Kingfisher’s new head football coach had the opportunity Thursday to meet several community members.

And he admitted he very well may have to do it again.

“I’ve met a lot of good people,” said Reagan Roof, who was announced in January as the new coach and then moved here with his family this summer from Weatherford.

“I’m terrible at names and faces and recalling that, so I’ve met a lot of people two or three times,” Roof continued. “Some of you I may have to meet again.”

Roof was speaking at the Kingfisher Lions Club less than two weeks away from the team’s opening practice.

Teams can begin practicing Aug. 12 and have their first full day in pads Aug. 16.

While Roof answered several football questions from the audience, he took most of his time during the luncheon to introduce himself, his background and philosophy about the game beyond the field.

He was born in Weatherford, but moved to Mangum when he was young when his father, Robin Roof, accepted his first football coaching job there.

Robin Roof was hired as Guthrie’s head coach in 1987 when Reagan was in the third grade.

Reagan Roof graduated from Guthrie in 1997.

Though a sizable city by football classification standards, Guthrie was still a “community” in Roof’s eyes, which was something that would guide him in his own career.

After earning an undergraduate degree at Southwestern Oklahoma State University where he also earned a master’s degree - Roof was hired as an assistant football coach at Bethany.

He spent two years as an assistant, the next four years as offensive coordinator.

Roof was promoted to the Bronchos’ head coach in 2008 and spent the next nine seasons in that position.

“We absolutely loved it at Bethany,” Roof said. “Bethany was a great school district. We spent 15 years total there and it was incredible.”

But it’s also part of the metropolitan Oklahoma City area.

Reagan grew up in the likes of Mangum and Guthrie. His wife, Lindsay, was a native of Frederick. Their two kids - daughter Reese and son River - were young at the time.

“We really just didn’t want to raise our kids in the city,” he said. “Nothing against the city, but we wanted more of a community.”

During that time in Bethany, Roof’s family had farmland west of Watonga and they also had family in the Thomas area.

When making trips west, the Roofs either drove through Weatherford or Kingfisher to get there.

“We said if there was ever two communities we’d ever consider going to, it would be either Weatherford or Kingfisher,” Roof told Lions.

The Weatherford job opened in 2017…

••• Coaching is in Roof’s blood.

His dad coached. His brother - Tanner Roof - is the head coach at Oklahoma Christian School.

His uncle is Jim Petree, a hall of fame basketball coach at Thomas who has spent more than three decades coaching boys or girls teams there.

“I kind of get it from both sides,” said Roof, noting Petree is his mom’s brother.

Reagan’s second cousin is the legendary Woody Roof who won 222 games and five state titles at three different schools. His fourth stint at Weatherford was coming to a close in 2017.

“The Weatherford job had opened two times prior. They had called me both times in previous years to come take that job,” Roof said. “I went over and talked to them and at the time it just didn’t feel right.

“The third time, when I took the job, I thought, ‘OK, this feels right.’” Over seven seasons his Eagles teams went 49-28, including an 11-3 record in 2019 and a run to the Class 4A state championship game.

“We had a great seven years in Weatherford,” he said.

Then the Kingfisher position opened up. Roof had a passing interest in it, but also wanted Taylor Sossamon, his defensive coordinator at Weatherford who had followed Roof there from Bethany, to throw his hat in the ring.

Then Roof met with Kingfisher Superintendent David Glover.

“And it just felt right,” he said.

And it wasn’t just about football.

It made for a shorter drive to work for Lindsay, who works in Yukon.

Kingfisher is about halfway between their parents (his near Thomas, hers in Edmond).

Reese would make a great fit for Kingfisher in basketball, softball and track.

River - a “social butterfl y” - was already making friends in Kingfisher.

“It’s hard to explain,” Roof said. “It just fell together. It kind of felt like it was meant to be.”

Which, said Roof, is something he’s always sought.

“I’ve always prayed for God to slam doors in my face that he didn’t want me to walk through and shove me through the ones I was supposed to go through,” Roof said.

“Just kind of like we felt shoved to go to Weatherford, we felt that for here as well.”

Ironically, the Roof family has now moved to both communities they admired on those trips from Bethany out west.

“So here we are,” he said. “And so far it’s been great. The people have been awesome. It’s everything we heard it was going to be and as far as the people go here.”

••• Roof didn’t bring any coaches with him. Other than Sossamon, a majority of the Eagles’ staff were Weatherford alumni.

The same goes for here with guys like Stan Blundell, Derek Patterson, Timmy Winans, Isaac Waltman, Steven Wilson, Dylan Blundell and Jacob Farrell.

“Here’s the good thing about them being alums,” Roof said. “They have pride in the program.

“They have pride in the community.”

And that’s important, Roof said, because football and the community are tied together.

“That’s the deal about a football team…really any sports team, but I’m biased, so I think more football than anything else,” Roof said. “It’s not the school’s program. It’s not my program.

“It’s the community’s program.”

Roof understands that a lot of communities “hang their hats” on how the school’s athletic teams perform, which he said is something he tries to convey to his players.

“You’re playing for a town, a community. It’s more than just your school,” Roof said. “Yeah, playing for your teammates is important and playing for your school is important, but there’s a lot of people who care about Kingfisher football, what product they put out there on Friday night, how they behave and act on Friday night.

“And I think that’s a big part of our message.”