End of an era: Sievers retiring as Mules football coach

Stepping down from any profession is a tough decision for anyone, but after more than three decades with the Poplar Bluff Mules football program — including the last six as head coach — David Sievers is ready to move on.

During a recent Poplar Bluff R-I school board meeting, the board members approved Sievers’ request to officially retire from his role as the physical education teacher and head football coach. Though Sievers still has a strong passion for coaching, his desire to be a full-time teacher is no longer there.

“It’s kind of a bittersweet moment when I turned in my request for retirement,” Sievers said. “I’ve tried for several years to be a part-time teacher and remain the head coach. I am still passionate about coaching, but my time as a full-time teacher has run its course. I want everyone to know that this was a tough step, and it was really hard to decide. I believe I could’ve coached for another 10 years, but it’s time to move on.”

Sievers ends his tenure with a record of 32-31 with the Mules. He had an 11-13 mark in SEMO North Conference games and five postseason wins in six years. The Mules reached the district championship game under the current postseason format for the first time in 2022 and earned the top seed this season for the first time under the current playoff format, which started in 2012.

He will finish as sixth all-time with 32 wins as a head coach behind Dutch Wyatt (97 wins), Mark Barousse (77), E.T. Peters (73), Jim Lohr (53) and Tom Telle (43). Four of those coaches are in the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame, and Sievers was an assistant coach during all 12 of Barousse’s seasons.

During his time as the head coach, Sievers said capturing more wins than losses was the focus of the team, but his ultimate goal was to turn young boys into mature men who would be ready for anything the world threw at them.

“I think football is the ultimate team sport, and it’s something that I’ve really focused on since my time here,” Sievers said. “My main goal was to push teamwork and discipline to those kids. No team is perfect, but I would like to think we sent them into the world prepared for anything. More than anything, I just hope that I’ve had a positive influence on the kids. I’ve watched many of these young kids grow into young men, and I am happy they allowed me to be a part of their (lives). As a coach, your job is to groom great kids, and I believe I’ve done that.”

Sievers came to Poplar Bluff during the 1988-89 school year after graduating from Southeast Missouri State University in May 1988, where he was an offensive lineman.

A 1983 graduate of Jackson High School, Sievers played football and wrestled for coach Paul Webber (who Sievers and Barousse later coached under at Poplar Bluff from 1989-91) and was an All-SEMO Conference and all-district defensive tackle and placed second in the state in wrestling his senior year.

With 36 years under his belt on staff as either an assistant or head coach, Sievers coached in 373 games, and the Mules were a combined 198-175. When he arrived at Poplar Bluff High School, Sievers was the head wrestling coach and offensive line coach for head coach Terry Smith in his final season.

Sievers said he appreciates Poplar Bluff for taking a chance on him, and he will forever be grateful for the relationships he was able to build.

One of those relationships is with longtime team chaplain and life coach Greg Gilberto, who won this year’s Mule Skinner Award.

“Sievers is one the best role models I’ve ever seen,” Gilberto said. “I’ve never seen anything less than excellence from that man. He’s treated everyone equally and is just the guy you want leading your program. He does many things behind the scenes, epitomizing what we want as a community leader and a role model who exemplifies every day what it means to be a good person. He’s a good coach, and just as fantastic as he is on the field, he’s a better man off of it.”

PBHS athletic director Kent Keith said the school board will follow their hiring procedures that are in place, which will include vacancy announcements, receiving applications and reviewing applications, but they all applaud Sievers for the time he spent with the Mules and staff.

“Coach Sievers has had a long and storied career with the Poplar Bluff school system, with the head coaching position over Mules football serving as a major capstone,” Keith said. “We would just like to take this opportunity to thank him on behalf of the youth of the community for the decades of dedicated leadership.”

Sievers said he plans to move along with his life but would still like to remain close to the team and community. He plans to attend any Mules’ sporting event and keep his duty of taking care of the athletic fields.

“I would love to stay one more year for the kids that were under me,” Sievers said. “I know if I stayed even one more year or waited for the perfect moment, then I knew my time to walk away would never come because that’s how much I love this program. I’m going to take off coaching for a year, and then I’ll see how badly I really miss it. If I get too bored and antsy, I will probably find somebody who needs some help on the field. Until that moment comes, I plan to relax and live.”