Hall of Fame and longtime Davenport Coach John Greenfield says he has coached his last football game and is retiring.
Greenfield, who completed his 21st season as Davenport’s head football coach in the fall, took over the program in the fall of 2004 while he was still serving as the district’s school superintendent.
“I told the team and the superintendent the day before the Christmas break that I’ve coached my last football game,” Greenfield recently related.
In June of 2023, Greenfield was inducted into Oklahoma’s Eight Man Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
He says what he will miss most “is the relationships he’s enjoyed with the kids. I’ll miss being around the kids, teaching them a work ethic and what is right and what is wrong,” he noted.
Although he hasn’t had any official discussions with School Supt. Danny Accord about continuing to teach, Greenfield replied, “Probably not after this year,” when asked about teaching next year.
He said when the current semester is over in May, he’s probably through teaching, as well.
Greenfield explained that in 2001 he was hired as the district’s school superintendent. Because of budget cuts and rifts, he coached baseball and golf in the Spring of 2004 before taking over football in the fall of 2004, he reiterated.
“We won 209 games in eight-man football in 21 years. We had a total of 57 losses during that time. We won 13 district titles, nine regional championships, three area titles, one state championship and were state runners-up twice in 2006 and 2011. We won the state title in 2015,” Greenfield added.
“I coached eight AllStaters and we were in the playoffs 21 consecutive seasons. We never missed the playoffs in eight-man football,” Greenfield said.
“I’ve had great assistant coaches throughout the years,” he believes.
Greenfield had been a head coach nine years before coming to Davenport as superintendent. The first two were at Yale, then he spent seven years at Meeker.
A year after Greenfield took over as superintendent, he also became the high school principal for several years.
He eventually hired Accord as high school principal, who already was coaching high school girls and boys baseball.
When Greenfield retired as superintendent but stayed on as the football coach, Accord became the superintendent, the job he still holds.
Accord currently also coaches the high school girls and boys basketball teams.
Greenfield expressed his gratitude. “I’ve got a lot of people to thank. It’s been the best job I’ve ever had. It’s been a blast. I’ve had the support of the community and the board,” Greenfield continued.
Accord was asked about seeking a replacement for Greenfield as head football coach. “I don’t know that we’ll open it up. I’ll listen to Coach Greenfield. We don’t need to hurry,” the superintendent said.
“If he thinks one of our assistants can handle it, well we’ll look at that,” Accord indicated.
He pointed out that he hasn’t even had a chance to meet with his board members since Greenfield informed him he was stepping down.
Accord praised Greenfield, saying, “I think he’s self-explanatory. That very first season he had a plan. He knew how to run a program and they defeated Medford that very first year.
“They were 12-1 that first year and got beat by Shattuck,” he recalls.
“I saw the transformation and impact it made from having a meal on Thursdays, talking to the parents and people in the community. He organized everything,” Accord stated.
“The parents took turns who were going to feed the team after Friday night games. I’ve been by his side. I’ve watched kids who were just average but who bought into the program. I know what we have and we have a couple of good, young assistants,” he said.