Head Coaches

The late Wayne Grady was the first  coach in Bettendorf history who helped both establish the program and  set the foundation for future generations.  In only Bettendorf's third  season (1954), he led the Bulldogs to a 4-4-1 record and 3rd place  finish in the Illowa  Conference and was on hand to lead the Bulldogs into the 23rd Street Stadium  where home games would be played for the next 28 seasons.  

Grady's  overall career record was 10-23-2 and  although he has the unfortunate distinction of being the only coach in  BHS history to go winless in a season (1952's 0-10 record),  he was the pioneer of the Bettendorf Football program.     

 As  head coach of the Bulldogs, success occurred both quickly and often for  the late Merrit Parsons.  In the course of his 12-season tenure, Parsons  not only compiled an overall record of 66-34-5, but also won 5  conference championships as well as the U.P.I.'s  1960 Mythical State Championship.  In 1957 he was named the Quad Cities "Coach of  the Year" and from 1958-60, his Bulldogs compiled an impressive record of 25-0-1  which also marked the first of three historical Bulldog winning streaks.   

Prior to the implementation of Iowa football playoffs, teams were ranked at the  end of the season and both the 1958 and 1959 squads were ranked #10 and #12,  respectively, by the Iowa Daily Press Association.

In  1966, his final season before becoming the Assistant Superintendent of  Bettendorf Schools, the Bulldogs went 8-0 and won the Little 6 Conference.   The 1968 squad was also rated #4 by the Des Moines Register at the end of  season and two year later in 1968, Parsons was  inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame.  

Mr. Parsons  passed away in 1994. 

 Prior  to leading the Bulldogs, the late Ray Oles not only started the North Scott football program in 1958, but is still the winningest coach in  school history.   In his first season, Oles guided the Bulldogs to a 7-2 record and #13  final  ranking by the Des Moines Register while his 1968 squad won the Little 6 title  with a 5-0 record while finishing the season with another 7-2 record.

In  1969, Oles was named the M.V.C. "Coach of the Year" after guiding Bettendorf to  second place in the conference via a 7-2-1 finish along with a final #7 ranking in the Des Moines Register.   

During his tenure, the Bulldogs won their historical 100th game as Oles  compiled a 24-12-1 record in four seasons before becoming the Director  of Curriculum and Instruction for Bettendorf Schools.  

Ray Oles passed  away suddenly in 1982. 

 Simply  put, Fort Dodge (IA) native Merv Habenicht led the Bulldogs for 29  seasons and not only made history, but also a dynasty.   A former prep player at Fort Dodge High School, Habenicht played  football at the  Iowa Teacher's College (now Northern Iowa) before coming to Bettendorf.   During his tenure, Habenicht compiled a record of 229-70-1 while  winning 5 state championships and 10 conference titles.  

Additionally,  his 15 playoffs squads compiled a record of 30-10 and two of them were  nationally ranked by USA Today.   Three of his teams made school history by going undefeated (12-0 in 1987 and  13-0 in 1988 and 1992) and are the first Bettendorf squads to do so since the  1972 creation of the Iowa football playoffs.  Habenicht also coached 70 All-State  players and Parade All-American Tavian Banks.

Among the numerous  honors and awards he has earned, Habenicht was inducted into the Iowa  High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 1988 and was the runner-up  for the Quad City Football  "Coach of the Century" in 2000.  He also was the M.A.C. "Coach of  the Year" in 1989 and 1998 as well as the Des Moines Register "Coach of the  Year" in 1988.  Habenicht also coached in the Iowa Shrine Bowl  All-Star game for the South Squad as an assistant in 1981 and was the head coach   in 1999.

Although "retired," he has coached football for other teams such as Davenport Assumption and in the Arena Football League (af2) for the Quad City Steamwheelers while also still presenting at coaching clinics.

Coach Habenicht passed away in 2012.

 Born and raised in Avoca (IA), Randy Scott joined the Bettendorf program in 1976  after starring at center for the Northern Iowa Panthers and served as an  assistant coach under Merv Habenicht for 24 seasons before assuming head  coaching duties in 2000,

In his inaugural season as head coach, Scott led  the Bulldogs to the 4A state title game where they were runners-up and again in  2002 before claiming the title in 2004 and 2007; both the 2004 and 2007 squads  also finished the season with records of 13-0 (only the fourth and fifth teams  in school history to go undefeated since the inception of the Iowa football  playoffs in 1972).

While the 2004 team earned national rankings of #25 by Prep Nation 101 and #32 by Student Sports, the 2007 team was ranked #30 by MaxPreps while also being designated as the "Best Team in Iowa" by  Sports Illustrated.

In just 8 short seasons  under Scott's tutelage, 44 players earned All-State honors while his teams  compiled a record of 85-12—an incredible 87.6%  winning percentage—which makes him the third winningest coach in Bettendorf  history.  

Coach Scott also won 4 conference titles while amassing a record  of 66-6 in conference play and under his direction, the Bulldogs also  qualified for the 4A playoffs 8 consecutive times while collecting 19 wins in 25  games.  Coach Scott was honored with several "Coach of the Year"  honors, most notably by the M.A.C. (2004, '07) and Iowa Football Coaches  Association ('04) while also being named the "Southeast District Coach of the Year" in  2000 and 2004.  

Coach Scott currently remains happily retired but still a highly visible and active as a Bulldog Patriot.

  Aaron Wiley, a Cedar Falls (IA) native who  as a prep played defensive back for the Tigers, became just the sixth head football coach in Bettendorf history in January of 2008 after spending 12 seasons as an assistant Bulldog coach.

Prior to being named Bettendorf's head coach, Aaron became a member of the Bulldog coaching staff in 1996 and spent one season as a sophomore line coach before being named as the varsity Defensive Coordinator by then-head coach Merv Habenicht.  Wiley did spend the 1991-96 seasons coaching at Cedar Falls.

Among leading some of the best defenses in modern day Bulldog history, Coach Wiley earned “Assistant Coach of the Year” honors by the Iowa  Football Coaches Association in 2004 and was a featured speaker at the Iowa  Football Coaches Association Clinic in 2002. 

Since 2008, WIley has become the second winningest coach in Bettendorf's history by compiling a record of 148-44 including winning three Mississippi Athletic Conference and 5 district titles.  Additionally, Coach Wiley has also led the Bulldogs into the playoffs  where they have qualified 16 times including advancing to 6 Semifinal appearances and were the 2011 4A Runners-Up.

 In 2016 Wiley guided the Bulldog's to their historic 500th victory in team history and on multiple occasions has earned M.A.C., District, and Quad City Metro "Coach of the Year" honors.