Jimmie Keeling

Who is Jimmie Keeling?

Jimmie Keeling is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at Hardin–Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, a position he had held since the 1990 season. After a highly successful coaching career in Texas high school football, Keeling was chosen to revive the Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football program, which hadn't played a football game since 1963. Keeling has since become the winningest coach in school history.

Keeling graduated from Evant High School in 1953. He started his collegiate career at Tarleton State University, then a junior college, and finished his undergraduate work at Howard Payne University in 1958. His first coaching job came soon after, taking the reins as head coach and athletic director at Dublin in 1959.

Keeling had several stops in his early coaching career, namely at Tulia, Elgin, Lubbock Estacado, Andrews and Lamar Consolidated. His 1968 Lubbock Estacado squad went 14–0 and claimed the Class 3A state championship, beating Refugio High School, 14–0. He also guided Lamar Consolidated to a regional championship in 1978.

In 1979 he overtook a storied football program at San Angelo Central, and remained there for 10 seasons. He guided the Bobcats all the way to the Class 5A regional championships in 1982 and in 1988, reached the state quarterfinals. Keeling's last high school stop was at John Tyler High School in Tyler, Texas for one year.