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Posted: Dec 09, 2025 6:56 AMUpdated: Dec 09, 2025 9:17 AM
Matt Hennesy Coming to Coach in Bartlesville
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Bartlesville High School has found its new head football coach, and it’s a familiar name from just 25 minutes down Highway 60.
Former Pawhuska High head coach Matt Hennesy is returning to 6A football to lead the Bruins.
Hennesy just wrapped up his third appearance in the State semifinals in eight seasons with the Huskies this past Friday.
BHS Athletics and Activities Director Thad Dilbeck talks about the hire.
He went 72-25 during his stint in Pawhuska, after the Huskies went 0-10 in 2017, the season prior to Hennesy’s arrival.
This is his fourth head coaching stop in Oklahoma since 2006, previously serving in the same capacity in Muskogee (2006-2010) Locust Grove (2012-2017) and Pawhuska (2018-2025).
The hire for Bartlesville is the most decorated in recent memory. Hennesy will be the sixth Bruin head coach since 2011 replacing former head man Harry Wright, who had been with Bartlesville since 2022. Wright resigned last month.
Dilbeck says Hennesy's track record set him apart from other candidates.
Overall, Hennesy has gone 172-71 in his head coaching career. This coming season will be his 22nd as a head coach and 33rd season in high school football coaching. Hennesy says he is looking forward to hitting the ground running.
This is his return to 6A football after serving as head coach at Muskogee from 2006-2010. In that stint Hennesy went 34-24 and made the playoffs in four of his five seasons with the Roughers.
The move comes four days after Pawhuska lost a heartbreaker in the Class A-I Semifinals last Friday to Rejoice Christian, 42-34.
His early coaching career includes six years at powerhouse Jenks High School, where he was part of three state championships and coached several future NFL players. Hennesy says his first goal is to bring that championship mindset back to Bartlesville.
A former Academic All-Big 8 linebacker at Kansas State University and state champion at Enid High School, Hennesy also has extensive national experience through USA Football, serving as a defensive coordinator and head coach for multiple U.S. National Teams.
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