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Cincinnati Country Day School recently signed former Bengals player Leon Hall and veteran football coach Ken Minor to join the school’s football coaching staff.
“Ken is a legend and one of the most respected high school coaches in the history of Cincinnati high school football. He is a student of the game and one of the best quarterback coaches in all southwest Ohio. He is a wonderful man with a strong character that all our players and coaches will benefit from,” said Dennis Coyle, Country Day’s athletic director. “And Leon will be a tremendous role model and will help our football program in developing future leaders and outstanding young men. I cannot imagine finding a better qualified defensive back coach to teach our players the techniques and skills to play football.”
For the 2022-23 season, Minor will join the staff as an assistant head coach and quarterback coach, and Hall will join as a defensive back coach and assistant defensive coordinator.
Hall coached middle school football at Country Day for the past two years, holding positions as a defensive coordinator for the 2021 season and wide receivers and defensive backs coach for the 2020 season. He has also worked with the school’s summer camp program for football and basketball.
“I love the competitiveness of the game; I can’t get enough of it,” explains Hall. “If I had any advice for these kids, it’s to never let anybody limit your potential. Don’t let anyone put a glass ceiling on you for any reason in any way, on or off the field.”
Hall played football at Michigan for four years and then was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals as a defensive back in 2007. He played for the Bengals through the 2015-16 season and then played for the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and ended his career with the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders.
“Years before I retired from the NFL, I knew I wanted to be a coach,” said Hall. “My experience with football in general and with previous coaches is what drew me to coaching. My high school coach Dan Williams is someone I have always looked up to as a coach and man. He took me under his wing and helped me grow as a player and person. Luckily for me, I also had a college coach that was the same way and helped mold me into who I was then and who I am today. Now it’s my chance to pay it forward; to have the opportunity to do that for some kids at Country Day is something I don’t take lightly.”
Minor agreed that the friendships that he formed throughout his 50 years of coaching are among his most important takeaways.
“I was very blessed to have the right people get me to where I am right now,” said Minor. “With coaching most of my 50 years at Reading High School, it will always have a special place in my heart, but I have always been impressed by Country Day’s program and cannot wait to work with the staff and players. I know I will really enjoy my time with the quarterback candidates and watching them progress. I will also enjoy working with my friend and fellow coach Dan Winkler. He was instrumental in me making the decision to come back out of retirement and coach at Country Day.”
In addition to serving as head coach at Reading for nearly 30 years, Minor also held head coaching positions at Summit Country Day School and
Wilmington College. He then served as an assistant coach “all over the city” for the last 10 years and in late 2021 made the decision to end his coaching career at Reading High School. Or so he thought.
“I was 99 percent sure I was going to finish with 50 years of coaching last year but I met with Coach Coyle and was very impressed with his knowledge and organization and so I decided I would love to come back and be quarterback coach for this program,” explained Minor. “Some of my former players knew I wouldn’t be retired for long because they said that’s what I do. They weren’t wrong.”
Minor has also logged 13 years of playing football at his alma maters – Reading High School and Wilmington College. “It’s rare to be a head coach at both alma maters, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to do so.”
He was inducted into the Wilmington College Hall of Fame for football and track and Reading High School Hall of Fame for coaching and as a four-sport athlete.
“We are very excited to have two men of their experience and character joining our football staff,” said Coyle.
Country Day’s football team ended the season with a 7-3 record. The 2021 winning season was also the first time the team won the league championship in seven years. Coyle is excited to continue the positive momentum of the program with the addition of Hall and Minor.
“Leon was a tremendous football player and will bring a wealth of knowledge that he can share with our players,” said Coyle. “In the three short years I have known Leon, I have been even more impressed with him as a person – he has character and values beyond his All-Pro playing abilities.”
Hall and his wife, Jessica, have three children and they all attend Country Day. He said he knew it was the right place for their family the minute they walked in the door for a visit.
“We were immediately comfortable; everyone was so nice and kind,” said Hall. “My wife attended private school, but I didn’t know much about it. I love the community feel that a private school experience brings with it. That is what it’s all about – the whole “it takes a village” kind of thing. At Country Day, everyone is in it together.”