This article appears in the 2019 summer edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football, available now.

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football is proud to present the inaugural Texas High School Football Coaches Survey, a look inside what Texas high school football coaches really think about some of the most compelling issues in the sport today. We reached out hundreds of Texas high school football to ask them a number of questions about the sport; their responses were anonymous, as the only identifying information we asked is the classification in which they coach.

We received a total of 252 responses from coaches — 26.2% from 6A, 21.4% from 5A, 15.1% from 4A, 15.9% from 3A, 13.1% from 2A, 5.6% from 1A, and 2.8% from the private school ranks. Here’s what they had to say.

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Q: Who is the best head coach in Texas high school football right now?

(211 total responses; ranked by number of votes)
38 — Gary Joseph, Katy
35 — Randy Allen, Highland Park
24 — Scott Surratt, Carthage
9 — Jon Kay, Galena Park North Shore
7 — Phil Danaher, Corpus Christi Calallen
6 — Reginald Samples, Duncanville
5 — Chris Koetting, Canadian; Hank Carter, Lake Traivs; John King, Longview; Tim Buchanan, Aledo
4 — Dewaine Lee, Strawn; Larry Hill, Smithson Valley; W.T. Johnston, Newton
3 — Josh Gibson, Pleasant Grove; Randy Jackson, North Forney; Steve Wood, Aledo; Terry Gambill, Allen
2 – Brad Butler, Alvin Shadow Creek; Denny Faith, Albany; Don Hyde, Waco La Vega; Kent Jackson, Semionle; Kevin Hoffman, Mart; Rodney Webb, Rockwall; Travis Reeve, Cuero; Vance Jones, Balmorhea
32 others received one vote

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Q: Who is the most underrated head coach in Texas high school football right now?

(184 total responses; ranked by number of votes)
6 — Jeff Walker, Liberty Hill; John King, Longview
4 — Chris Koetting, Canadian; Jake Fieszel, Gunter
3 — James Williams, Fort Bend Marshall; Josh Gibson, Pleasant Grove; Ray Biles, Lorena; Reginald Samples, Duncanville; Richard Whitaker, Port Lavaca Calhoun
2 — Brady Carney, Muenster; Brady Pennington, New Caney; Brent Davis, San Angelo Central; Chad Worrell, Brock; Chris Gilbert, Lancaster; Chris Ross, Red Oak; Don Hyde, Waco La Vega; Eddie Gallegos, Jonesboro; Gary Koch, Houston Memorial; Jamie Driskell, Malakoff; Jason Todd, South Oak Cliff; Jason Tucker, Halton; Jon Kay, Galena Park North Shore; Josh Finney, Winnsboro; Larry Hill, Smithson Valley; M.T. Tyeskie, Dallas Conrad; Marc Bindel, Wichita Falls Rider; Mark Weaver, Aspermont; Phil Castles, Henderson; Richard Lazarrou, Fort Bend Willowridge; Rodney Webb, Rockwall; Ron Adame, Sharyland; Scott Surratt, Carthage; Shaun McDowell, Richmond Foster; Zane Bode, Florence
99 others received one vote

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Q: If you could become head coach at any high school in Texas, which would you choose?

(183 total responses; ranked by number of votes)
26 — Allen
12 — Lake Travis
11 — Aledo
8 — Katy
6 — Highland Park
5 — Carthage
4 — The Woodlands
3 — Austin Westlake, DeSoto, Euless Trinity, Longview, Tyler Lee
2 — Brownwood, East Bernard, Hewitt Midway, Lufkin, Mason, Muenster, Southlake Carroll, Stephenville, Temple, Waco La Vega

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Q: Rank the following factors that you take into account when considering a Texas high school football head coaching job.

(251 total responses; ranked by percentage of No. 1 votes)
52% — Administrative Support
18% — Talent Pool
16% — Location
9% — Facilities
5% — Salary

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Q: Which of the 12 FBS coaches in Texas would you say you trust the most?

(245 total responses; ranked by percentage of votes)
25.2% — Gary Patterson, TCU
21.5% — Matt Rhule, Baylor
13% — Sonny Dykes, SMU
11.4% — Tom Herman, Texas
6.9% — Seth Littrell, North Texas
6.5% — Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
4.1% — Frank Wilson, UTSA
3.7% — Matt Wells, Texas Tech
3.3% — Mike Bloomgren, Rice
2.4% — Dana Holgorsen, Houston
1.2% — Jake Spavital, Texas State
0.8% — Dana Dimel, UTEP

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Q: Which of the 12 FBS coaches in Texas would you say you trust the least?

(227 total responses; ranked by percentage of votes)
32.6% — Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
23.3% — Tom Herman, Texas
19.8% — Dana Holgorsen, Houston
5.7% — Jake Spavital, Texas State
4% — Frank Wilson, UTSA
3.1% — Dana Dimel, UTEP
3.1% — Gary Patterson, TCU
3.1% —Matt Wells, Texas Tech
2.2% — Mike Bloomgren, Rice
1.8% — Matt Rhule, Baylor
0.9% — Sonny Dykes, SMU
0.4% — Seth Littrell, North Texas

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Q: The UIL Texas high school football state championship games should...

(250 total responses; ranked by percentage of votes)
57.6% — Always be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington
24.7% — Rotate evenly between Arlington, Houston and San Antonio
6.3% — Return to a neutral site decided by the coaches
4.7% — Rotate evenly between Arlington and Houston
3.5% — Rotate venues, with AT&T Stadium in Arlington hosting most years
1.2% — Rotate venues, with NRG Stadium in Houston hosting most years
1.2% — Always be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio
0.8% — Always be played at NRG Stadium in Houston
0% — Rotate venues, with the Alamodome in San Antonio hosting most years