Matt Klein has been named the new head football coach at Washington High School.
Klein replaces Derick Heflin, who resigned following the 2022 season to take the head coaching job at Rolla High School.
Klein spent last season as the offensive coordinator at Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, MO. He was there for one season. Prior to that, he was the head football coach at Blue Springs South High School for three seasons (2019-21). He also has served as head football coach at Marquette High School for five years (2014-19) and Knob Noster for one season in 2013.
Klein also has been an assistant football coach at Pleasant Hill High School and Morgan County R-2 (Versailles).
“There’s a combination of things that drew me to Washington. I like to be with a bigger program, like a Class 5 or Class 6 program. That’s where I see myself and see my best fit. To move my family here, it had to be the right place, and I believe Washington is the right place,” Klein said. “We have an opportunity to have a special environment every Friday night with a big group of kids and a lot of community support, but still have that small town feel. That’s going to be a really cool opportunity.”
Klein is a graduate of Eldon High School, which is located near the Lake of the Ozarks. His father, Cloyce Klein, coached various sports at Eldon for 30 years.
“Obviously, my dad is the reason I got into coaching. He’s been a big influence in my career,” Klein said. “I’ve had a lot of great experiences coaching football everywhere I’ve been. I took over the program at Marquette after they were coming off a 2-8 season. We won two conference championships and had the most wins in a five-year period in school history at that time. Marquette still has a successful program today and that’s something we’re proud about. We put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get that program going.”
Klein earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Exercise Science from Missouri Valley College. From there, he earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Central Missouri and in Administration from William Woods University. He started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Versailles and then Pleasant Hill before his head coaching positions at Knob Noster, Marquette and Blue Springs South.
Klein will teach in the physical education department at the WHS.
“We are excited to welcome Coach Klein to Blue Jay Nation. He brings with him tremendous enthusiasm for the game and a wealth of experience at a variety of schools,” said Washington High School Activities Director Bill Deckelman. “While our student-athletes are ready to get to work for the 2023 season, we wish Coach Heflin nothing but the best at Rolla.”
After spending last season as an assistant coach, Klein wanted to get back into the head coaching ranks.
“When this opportunity presented itself, I did a lot of research on Washington as far as the school, academics, athletics, everything. There are a lot of positives going on right now and quite honestly, the staff is doing a great job selling the school and the district through social media and other ways on all the positive things that are happening. It makes it easy to see that things here are moving in the right direction,” Klein said.
“As far as the football program is concerned, they’ve had a good run over the last few years. I want to keep that going and really help create a special Friday night event, a community event. That’s tough to do at some places depending on how the town is and everything else," Klein said. "We have the opportunity here in Washington on Friday nights to have everybody in town at the game with Blue Jay flags everywhere. I want the community to be excited about football. I’ve already talked to our kids about that and how that’s a big responsibility. Everybody wants to have that, but there’s responsibility that goes with it. I just want our kids to see what we could have here and the environment we could have here.”
As far as what kind of team the Blue Jays will be under Klein, he said that depends on the personnel.
“Offensively, we’ll be a formation football team. We want to be very versatile because the kids who walk the halls at Washington High School are going to be a little different every year. Yes, we want to be able to run the football, but we want to maximize our kids and our abilities. That can look different year to year. We’re going to play to the strengths of our kids. We have a checklist that we’ll go through to get there,” Klein said.
“Defensively, we’re not going to get caught up in schemes, but more about the way our kids play. On defense, you can really create that mentality of just tackling, creating turnovers, and celebrating those things, versus getting caught up in schemes," Klein said. "We’re going to celebrate effort, playing fast, playing hard, and playing with passion. Being flexible in the way we evaluate our kids on both sides of the ball will be a big deal.”
Klein has already met with the WHS football players and his assistant coaches and is anxious to get things going on the field this summer.
“We have to get rolling. We’re not going to rush the process. It will be a hectic, but fun summer,” Klein said. “We’re getting new turf. That’s really nice, but it will create a curveball for a few weeks over the summer. We’ll get through it. It’s more about maximizing your time and making the most of the opportunities we have to prepare for the season. We’ll evaluate what’s important and push that first.”
Matt and his wife, Adrienne, have three children; Justin (10 years old), Lydia (7 years old) and Makenna (4 years old).
“Having three kids of my own, I’ll be able to see them and spend time with them while they’re going through school. Sometimes when you’re at a big place, that doesn’t happen,” Klein said. “Washington will provide that opportunity while still playing football at a very high level.”
Matt Klein
Matt Klein with his wife, Adrienne, and three children Justin (10 years old), Lydia (7 years old) and Makenna (4 years old).
