HELENA — On a late August day, one might find Jim Hogan coaching football at Carroll College — or at Helena Capital High School. So, perhaps no one has more of their fingerprints on Helena football than the man they call “Hogie”.
Following his own collegiate football career with the University of Montana, Hogan embarked on a football coaching career that now spans more than four decades. Roughly half of those four decades have been spent coaching in Helena.
“It’s just a great game,” said Hogan. “It teaches so many lessons about life — getting knocked down, getting back up. Adversity, get an injury, how do you handle it? How do you come back.? Winning and losing, how do you handle both sides?"
While briefly retired from serving on Carroll’s coaching staff in 2019, Hogan assumed Capital’s offensive line coach duties.
“Coach Hogan, he’s a great guy. He’s just a guy that loves football,” said Capital senior offensive lineman Vaughn Wirkus. “I mean, he wakes up at 3:30 in the morning to go work his job, and then he goes to football practice. And then he spends time with his family, whatever. And then he goes to more football practice. It’s just something that he really enjoys doing.”
Wirkus’ teammate on the offensive line agreed.
“Definitely the best coach I’ve ever had,” said Capital senior guard Jack Gollehon. “He knows what we can do before we even know it. Freshman year, (I had) no confidence in myself, no nothing. He’s pushed me to what I am now.”
And when Hogan’s not coaching Capital’s offensive linemen, there’s a good chance he’s doing the same at Carroll. Hogan was on Carroll’s staff for all six of the program’s national championships.
“Oh, Hogie’s great, he’s unbelievable,” said Carroll head coach Troy Purcell. “He’s honest. He’s got that energy to him. He understands that he’ll get after you when it’s time to get after you. And he’s the most caring person in the world. And he wants them to be successful, and he lives and dies for their success.”
Hogan called days where he must run between practices at Capital and Carroll “great days.”
“It’s a great day any time you can work with young men, teach them this great game of football, the camaraderie and everything that’s involved with it,” said Hogan. “The strategy, the scheming, the drill work, it's those kinds of things. It’s a great day.”
