Ken Purcell Wikipedia – The famous Texas football coach Purcell began his coaching journey in Plano. Purcell has played an active role in coaching for nearly five decades.
Purcell’s athletic journey began during his high school days. He wanted to become a football player but soon realized to divert to the coaching role.
In an interview, Ken said he realized the difference in level when he joined the University of North Texas. A couple of years after graduation, Purcell received his first coaching role, and he didn’t look back.
His two sons also went on to find their feet in high school coaching roles, and in his later years, Ken served in an administrative in Denton.
Ken Purcell Wikipedia: Coaching Legend’s Age
The former football coach, Ken Purcell, is in his early 70s. Purcell had always been interested in sports, whether football or running tracks.
Purcell’s career began at Vega High School in Texas. Coach Purcell played high school ball at Vega and also ran track. In an interview, Ken said his high school football coach played the role of a father figure in his life.
Coach Ken grew up without his dad around him, and his coach had a huge impact on his life. Purcell said he and his high school coach wrote letters before he passed away.
After Vega, Purcell joined the University of North Texas and played freshman ball. Even though he didn’t play college football, Purcell stayed connected with the athletics department and became one of the members of the strength department.
Purcell was about to become an assistant track coach but had accepted his first coaching job at Tahoka, Texas. He was appointed as the offensive coordinator.
Purcell coached for one year before joining Plano. He joined Plano as a head freshman coach, and by 1976, Ken was the offensive backfield coach at Plano. A year later, Plano won the championship.
In 1982, he became the offensive coordinator at Plano, but he soon left for Allen. At Allen, Purcell remained the head coach for the next 14 years.
After Allen, Ken became part of the administration at Denton. He was the athletic director for Denton ISD. During his time as a coach, Ken led his side to 12 state championships and was inducted into the Texas High School Athletic Directors “Hall of Honor” in 2009.
Ken Purcell Family: Wife And Kids
Ken Purcell shares two sons with his wife, Theresa Purcell. Theresa worked in education for 32 years, including a decade-long stint at Davis Elementary in Plano.
The couple share two sons, Shannon and Shawn Purcell. Shawn Purcell, the couple’s eldest child, is 53 and followed his father’s footsteps.
He previously worked as an offensive coordinator for Corsicana. Shawn was part of the Highland Park staff when the Scots won the state title in 2005.
During an interview in 2008, Shawn revealed he was married to Mindy, and the couple shared two kids, Mason and Ashley. Shawn’s younger brother, Shanon Purcell, also won the state in 2005. He worked as Highland Park’s wide receivers coach.
Shannon graduated from Texas A&M and started as a varsity coach in 1998 as the running and defensive backs coach at Richardson Pearce. He was the wide receivers coach at Highland Park from 1999-2005.
In 2006, Shannon joined Wylie as their offensive coordinator, but a few years later, he left and became the head coach of the Vines High School freshman team. He joined Plano as their defensive coordinator in 2011, emulating his father’s role.
