KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs announced that Basehor-Linwood High School Head Coach Rod Stallbaumer has been named the Eric Driskell High School Coach of the Year for the 2025 season. The announcement took place as part of the annual Simone Awards, which were held at Platte County High School this morning.
"I am very honored to have been selected for this award," Stallbaumer said. "It is an incredible recognition not just for myself, but also all the hard work of our assistant coaches, players and the community here at Basehor-Linwood and all the time and sacrifice they have put into our program."
Stallbaumer was this year's Week 5 Coach of the Week winner representing Kansas after Basehor-Linwood defeated the De Soto Wildcats 42-38 after a touchdown gave the Bobcats the win in the final 13 seconds of the game. The Bobcats finished their historic season with a 12-1 record and a Class 5A state championship appearance.
Stallbaumer has a 161-61 head coaching record in 22 seasons as a head coach. He has been with the Bobcats since 2014 and has compiled a 95-33 record. Previously, Stallbaumer was the head coach at Lyndon High School (2007-14), an assistant coach at Rossville High School (2005-06), and Quivira Heights High School (2001-05), starting as an assistant coach before taking on the head coaching role for his final two seasons.
The announcement marks the finale of the 29th season of the High School Coach of the Week program, a joint initiative of the Kansas City Chiefs and the National Football League. This program is designed to recognize and reward Kansas City area high school coaches for superior performance on a weekly basis while honoring individuals who are shaping today's youth and tomorrow's leaders.
The Kansas City Chiefs partnered with PrepsKC to select Coaches of the Week from Missouri and Kansas each week. PrepsKC is the only complete multimedia coverage of high school football in the Kansas City Metro. For the last 16 years, it has combined a dynamic web site, weekly magazine and comprehensive weekly radio show. More information about PrepsKC, including scores, schedules and coverage can be found at www.prepskc.com.
