Vikings Coach of the Week
After each week of games during the high school football season, the Vikings honor a high school coach of the week. Coaches are chosen based on their contribution on the football field, but more importantly, on the impact they make within their community and for their student-athletes. In addition to being recognized in local media for the achievement, the school's football program receives a $1,000 donation on behalf of the Minnesota Vikings.
2023 Coach of the Year
Coach of the Year: Mike Diggins – Centennial High School
The 2023 Minnesota Vikings Coach of the Year, Mike Diggins, has been coaching football for 32 years – all of which he has spent at Centennial High School. 14 of those years he has served as head coach. In 2023, Diggins led his team to a 12-1 record. The team clinched their first state championship title at U.S. Bank Stadium when they defeated Edina after stopping their attempt at a 2-point conversion that would have decided the game as time ran out at the end of the 4th quarter.
Diggins takes pride in watching his players develop into positive role models for the youth in their community, in addition to seeing at-risk kids become better students, leaders, and players on the field and in the community. Diggins has built a culture of unity through emphasizing four main characteristics: enthusiasm, trust, respect, and commitment. Off the field, Coach Diggins teaches physical education. He was inducted into the Centennial Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Alumni for his endeavors of inclusiveness in his teachings of Adapted Physical Education.