Schools
BHS Football Coach Has Perfect Role Model for Football Career Path
Mike Jones, a former football player at the University of Iowa, hopes to use lessons learned from Gary Korhonen in football coaching job at Bolingbrook.
When Bolingbrook High School sophomore football coach Mike Jones first got into coaching, there was no doubt who he wanted to emulate.
He couldn’t think of a better person to mold his career after than Gary Korhonen, who coached Richards Bulldogs from 1972 until 2007 and is Illinois’ all-time leader in career football victories with 315.
“I try to be like him and try and make a difference in kids’ lives,” Jones said. “He knew how to run a program with discipline and accountability. He was old school and no one did it better than him.
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"A lot of players were fortunate to have Gary Korhonen as their coach. There’s a reason he’s the winningest coach in Illinois and sends so many kids to college. I’ve heard so many kids say they wouldn’t have even graduated high school without him.
"He did so many special things with the program. Richards always has just 30-35 kids on varsity, but we were always one of the best teams in the state.”
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Jones is a special education teacher at in and the offensive line coach on sophomore football team after being Hinsdale Central’s varsity offensive line coach the past two seasons.
He helped Hinsdale Central’s Jack Allen (Michigan State) and Scott McDowell (Illinois) earn Big Ten scholarships.
“I kind of jumped into coaching,” Jones said. “I was not quite sure how it would go. I’ve learned a lot along the way. I would like to be in the same place year after year.
"Every day is a challenge for the kids. I want practices to be harder than games. I expect nothing but effort from everyone. It comes down to making the right choices on and off the field. You have to do the work academically and athletically. You have to make the right and tough choices because you are working toward something special.”
Jones is also the Director of Linemen Development at Core 6 Athletes.
Jones’ brother, Jim, who was a standout lineman at Richards before playing at Notre Dame and making the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 53-man roster in 2004, is an offensiv line coach at Northwest Mississippi Community College.
“They will both be wonderful coaches,” Korhonen said. “They were definitely leaders, role models and examples of how things should be done.”
