a bit about john
John Pearce (born January 13, 1947) is a former American football coach. John was a Texas High School coach for 19 years before moving into the college ranks. He was an assistant coach at Texas A&M University before becoming the head football coach at Stephen F. Austin State Univeristy from 1992-98. At SFA, he was the only coach, during that time period in 1-AA football (now FCS), to have his team nationally ranked every single week for five consecutive years. After leaving his position at Stephen F. Austin, he was an assistant coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Assistant Head Coach at Rice University.
After retirement, he and his wife Jaime returned to Texas from California and built a home in Sugar Land. In retirement, he had noted he wanted to be a "soccer mom" for his grandchildren. He accomplished this goal as his four granddaughters grew up.
In 2014, he became a published author with "Ever Remember the Days of 1913-1914" followed by "A Private in the Texas Army" in 2022. He and THE LOVE of his life, Jaime, have been married 56 years and enjoy spending every moment together 24/7.
1963-1964
Pearce played high school football for his hometown, the Sulphur Springs Wildcats. His junior year, 1963, he played in a never to be forgotten game on November 22, 1963. The Wildcats faced Paris High School, a team they hadn't beaten in 27 consecutive attempts.
Later Pearce wrote a historical short story on "We Played the Game" concerning this contest on the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Sulphur Springs won 44-6, but the meaning of the accomplishment, due to the horrific circumstanes, was lost.
In his high school senior season of 1964 for the Wildcats, Pearce was selected by his teammates, along with his life-long friend Que Brittain, as co-captains. The same season he was an all-district 6-AAA and a honorable mention all-state linebacker selection.
In 2011, the Sulphur Springs New-Telegram celebrated 100 years of Wildcat football by picking the All-Century team for Sulphur Springs High School. Pearce was a member of that elite team as the best in Sulphur Springs football history after earlier being honored as a player on the Wildcat Hall of Honor in 1996.
1965 - 1969
In 1965, Pearce received a football scholarship to Texas A&M University. He attended Texas A&M for two years, lettering as a linebacker on the freshman team, before transferring and finishing his playing career at East Texas State University (now East Texas A&M University) He graduated in 1970 from ETSU and in 1992 was honored as an Ambassador for the ETSU Alumni Association.
He married Jaime McKinney on June 29, 1968, in Sulphur Springs, Texas, and they had two children, Amy Elizabeth born on November 8, 1969, in Sulphur Springs and Michael Frank born on January 29, 1973, in Waco, Texas.
1970 - 1974
In his first coaching job, from 1970 through 1973, Pearce served as an assistant football coach and defensive coordinator, JV basketball coach, JV baseball coach, and head track coach at Waco Connally High School under Don Hanks. In 1974, he joined the Kilgore High School staff as assistant track coach and the defensive coordinator for former NFL and Baylor star quarterback Buddy Humphrey.
1975 - 1981
For the next 14 years, Pearce was a Texas High School head football coach at Allen (1975-81), Sherman (1982-83) and Ft. Bend Willowridge (1984-88).
At Allen High School, Pearce was the district coach of the year three-times and produced four state rank teams. In the 20th century, his winning percentage was the highest of any Allen coach, and in 1980, an 11-wins season was the most for any Allen 11-man football team. It was not until 23 seasons later, 2003, that an Allen team won more.
1982 – 1983
For two years, Pearce was the Head Football Coach and Athletic Director at Sherman High School. After the 1983 season, Pearce received the head football coach position at Ft. Bend Willowridge High School.
1984 – 1988
Willowridge won four district championships, and Pearce received district coach of the year honors four times while producing four state top-ten teams. In 1988, he was the first ever winner of the Houston Touchdown Club High School Coach of the Year award, Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire named January 29, 1989, "Coach John Pearce Day" in Houston, and he received the Toyota Texas High School Coach of the Year in 1988. In 2006, Pearce was inducted into the T.J. Ford Willowridge Wall of Honor.
1989 – 1991
Pearce started his college coaching career in 1989 as an assistant at Texas A&M University where he coached the tight ends, punters, kickers, and running backs. Working under legendary coach, R. C. Slocum, during his three years as a coach at A&M, the Aggies went to the Cotton Bowl, Holiday Bowl, and Sun Bowl and in 1991 won the Southwest Conference Championship. All three teams were nationally ranked each season.
1992 - 1998
In December of 1991, Pearce received the head coaching job at Stephen F. Austin State University. Pearce has noted his most exciting time in coaching was having his record-setting son Mike on his SFA teams (1992-96) and watching him receive All-American recognition as a receiver in 1996.
The Lumberjacks, coached by Pearce, had a 46-32-2 record in seven seasons. After a rebuilding year in 1992, the next five years were record-setting. Of 118 1-AA universities, Pearce was the only head coach, in the official The Sports Network poll, to have his team ranked in the top 25 every week for five consecutive years (1993-1997). The Jacks were the only team of their Southland Conference University opponents during this time period to have five consecutive winning seasons. They also, from 1993-97, were the only Division 1-A or 1-AA team in Texas (including Texas A&M and Texas) to post winning seasons each year.
Before Pearce left SFA after the 1998 season, he had five nationally ranked teams, the best single season record in SFA history (1995), most SFA winning seasons in a row (5) and ranked in the top ten in the history of Southland Football coaches in total winning percentages. The Jacks also appeared in the NCAA play offs in 1993 and advanced to the national semi-finals in 1995
He was selected by the American Football Coaches Association as a three year member of the All-American Selection Committee, and twice Chairman of the prestigious American Football Coaches Association Summer Manual. In 2016, he was inducted into the Stephen F. Austin University Letterman's Association Jacks of Honor. The Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel, in November 2007, called Pearce, "the best football coach ever to set foot on SFA's campus."
1999 - 2002
In 1999, Pearce moved to UCLA where he was an assistant coach for four seasons with two bowl game appearances, the Sun Bowl and Las Vegas Bowl. After two years as a defensive end coach coaching two future All-Americans, plus coaching a Pac-10 leading punter, Pearce moved to quarterbacks. As the quarterback coach, he developed two of the three top passers in UCLA history. Pearce finished his coaching career on Christmas Day 2002 with a Las Vegas Bowl win over New Mexico.
After a short period at Rice University in 2006, where he served as the assistant head coach, Pearce started his writing career.
2003 - present
He and his wife Jaime returned to Texas from California and built a home in Sugar Land, outside Houston. In retirement, he had noted he wanted to be a "soccer mom" for his grandchildren. He accomplished this goal as his four granddaughters grew up.
After publishing numerous short stories and articles, in 2014, Pearce became a published author with his book, "Ever Remember the Days of 1913-14." He also is an historical researcher on his family and author in many areas including a self-published book, Sulphur Springs football's "Pride of the Blue and Gold." Pearce has had numerous short stories published and has been called the official "Wildcat Historian" for Sulphur Springs High School football by the Sulphur Springs Daily News Telegram.
A crowning authorship was a book titled, "A Private in the Texas Army," following his Dad's World War II experiences published in 2022. His major literary goal in retirement was this book being picked for printing and State House Press of the Texas Book Consortium (Texas A&M Press) made that dream come true.
It's a wonderful life.
