After six years in charge of Iraan’s football team, Mark Kirchhoff is leaving the program.
Kirchhoff confirmed this week that pending approval at Iraan-Sheffield ISD’s Monday board meeting, he will be resigning as the Braves’ head football coach and athletic director.
Kirchhoff finishes with a 62-15 record as Iraan’s head coach. He led the Braves to the Class 2A Division II state championship game in 2016. He now holds an overall coaching record of 223-91.
“I’m proud of the way the program developed,” Kirchhoff said about his time in Iraan. “We went in and became one of the elite programs in our classification — as far as not being known in West Texas, but statewide.”
Kirchhoff has spent 32 years as a coach, with 26 of those years a head coach. Kirchhoff spent 16 years at the helm at Falls City, winning a state championship in 2010. He was also the head coach in Eden for four years.
From 2013 to 2017, Kirchhoff’s Braves won 43 consecutive regular-season games. In 2015, the Braves reached the regional finals and Kirchhoff was named the Odessa American’s All-Permian Basin Coach of the Year after amassing a 13-1 record.
“He meant everything. He came in and he brought in this new mentality for us of how hard we were going to work,” former Iraan offensive lineman Steven Garlock said about Kirchhoff. “No matter what situation it was, he knew exactly what to say and do.
“He actually took the time to get to know us. He knew our families and took really good care of us as a coach. He taught us a lot more than what it meant to just be football players.”
Kirchhoff’s wife, Tammy, retired after the 2016-17 school year after spending several years as the Braves’ head track coach.
After departing Iraan, the Kirchhoffs plan to move back to Mason, where, for years, Mark has been renovating the home he grew up in.
Kirchhoff is leaning toward retirement but hasn’t completely ruled out staying in coaching. He added that after sitting out a year, if something falls in his lap and intrigues him, he may consider it.
“You’re not going to replace the quality of a Mark and Tammy Kirchhoff easily or quickly,” Iraan superintendent Michael Meek said. “Coach (Mark) Kirchhoff may be the best coach I’ve ever been around. But not only that, but he’s a great person. The kids love him and he runs a great program.”
Meek added that no timetable is currently in place for hiring Kirchhoff’s replacement and that no discussions of the sort would take place until after Monday’s meeting.
“Anytime we lose someone that’s really good and established, it’s a big hit on our profession as a whole,” Wink head coach Brian Gibson said about Kirchhoff. “What he brought to the game was immeasurable. That’s a testament to what kind of coach he was.”
Kirchhoff is the second Permian Basin head football coach in as many days to announce he was leaving his current post. Monahans head coach Mickey Owens said he was retiring from coaching Thursday.
“West Texas football is not going to be the same without Coach Kirchhoff or Coach Owens in it,” Gibson said. “There’s some big shoes to fill there.”
Kirchhoff’s had the chance in Iraan to also coach alongside his brother-in-law, Brant Myers, as well as his nephews Tanner and Brodey Myers. Kirchhoff’s son, Will, is the offensive coordinator at Lovelady.
