Lessons from One of High School Football’s Best Turnaround Coaches
When Brett Mertens took over his first high school football coaching job, he wasn’t walking into a powerhouse program. He wasn’t handed a team full of varsity-ready athletes. Instead, he stared at 19 players—only two of whom had ever played football.
It wasn’t just a football program turnaround but a complete rebuild from the ground up.
“We begged most of those kids to come out,” Mertens recalled. “Honestly, we just kind of promised them, ‘Hey, this will be good. The school needs this.'”
For many coaches, the dream is to take over a winning football program. But the reality is that success isn’t about finding the right job—it’s about building the right culture.
Lesson 1: Winning Starts with Culture, Not Playbooks
Many high school football coaches believe the key to winning is play-calling strategy. But Mertens learned early that the real foundation of football success has little to do with X’s and O’s.
“The first thing you realize as a head coach is that you don’t win by calling good plays and drawing stuff on a whiteboard,” Mertens admitted. “We needed to invest in kids’ lives, families, and our school. We needed to get them to believe in the vision.”
During his first season at Crean Lutheran High School, his team didn’t even score a touchdown. But the focus wasn’t on winning—it was on survival. The goal was simple: keep the program alive and give kids a reason to believe.
And that belief was contagious.
Lesson 2: Make Football Matter to Players and the Community
One of the biggest challenges in a football program rebuild is recruiting players and making football appealing. Mertens had to find creative ways to make football the sport kids wanted to play.
He remembers one simple but effective trick:
“After every workout, I had a fridge in my office, locked up. The only way to get a Gatorade protein shake? Be on the football team.”
It may seem minor, but small incentives create buy-in. In a turnaround, perception matters—if football feels special, kids will want to be a part of it.
The results? Crean Lutheran grew from 19 players to nearly 60 and went from a winless team to a playoff contender.
Lesson 3: The Right Strategic Moves Define a Turnaround
At Montrose High School football, Mertens faced a different challenge. The program had history, but it was struggling to find consistency. The turning point came after a devastating loss to Rifle High School, a team that ran the Wing-T offense.
“That was the moment,” Mertens admitted. “I remember thinking, ‘Man, this should not be this hard to stop, and we can’t stop it.'”
Rather than adjusting his defense, Mertens fully committed to the Wing-T offense, hiring an offensive coordinator who specialized in it. The transition wasn’t easy, but it transformed Montrose football.
In his first year running the system, Montrose started 8-0, and the entire school bought in. Today, Montrose is a state contender every season, known for one of Colorado’s best high school rushing offenses.
Lesson 4: Trust People Who Believe in You
Mertens’ journey to Montrose High School football wasn’t direct. He applied for the head coach job in 2015—and didn’t get it. Instead, the school hired longtime assistant Jim Scarry.
But Scarry had different plans.
“Jim called me and said, ‘I want you to be the next head coach at Montrose. I took this job to make that happen.'”
A year later, Scarry handed him the program. It wasn’t about politics or contracts—it was about trust and relationships.
This lesson stuck with Mertens. When he wanted to restructure Montrose’s weight training schedule, the administration was hesitant, but he pushed back.
“I asked them, ‘Do you think this would be good for the kids?’ They said yes. So I said, ‘Then why not give it a try?'”
It brought more energy in the weight room, higher participation, and a stronger program culture.
Lesson 5: Make the Big Time Where You Are
Many high school football coaches use turnarounds as stepping stones. They aim for a bigger job or a better opportunity.
Mertens had a different philosophy.
“My vision was to make Montrose the kind of place where kids grow up wanting to play football,” he said. “I wanted every kid in this town to dream of putting on that jersey.”
It wasn’t about moving up. It was about building something great where he was.
Today, Montrose High School football is a perennial contender. They’re known for one of the top high school offenses in Colorado. And the vision Mertens wrote down in his first season—about discipline, teamwork, and community—has become a reality.
Final Takeaway: You Can Build Something Special, Too
Mertens’ coaching journey proves that success isn’t about inheriting a perfect situation. It’s about:
- Investing in relationships
- Making football a program kids want to be part of
- Being willing to adapt when needed
- Trusting the right people
- Committing to the long game
It’s not about finding the perfect job.
It’s about building a winning football program wherever you are.
More Turnaround Stories:
From Rock Bottom to Playoffs – Charlie TeGantvoor’s Turnaround Blueprint
The Turnaround Powered by CoachTube provides inspiration and insight from coaches who have successfully transformed their programs. Whether you’re taking over a struggling team or looking to elevate your program, CoachTube provides the expert-led courses to help you build and sustain winning programs.
Brett Mertens’ turnaround at Montrose focused on three key areas that every coach must master:
- Building Culture – Establishing a strong foundation of leadership, accountability, and buy-in.
- Wing-T Run Game – Adapting schemes to fit personnel and dominate on the ground.
- Strength & Conditioning – Developing players physically to maximize performance.
The inspiration you need and the resources to make it happen are all in one place. Visit CoachTube and start transforming your program today.
