The winner of the annual Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Year award will be determined by vote from each of our five high school football media panelists, as well as one vote from the general public. The Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Week/Year panel consists of five high school football media members - Mick McCabe (retired Detroit Free Press prep writer), Hugh Bernreuter (Saginaw News), Bret Bakita (WOOD Radio-106.9 FM, ESPN 96.1 FM-Fox 17/Grand Rapids), James Cook (Traverse City Record-Eagle) and Scott DeCamp (DeCamp Creative Solutions LLC).

The coach with the most votes from the general public vote will receive one vote to go along with the five media panelist votes to determine a winner. In the case of a tie, the Detroit Lions' Executive Director of Football Education will be the deciding vote.

The Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Year receives a $3,000 donation to the school's football program in addition to being the Detroit Lions nomination for the Don Shula NFL High School Football Coach of the Year.

During each week of the nine-week Michigan high school football regular season, this panel also selects one coach that best develops his players' character, discipline, and football skill in addition to emphasizing player health and safety in their program and is recognized as the Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Week.

All winners receive a certificate signed by Lions' head coach Dan Campbell and National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell as well as acknowledgement during an in-game ceremony on December 21 as the Detroit Lions take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 2025 program will award $12,000 to aid in the development and promotion of high school football in the state of Michigan, thanks to contributions from the Detroit Lions, NFL Foundation and Carhartt. 

Help us select the 2025 Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Year by voting below!  Click on the tile below of your choice to vote for the 2025 Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Year!