Kim Nelson returns to describe his state title season with Sioux Falls Christian and life as an OC after 45 years of head coaching

Imagine having a career where you are the boss of five different organizations for 45 years, then all of a sudden are no longer the boss.   Since 1978, shortly after graduating from Dakota State, all Kim Nelson knew in coaching high school football was being the head coach, from Milbank to Rapid City Central to Sioux Falls Washington to Edian (MN) to Sioux Falls Roosevelt.   Then, the all-time South Dakota wins leader stepped down as Roosevelt's head coach in 2023 and called it a retirement from head coaching.    But Nelson could not and still cannot get coaching out of his system. He joined the University of Sioux Falls staff briefly in the spring of 2024 before deciding the college game just wasn't his jam.    So, he pivoted back to Roosevelt to coach the freshman team that fall. After one season, he accepted an offer from Sioux Falls Christian coach Jared Smith — a former assistant under Nelson at RHS — to become the Chargers' offensive coordinator.   It went well. Like, really well. SFC was an offensive juggernaut, averaging over 40 points a game and coming from 17 points behind to beat Lennox for the South Dakota 11A state championship.   So, what was that experience like, particularly the part in the second half of the title game when Smith — who had ran the offense prior to Nelson's arrrival — decided to take over the play-calling?    Remember, Nelson had been a boss who called his own offensive plays for 45 of 46 seasons prior.   In his casual yet candid manner, Nelson — who joined Happy Hour last summer to walk through his life and career in football — takes us through his SFC journey so far, less than a week before the Chargers' first practice ahead of their 2026 title defense campaign.