Gene Mayfield (January 31, 1928 – October 2, 2009) was a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach in Texas

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

. Mayfield played quarterback at West Texas State University (now

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Associat ...

), where he also met his future wife Mary Jean. He began his head coaching career at Littlefield before moving on to Borger in 1958. His 1962 squad made the 4A state championship game, losing 26-30 to San Antonio Brackenridge. In 1965, Mayfield took over head coaching duties at

Permian High School Permian High School is a public high school located in Odessa, Texas and is one of two high schools in the Ector County Independent School District. It was the subject of the book '' Friday Night Lights'', which in turn inspired a movie and TV ...

Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, where he started the school's winning tradition by beating San Antonio Lee 11-6 for the 1965 4A state championship.MojoLand.net: Permian Wins State Crown
/ref> Mayfield was only the fifth head coach in Texas' highest classification to win a state championship in his first year. Odessa Permian made the state finals on two more occasions in 1968 and 1970, losing to Austin Reagan each time. In 1971 Mayfield succeeded legendary Joe E. Kerbel at his alma mater West Texas State University. He had only mediocre success and left the school after the 1976 season with an overall record of 24-39-2. He retired from coaching in 1977, before returning in 1982 to coach at Levelland for six seasons. He died from Alzheimer's disease in Lubbock, Texas, on October 2, 2009, aged 81.

Head coaching record

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