Burlington High School has a new head football coach.
Jordan Webb is taking over the school’s program following the retirement of coach James Krekel at the close of the football season.
“I hope to keep the same tradition and success that we’ve had, that sense of family that I believe is important to not just a sports program, but the community,” Mr. Webb said. “And I think Krekel’s done a really great job of building that system that we have right now, so I just hope to continue the success that we’ve been seeing.”
“Coach Webb brings a wealth of knowledge from both his playing days at the University of Northern Iowa and his experience coaching at the high school level, where he was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Grayhounds,” Activities Director Jay Huff said. “We are excited about the future of Grayhound Football with Coach Webb leading the way.”
Mr. Webb has served as the BHS football program’s defensive back coach and defensive coordinator since 2020 and as head track coach since 2017. He also was defensive coordinator for West Burlington High School from 2017 to 2019.
He also teaches physical education and special education at BHS and lives in Burlington with his wife and three children. His favorite color is purple.
“I bleed purple. You look in my closet, it’s purple, purple, purple, black, gray, purple,” Mr. Webb said with a laugh.
He and the color purple go way back.
He wore purple as a high school student, having graduated in 2011 from BHS, where he played football and basketball and ran track. As a BHS student, he was a two-time Iowa State Track champion, a two-time Drake Relay champion, and was twice honored in the Mississippi Athletic Conference for his skills on the football field. He was also named to the Elite All State Team in track.
After high school, he studied education at the University of Northern Iowa, where he traded in gray for yellow, but kept the purple.
At UNI, he ran track and played football as a defensive back. During his time at UNI, he received the State Farm Good Neighbor Award, and his football team received the All Conference Academic Reward.
He’s excited to lead another purple program.
“I’m super excited about the opportunity to come back and lead at the helm of the program that I was a part of,” Mr. Webb said. “I’ve always looked at and admired the coaches who have been here and I want to live up to the expectations that they’ve set. It’s a great opportunity, I’m excited to get started and I hope to hit the ground running.”