A familiar face is coming back to the gridiron at School of the Osage.
Shannon Jolley, who led the Indians from 2000 to 2005, has come back to lead the program where his head coaching career began. The school district announced the hiring on Tuesday and Jolley brings 24 years of coaching and teaching experience to his new role.
“His track record of on-field success, his familiarity with the community and his experience building multiple athletic programs make him an excellent fit for School of the Osage,” the school district stated in a press release.
Jolley’s new role begins after he served as the first head coach of the football program at Capital City High School in Jefferson City where he was hired in 2018. As a brand new program, the school played a junior varsity schedule in its first season in 2019 and the Cavaliers finished 1-7 in their first varsity season this past fall. Prior to Capital City, Jolley served one season as the strength and conditioning and offensive line coach for the Jefferson City Jays.
During his tenure at Osage, Jolley led a program that won consecutive Class 3 district titles in 2003 and 2004 and he was named the District 7 Coach of the Year both of those years. He was also named the Tri-County Conference Coach of the Year in 2004.
“My family and I are super excited about a new start at School of the Osage. The opportunity to come back where I first started is an unbelievable opportunity for us and it has been nice to reconnect with former colleagues and players in the process,” Jolley said.
“When the opportunity presented itself to come back where I started my first head coaching job, it was a natural and easy decision for us to come back.”
After his first tenure at Osage, Jolley had a brief stint as the head coach at Nevada and came to Eldon in 2008 where he eventually turned a struggling football program into a winner during his 10 years with the Mustangs. The team went 1-29 over his first three seasons and won back-to-back district championships in 2012 and 2013 and another in 2017 where Eldon finished 11-2 before Jolley accepted his new position at Jefferson City. Overall, Jolley went 52-61 during his time at Eldon.
Jolley and his wife, Chrissy, have three daughters- Maria (9), Stella (8) and Clara (7). The district announced that Jolley will begin meeting with coaches, players and community members throughout the week.
“Being part of the Jefferson City Public Schools family, we are appreciative of the educational opportunities our daughters have received and the opportunity to lead in the district,” Jolley said of his time in Jefferson City.
“I’m really looking forward to getting to know our players and parents and the opportunity to start building relationships with the community.”
Michael Losch is the Sports Editor at the Lake Sun. He can be reached at mlosch@lakesunonline.com or 573-346-2132