Ex-BP coach, Olson, inducted into Hall of Fame

Former Blooming Prairie football Head Coach Mike Olson hasn’t coached in Minnesota for nearly 30 years, but his career has truly blossomed elsewhere as he was recently inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.

Olson made his coaching debut the head of Blooming Prairie football in 1992 and spent five seasons in blossom town before leaving in 1997 for his hometown school, Pepin High School in Wisconsin.

Over the course of the next 28 years, he would transform a struggling program into a Wisconsin powerhouse.

“I was playing at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls and then the next season I was the head coach at Blooming Prairie. I loved it there. For me, it was between staying there forever or moving back home,” said Olson.

The early years of his career at Blooming Prairie were marked by excellent starts and unfortunate injuries.

According to Olson, the team had solid athletes and showed the grit necessary to run his signature wishbone offense, but back-to-back quarterback injuries put the team at a major disadvantage.

Between his fourth and fifth season, Olson recalled a meeting with then Owatonna High School Head Coach Jerry Peterson where the game began to change offensively.

“He ran the wing-T, so I sat with him one afternoon in the spring and he went through his whole offense with me. He shared everything and I wrote it all down. We incorporated that in our fifth year and we started 3-0. Unfortunately, every week we had one or two guys go down with injuries, and we ended up not winning any games afterward,” said Olson.

Aside from sharpening his game with Peterson, Olson was also going through his early years with another soon-to-be Blooming Prairie legend: Chad Gimbel.

“We were both just starting out. We were actually roommates for a few years. I’m a year or two older than Chad, so he came on when I was head coach. He was my assistant coach and defensive coordinator and then took over when I left. He’s done an amazing job… Chad is from Browerville, where they ran the T-formation and just pounded the ball right at you. We had that mentality in common,” said Olson with a laugh.

Olson’s legacy stayed with Gimbel even after his departure in 1997.

“He was the driving force behind the importance of the weight room and strength training in Blooming Prairie. He had strong relationships with his athletes and included them in decision-making,” said Gimbel.

While coaching the Awesome Blossoms, Olson was also earning his master’s degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

After graduation, a job opened up in his hometown that was too perfect to pass up. While he may have left Steele County, certain parts of his tenure stuck with him.

“I still run the wing-T offense today. We’ve adapted it a bit every year to keep up with the times a bit, but it comes down mainly to what kind of athletes we have on roster,” said Olson.

When he arrived back at Pepin as an assistant coach, the team was going through some trying years.

“The team had gone nine years and won a total of six games. They had struggled, so that kind of played into my decision,” said Olson.

He officially took over the reigns as head coach in 2000 and made quick work of his program’s turnaround.

By 2002, Pepin made the playoffs and by 2003 it had won its first-ever conference championship.

Pepin joined with neighboring town, Alma, in 2009 to form the Pepin-Alma Eagles and the two schools have never looked back.

Olson’s Eagles (formerly the Pepin Lakers) made the playoffs for 15 consecutive seasons starting from that initial 2002 run.

As of the 2024 season, Olson’s career resume includes a 187-119 record, two state runner-up finishes, nine conference championships and 21 playoff appearances.

His track record made him an easy choice for recognition.

“It was in July, I was sitting around with the family and I got a call from John Hoch. He’s a Hall of Fame member himself, a multiple-time state champion at Lancaster – and he actually moved back to Alma, and coaches with us as a volunteer. He’s a chairman of the committee. To know who called and to get that call, it meant a lot. It put a smile on my face and made me feel very humbled,” said Olson.

Olson was recognized as a 2025 inductee at the Hall of Fame banquet in Middleton, Wisconsin on April 5.

While he knows his career as head coach is likely coming close to the end, Olson mentioned he’s gunning for the coveted 200-win mark, but that the real win has been coaching all of his athletes, including his son, Evan.

“Evan was on the sidelines from three years old until he graduated. He was my manager growing up and then I got the chance to coach him in the all-star game last year. My mom and dad were in town for all the games and events. It was really special,” said Olson.