Jenks coach Allan Trimble died on Sunday after a three-year battle with ALS. (PHOTO: John E. Hoover/The Franchise)
Oklahoma coaching legend Allan Trimble died Sunday morning after a three-year battle with ALS, according to Jenks Public Schools.
He was 56.
Trimble rewrote the state’s records of excellence and achievement in high school football, winning 13 state championships in Oklahoma’s largest classification.
But far beyond the Friday night lights, Trimble’s faith as a Christian and commitment as an educator left an indelible mark on generations of young Oklahoma athletes.
Trimble grew up in Cleveland, Okla., and graduated from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. He began his career at Owasso, became a Jenks assistant in 1990 and served that role for six seasons before replacing Ron Lancaster as head coach in 1996.
Under Trimble, the Trojans won the Class 6A state championship in 1996-2001, 2003, 2006-07, and 2012-15.
Trimble’s record was 242-41 with 17 trips to the state championship game.
He was diagnosed in 2016 with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and initially retired, but reconsidered and coached the 2016 and 2017 seasons before retiring for good. In 2017, Hunter-Dwelley Field was formally renamed Allan Trimble Stadium.
In 2017, Trimble was accorded the American Football Coaches Association’s Power of Influence Award. In 2018, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
“Allan’s heart was always in the right place,” Mike Means, Site Principal at Jenks High School from 1993 to 2016, said in a press release. “He was a man of great faith, and he used football as a platform to teach so many young men how to be better people. He emphasized character above everything else, and he will always be remembered here in Jenks for not only creating a winning tradition, but for being a positive role model to everyone he met.”
Trimble is survived by his wife, Courtney, and two daughters, Tylar Isenberg and Tori Trimble.
“Our hearts are with his family and we offer them our most sincere condolences,” said Jenks Superintendent Stacey Butterfield in a press release. “Allan will certainly be remembered for what he accomplished on the football field, but his legacy is in the lives of the student-athletes he mentored and all those he impacted with his example of humility, service, and courage. He lifted up everyone around him and he will be greatly missed by so many in our community.”
According to Jenks PS social media posts, Trimble “passed away peacefully this morning at St. Francis Hospital. He was surrounded by his family. His legacy of faith, family and football will never be forgotten.”
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Formerly co-host of “Further Review” and “The Franchise Drive,” columnist John E. Hoover is a college football insider on The Franchise in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Listen at fm107.7 in OKC, fm107.9/am1270 in Tulsa, on The Franchise app, or click the “Listen” tab on The Franchise home page. Hoover co-hosts The Franchise “Inside OU” Podcast with Brady Trantham and Rufus Alexander, and the Locked oN Sooners podcast on the Locked oN Podcast Network. He also covers the Big 12 for Sporting News and Lindy’s magazine and is a feature writer for Sooner Spectator magazine. Visit his YouTube channel at YouTube.com/c/JohnHoover, and his personal page at johnehoover.com.
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