Atchison High football coach Jim Smith retires after 27 years

Atchison High football is entering a new era after Jim Smith retired following 27 years at the helm, closing a run that helped define Phoenix football and set a standard the school now has to carry forward.

Atchison High School announced the retirement Tuesday morning in a post on X, writing, “After 27 years of dedicated leadership, we announce the retirement of our Head Football Coach, Jim Smith...” The school’s tribute described Smith as a mentor, a leader and an inspiration to countless athletes, underscoring how deeply his influence reached inside the program and across Atchison County.

The move lands at a meaningful moment for Atchison Public Schools USD 409. Atchison High sits at 1500 W Riley St. in Atchison, competes as a Class 4A school in the Meadowlark Conference, and has built its recent football identity under Smith. Kansas High School Football History lists Smith as the team’s head coach from 2020 through 2024, a span that included the program’s first season as the Phoenix in 2021.

The recent results make the transition even more significant. Atchison finished 8-2 in 2024, 10-1 in 2023 and 9-1 in 2022 under Smith, a three-year stretch that produced a combined 27-4 record. For a community that follows Phoenix football closely, those numbers set a high bar for whoever takes over next.

That is the immediate question facing athletic director Tyler J. Lueckenhoff and school leaders: how to preserve continuity while replacing a coach who helped shape both the program and its culture. Smith’s retirement does not just mark the end of a long career. It closes the latest and most successful chapter of a stretch in which Atchison football established a clear identity, won consistently and moved through the program’s Phoenix era with Smith as its central voice.