A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports such as association football, the head coach is usually called the manager, whilst in other sports such as Australian rules football they are generally termed a senior coach.

Other coaches are usually subordinate to the head coach, often in offensive positions or defensive positions, and occasionally proceeding down into individualized position coaches.

Head coaches in American football have different responsibilities depending on what level of the sport they are coaching.

The head coach has a much more complete hold on the intricacies of the team. He may have to perform the duties of a defensive or offensive coordinator.

Often, high school head coaches have to do more work off the field than on. It is important that head coaches in high school hire a competent and proactive coaching staff because when the head coach is pulled away from practice then he must be confident that his team is in good hands with his other coaches and staff. One of the most difficult issues, off the field, that head coaches must deal with is the parents. He must be able to handle any issues that parents may have with the way that the head coach is running the program, all along while staying professional and not being demeaning. Furthermore, a high school's head football coach often serves as his school's Athletic Coordinator or Director, which adds even further responsibilities to his job. In some jurisdictions, a high school head coach must also have a paying job within the school, almost always as a teacher.

Gary Wayne Kubiak (born August 15, 1961) is the head coach for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Kubiak has participated in six Super Bowls, losing three as a player with the Denver Broncos and winning three as an assistant coach with Denver and the San Francisco 49ers.

Kubiak passed for a then state-record 6,190 yards as a quarterback for St. Pius X High School of Houston, Texas where he was given the nickname "Koob". Twice named to the all-state football, basketball, baseball and track teams, he was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

Kubiak attended Texas A&M University under coaches Tom Wilson and Jackie Sherrill and was selected to the All-Southwest Conference team in 1982 after leading the conference in passing yards (1,948) and touchdowns (19). As a junior, he set a conference record by throwing six touchdown passes against Rice.

Kubiak was selected in the eighth round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, the same year quarterback John Elway was drafted No. 1 overall by the Baltimore Colts before forcing a trade to Denver. Kubiak played his entire career for the Broncos as a backup for Elway, a Hall of Famer. In nine seasons, Kubiak went 3–2 as a starter, throwing for 14 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and 1,920 yards while part of three AFC championship teams.

Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball point guard who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. Raised in Oakland, California, Kidd played college basketball at the University of California, Berkeley and was drafted second overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft. Then, from 1996 to 2001, Kidd played for the Phoenix Suns and later for the New Jersey Nets from 2001 to 2008. In the middle of the 2007–2008 season, Kidd was traded back to Dallas. Along with his three NBA Finals appearances including a championship win in 2011, Kidd won two Olympic gold medals with the US national team in 2000 and 2008.

He led his former team, the New Jersey Nets to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances (2002 and 2003) before winning in 2011 with Dallas. His on-court versatility also makes him a regular triple-double threat, and he is in third place all-time for regular season triple-doubles in the NBA with a career total of 107 and second in playoffs triple-doubles with a career total of 11.

Terri Williams-Flournoy is the head women's basketball coach at Auburn University. She was hired in April of 2012 after having been the coach of Georgetown since 2004. She had previously served as an assistant coach at Georgetown, Georgia, and Southwest Missouri State. Her overall record as an assistant coach is 251-116, through 12 seasons.

She played college basketball at Penn State from 1988 to 1991. The Nittany Lions played in the NCAA tournament 3 of those 4 years, and had won 2 straight conference championships in 1990 and 1991.

Ed Orgeron (born July 27, 1961) is an American football coach who is currently serving as the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator for the USC Trojans. Orgeron previously served as the head football coach of the Ole Miss Rebels from 2005 to 2007. Prior to that, Orgeron was one of the highest paid assistant coaches in college football, with an annual salary of $650,000.

Orgeron attended South Lafourche High School in Galliano, Louisiana with former Michigan Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Bobby Hebert. Orgeron and Hebert played on the school's Class 4A state championship team in 1977. Orgeron then signed to play college ball at Louisiana State University, but he transferred to Northwestern State University after one practice. He is of Cajun descent.

Orgeron returned to the college ranks in 1994 at Nicholls State University before moving to Syracuse University in 1995, where he met his wife Kelly in 1996.

Before being hired by Mississippi, he was the defensive line coach and assistant head coach for the University of Southern California (USC) where he played a key role in Pete Carroll's Trojans winning the Rose Bowl and Associated Press National Championship in 2003 and the Bowl Championship Series National Championship in 2004. He joined the USC staff in January 1998 under the coaching regime of Paul Hackett, and was retained by Carroll when Hackett was fired in 2000. Under Carroll, Orgeron took on the added responsibility of recruiting coordinator for the Trojans in 2001, and was then named assistant head coach in 2003.