In just two years as head coach, Jeremiah Behrendsen led Dakota Ridge to a Colorado high school football state championship. On the heels of a perfect 14-0 season and 4A title, the Denver Broncos have selected Behrendsen as their Coach of the Year and the team’s finalist for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award.
The @Broncos and @CHSAA are proud to honor Jeremiah Behrendsen from Dakota Ridge as the 2025 High School Tackle Coach of the Year! 👏
Coach Behrendsen led the Eagles to a perfect 14-0 season and the first state championship in school history. pic.twitter.com/2gLyB1PfZT
— BroncosOffField (@BroncosOffField) December 12, 2025
Recently, Coach Behrendsen was interviewed by CHSAANow.com’s Christopher Simmons about the honor and an outstanding 2025 season.
Question from CHSAANow.com: “You’ve been part of the Dakota Ridge football program for many years, but this is just your second season as the head coach. What do you think changed between last year and this year that enabled this breakthrough?“
Coach Behrendsen answer: “Last year we were really close, but we went through some traumatic moments as a team. Our defensive coordinator lost his wife, and one of our players lost his brother who had graduated the year before. I was incredibly proud of how we came together through that, but it was a lot to carry. This year, experience played a huge role. What our seniors learned as juniors and what our juniors learned as sophomores made a real difference. It kept them hungry because they were not satisfied with how last season ended. Our focus was second to none. We truly did get better every week. You hear that phrase a lot, but it is incredibly difficult to actually live it. This group did, day-by-day and week-by-week.“
You can read the complete interview on the Denver Broncos’ website by clicking here.
The NFL will recognize two overall winners for the Don Shula Award, one representing the AFC and one the NFC. The award is given to the high school head coach that represents integrity, leadership, perseverance, dedication to the community, commitment to player protection and on-field success.
The NFL Foundation and Nike will present the two winners a $15,000 award to their high school football programs and a $10,000 cash award. The other 30 club nominees will all receive a $1,000 cash award. They will also attend Super Bowl LX in San Francisco as special guests of the NFL.