After a whirlwind couple of months to start this year, Fairbury High School has a new head football coach, and a roster full of upperclassmen that are eager to leave the struggles of previous years in the past as the 2025 season officially begins this week.

The year began with a hectic few months for Jacob Johnson, who was on staff as an assistant football coach last fall and was preparing to fill that role under a different coach this fall before a couple of things changed - and suddenly, he was the one asked to take on the mantle of head coach for the 2025 season. 

"It was a weird transition with how I came into this opportunity but nonetheless I got it, all the coaches on staff and the players, right away, were willing to take me in and ready to rock and roll, so it wasn’t as rough of a transition as I thought it’d be," Johnson said this week. "Initially, it was more stress than I could imagine, but as it went on and I got with my coaches, it’s kind of just been smooth sailing now."

And his players, many of whom he knows from his roles with the football and wrestling teams or in the Fairbury classrooms, have been quick to support him in this time of transition. 

"Johnson was really involved last year and honestly, he’s just a really good coach, good with the players, everyone loves him," senior athlete Nic Smith said. "And I just think it’s been good, he’s prepared us well, he’s taught us well."

"In recent years he’s helped with wrestling, and that’s one of my favorite sports, and just seeing his leadership and what he can do for us...just seeing him take the head coach role, I knew that I could get under him, I have a lot of trust in him and I know that what he has to say is going to help us and benefit us for the best," said senior Gavin Gerths, a longtime Fairbury wrestler who's in his first year playing football at the school. 

After a few trying seasons in a row, this year's Fairbury football team is focused on establishing a new standard of success. And for large senior class of more than a dozen, that standard can be summarized by one word: culture.

"My biggest thing that I want to bring to Fairbury is a change in culture where, we are proud to be a Fairbury Jeff, we’re proud to be a football player, and we’re one family, united together. We do everything together, no matter if it’s one person’s fault or all our faults, we’re in this together no matter what," Johnson said. "It’s on the back of our Thursday gear shirts, it’s what I’ll post at the end of every tweet: #Family, because that’s what we are. That’s the biggest thing I’m trying to do for these kids is bring a family together."

"Culture is the big thing with these guys. The culture in our past years hasn’t been the best, and that’s what we’ve been building on is that we’re all a family and we’re all here for each other so if you need something, just ask – and I feel like that has been a lot better this year, that everyone’s sticking up for each other, and they’re here for each other," said Gerths.

"He emphasizes family a lot. We’re all a bunch of brothers, playing the sport we love, so we can all come together as one whole," senior running back Jaret Wood said.

"It’s not about I, it’s about us. And he holds us accountable for all of our actions. And like, if we do something bad, it’s not I’m running, everybody’s running. So we hold each other accountable," junior quarterback Jacob Nippert echoed. 

And these Jeffs believe that culture change can start on the field, where winning games this year will help inspire others to grab a helmet and join the program in the future.

"I just want to win some games. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a winning season here, you know, the past couple years, not many wins, and I want to turn this thing around, I want to get some wins," senior lineman Konrad Kuzelka said. "I feel if we do win a lot of games this year, we will be able to turn it around because we’ve won like four games in the last three years, so I feel like if we do win five, six games, everyone will see that and they’ll know what’s going on."

"Everybody knows their role, they all know their assignments, and we just go from there," said Wood. "I’m looking forward to hopefully winning some games, and setting a new base for everybody coming up." 

"We want more kids to come out. We barely have any kids [playing football] anymore, and if they see us having fun and we’re winning, they’re going to be like, oh, these guys are enjoying it so I might as well try it, try something new," said Nippert.

Ultimately, Johnson said that while winning games and resetting records are important goals, the desire to reignite the community's belief in the team, and the team's belief in itself, is what's driving him in his first season as Fairbury's coach - something that was instilled in him by a lesson from his father, himself a longtime coach: if you do something, do it right. 

"At the end of the day I want these kids to know I love them and I’ll do anything for them," he said. "Some of these kids don’t have that, you know? There was a time in my high school career, and even in college, where I wanted to quit football, but there was that one coach that didn’t give up on me. And I think that’s what this is all about is giving these kids the opportunity to change their family’s history, to change their own trajectory...if they’re destined to go do this, I’m going to change that and make them go become doctors, become professors, that’s my goal for these kids. And so I tell them after every day, if you ever need anything, let me know."

Fairbury begins the 2025 season on Thursday night at 7 PM against Superior. You can listen to that game on 99.5 FM on your radio in the Southeast Nebraska area, or online wherever you are at olred995.com.