The Iowa Football Coaches Association has announced that Pella Head Coach Jay McKinstrey is in the 2024 class of the IFCA Coaches Hall of Fame. He will be inducted alongside:
Kevin Miller – Solon High School
Bruce Held – Hinton High School
Steve Diedeker – Hinton High School
Bob Lape – Oelwein High School
McKinstrey announced in November that he intends to coach one more season before retiring.
“I prayed about it for several years now and I sense that the time has come to let go and trust God for what is next,” McKinstrey said in an email to KNIA/KRLS.
McKinstrey is one of the greatest Iowa high school football coaches of all time, with a win-loss record of 226-73 in 27 seasons, leading the Dutch to the playoffs 21 times during that stretch. His .761 winning percentage ranked in the top 30 all-time among all coaches in Iowa prior to this year.
McKinstrey’s best on-field accomplishment was guiding the program to a 41-game winning streak from 2014-16, collecting three undefeated championships in one of the greatest stretches in state history. Pella made its first playoff appearance in the new Class 4A in 2023, finishing with a 6-4 overall record.