John Wilkins is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

. He was highly successful in his 13 years as head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 of Permian High School

Permian High School

Permian High School is a public high school located in Odessa, Texas and is part of the Ector County Independent School District. It was the subject of the book Friday Night Lights which in turn inspired a movie and TV series of the same name.-History:...

 in Odessa, Texas

Odessa, Texas

Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...

, amassing a 148–16–7 record and two Class 5A state titles.

Wilkins became head coach at Odessa Permian in 1973 after serving as an assistant to Gil Bartosh

Gil Bartosh

-References:...

. In 1975, Permian made the state final for the first time during Wilkins' tenure, but lost 20–10 to Port Neches-Groves

Port Neches-Groves High School

Port Neches-Groves High School is located in Port Neches, Texas. The high school is the only high school in the Port Neches-Groves Independent School District and serves portions of Port Neches, Groves, and Port Arthur...

. Five years later, Odessa Permian faced Port Arthur Jefferson, guided by Ronnie Thompson and led by quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 Todd Dodge

Todd Dodge

Todd Dodge is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh, a position he has held since January 2011. Dodge was the head football coach at the University of North Texas from 2007 to 2010...

. Permian won the game 28–19. Wilkins' 1984 squad tied Beaumont French for the title. The next year, Permian lost to Houston Yates

Yates High School

Jack Yates Senior High School is a secondary school located at 3703 Sampson in the Third Ward in Houston, Texas with a zip code of 77004. Yates High School handles grades nine through twelve and is part of the Houston Independent School District ....

 in a 37–0 blowout at the Texas Stadium

Texas Stadium

Texas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...

.

In 1985 Wilkins left his coach's office in order to become athletic director

Athletic director

An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...

 of the Ector County Independent School District

Ector County Independent School District

Ector County Independent School District is a public school district based in Odessa, Texas .In addition to Odessa, the district also serves the communities of West Odessa, Gardendale, and Goldsmith as well as rural areas in Ector County....

. Wilkins took the athletic director job at private Trinity School of Midland, Texas

Midland, Texas

Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...

in 1998, and found himself back on the sideline as head coach until Spring 2002. He currently resides in East Odessa Texas.