Rocky Bayou’s search for its next head football coach is complete.

• The school announced it has hired Mike Conway to lead the Knights, bringing in a veteran coach with 25 years of experience coaching football and baseball at the college level.

“I am honored for the opportunity to lead this program,” Conway said. “Rocky Bayou has a strong tradition and a clear mission. I look forward to building relationships with our players and helping them grow as athletes, students, and as men of God.”

Rocky Bayou Athletic Director Christian Sampson said Conway’s character stood out throughout the hiring process.

“What stood out the most about Coach Conway was not only his knowledge of the game, but his heart for developing young men and his love for the Lord,” Sampson said. “He understands that football is more than just competition. It is a platform to teach discipline, leadership, and Christian character.”

Conway replaces KC Woods, who went 18-14 in three seasons and led the Knights to back-to-back state championships in 2024 and 2025. Woods also oversaw the program’s transition from the FHSAA to the SSAA before stepping down to focus on his role as assistant principal shortly after the 2025 season concluded.

A Pittsburgh native, Conway played offensive lineman at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, from 1981 to 1984, where he was a two-time All-American. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and communication in 1984 and later earned his master’s in health education from Penn State University.

Conway began his coaching career in 1988 as defensive coordinator at Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, a role he held until 1994. He also served as the Presidents’ head baseball coach from 1989 to 1993.

He went on to coach defensive ends at Purdue in 1995 before returning to Olivet Nazarene as head coach from 1996 to 1999, leading the program to the NAIA national title game in 1998, where they fell to Azusa Pacific.

Conway later served as defensive and special teams coordinator at Geneva College in Pennsylvania, held an assistant role at Arkansas State and was the defensive coordinator at California University of Pennsylvania from 2002 to 2012. He then became head coach at North Park College in Chicago from 2013 to 2018 and served as defensive coordinator at Taylor University in Indiana in 2019.

He returned to Olivet Nazarene as athletic director from 2020 to 2022 and served as the program’s interim head football coach in 2023.

Across his career, Conway has compiled a 271-164 record, coached in four national championship games spanning Division II, NAIA and NCCAA competition, coordinated the No. 1 defense in the country five times, earned Coach of the Year honors three times and coached multiple players who went on to play in the NFL.

Conway inherits a Knights program with a strong foundation, as Rocky Bayou chases a potential third consecutive state championship.