

He said changing offenses was an easy choice for the Bulldogs.

"It gave us a chance," Koonz said. "That's been a part of my personal football history going all the way back to my high school. We were one of the worst high school teams, and my coach came in and put in the wishbone, and we immediately, in one year, won the league championship. Something we hadn't done in years. It worked there. I had a chance to work at Georgia Southern and saw what it did there. It's been a recurring theme in my career in how the option has helped our programs.

"When you have 14 teams (in Mississippi) basically running the same thing, you really get diluted in your recruiting," Koonz said of the switch from the spread to flexbone attack. "The thing that it has brought to us is we are recruiting a different kid at offensive line and skill positions. Now we can get the best and not the leftovers."

Having the right coaches during the transition was the most important thing during the switch. Southwest Head Coach Tim Stowers served as the offensive coordinator at Holmes prior to moving to Southwest, and Stowers is known for his flexbone prowess. The Bulldogs also brought in current Holmes Co-Offensive Coordinator Raymond Gross, who played for Stowers at Georgia Southern, to help run the offense over the past six seasons.

"Having the opportunity to hire the right coaches, guys who knew how to run it and guys I knew I could get here was the key," Koonz said. "You don't want to run it just to run it. You run it if you have guys who know how to run it. I'll be honest with you, I don't know how to run it. I hired guys who did. That's probably what I do best is hire good coaches."

The 2016 historical year saw the Bulldogs go 7-3 and winning their first NJCAA-sanctioned bowl game, the Graphic Edge Bowl in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Holmes finished the season as the No. 7 ranked team in the country.

"When we first came in here we weren't one of the better programs," Koonz said. "I think we've gotten it to a point we can compete with anybody, not only in our league, but nationally with the highlight of winning the bowl game."

This past season, the Bulldogs finished in a four-way tie for first place in the North Division with wins over Northwest and East Mississippi. Holmes missed out on the playoffs due to a MACJC tiebreaker rule.

"Is the glass half empty or half full?" Koonz said. "We had our opportunities. As far as retiring, the nice thing is that sometimes change is good. If we can find the right guy, and I have confidence they will, maybe they can take it to the level where they can consistently win in the North.

"We can beat anybody on any given day," he said. "That's been a major accomplishment. I am very disappointed in my nine years that we never have been able to win our division. Maybe the change will catapult to where they can take it to next level. I hope I can help find the right person to take it to the next level. It should be a more attractive job. You can definitely win here. That's what we are looking at."

"It's been a great nine seasons," Koonz said. "I'm very proud of what we've accomplished. The thing I'll miss most are the players and the people that really worked hard to help us accomplish what our mission was. That's why you do what you do. You are really helping a kid in a time in their life with a lot of needs and they are trying to get back on the right track. That's been a lot of fun. We have lots of success getting players to four-year schools and helping them as people."

Coach Koonz's Bulldogs had 40 players participating at four-year universities this season. This is the largest number in school history. Since implementing the program, Holmes has produced 30 players that have played in the NFL during the last 32 years.

Koonz said he was proud to have been on the coaching staff when Pro Football Hall of Famer and NFL Top 100 player Walter Jones played for the Bulldogs.

"I will say that he is the best football player that I've ever seen play at Holmes Community College," Koonz said. "We've had a lot of great ones, but heck he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Some say he's the greatest O-lineman who ever played the game."

Other players mentioned included Alvin McKinley, Chris Avery, Josiah Coatney and Javor Mills who suited up for the Bulldogs. All but Coatney also played in the NFL, but Coatney, after graduating from Ole Miss this year, is training for the upcoming 2020 NFL draft.

"Helping them develop as players is good, but those relationships is what I'll remember the most," said Koonz. "I'm not equating the success of them making it to the NFL, that's a gift from God that enabled them to get there. The whole body of work is what I'm most proud of. How many players we helped become better husbands, fathers and productive workers in society is what it's all about. We helped them get an education. It's not just them making it to the pros. It's the journey that got us there."

Coach Koonz put together an outstanding coaching staff, all of which have Division I coaching experience. Coach Koonz's staff during the 2019 season had been a part of nine NCAA National Championships and 32 bowl victories.

"We had great camaraderie," he said. "They were all hard workers and were all pulling for the same goal. We have had some tremendous coaches here. That's one of the negatives. When you hire really good coaches they probably don't stay around long just because they are going to have other opportunities, but that's part of running a good program. We have former coaches in the NFL, XFL and major Division I programs. That's been a lot of fun helping those coaches grow, doing it the right way and helping them move on in the profession."

Koonz implemented a study table (hall) that met three nights a week and helped his players get help in classes they may have been struggling in.

"We got them good help," Koonz said. "It was productive. The people who were in the program held people accountable. Tutors didn't just show up. I had to see their body of work. We kept track of who was succeeding and who wasn't succeeding.

"It was a much more in-depth program than what most people do," he said. "As a program and coach, I don't believe in peer tutors. These kids really struggle in the classroom. Why not get them the best teachers. The best teachers are your instructors. That's what they do. They are professionals. We are able to find the resources to make that happen. The bottom line is you can help the kid who wants to get help. If they want help, we are going to try to get them that help."

As far as his legacy, he wants people to say that the program cared about their players and Holmes Community College.

"It's a lot of hard work," he said. "You can't always be the good guy. Sometimes you have to be the bad guy."

He also wants to be known as a "green light." "Not just on the football field," he said. "I always found a way to get it done."

He has been an innovator in promoting Holmes Community College football. The 2014 season marked the beginning of the Jeff Koonz Coach's Show, which aired either Monday or Tuesday night from various locations throughout the district. He also created the Milton Lee Olive Scholarship in 2015. His teams have been involved in many community service projects including reading at elementary schools and doing maintenance at the gravesite of Milton Olive in Ebenezer.

Koonz and his wife, Patti, plan to retire to the panhandle of Florida. They have one son, Jeffrey, who is the special teams coordinator and linebacker coach at West Virginia University.

"I plan to get a place down in Florida, hangout and be the greatest grandpa I can be," Koonz said.