When Jacob Holmen leads his Minot North football team onto the field at the Fargodome to play in the Class AA Dakota Bowl on Friday, his dad will be right by his side.

Literally.

Holmen’s father, Barry, won’t be in the stands with the rest of his family and the rest of the Sentinel faithful rooting on the navy blue and silver, but instead on the sidelines helping his son try to win the program’s first state program in only its second year as a varsity program.

“It’s one of the greatest things that I’ve ever gotten to experience in my life,” Jacob Holmen said. “I got to coach for him for a couple years and then he decided to step down and I didn’t know if we would ever get to coach again together. Getting this opportunity to coach at Minot North, a big part of why I applied for this job is I thought I could get him out of retirement and get to coach with him again.”

Jacob was correct, as he was able to lure his father out of retirement when he approached him about joining his staff four years ago, even knowing how much of an uphill battle it was going to be for the both of them as they attempted to build a football program from the ground up. Barry also got the all-important seal of approval from his wife.

“My wife is fully on board,” Barry Holmen said. “She told me when he asked me initially, ‘You might as well say yes because we’re going to all the games anyway.’ It’s been a four-year process and the last two years at this varsity level. I have really enjoyed the last two years getting back into that Friday night game situation.”

Barry thought his coaching days were behind him for good when he stepped down as the head coach of Minot High following the 2019 season after 15 years leading the program from 2005-19 and 35 years on staff. He coached Jacob for four of those years from 2010-13. They were 29-13 as coach and tight end, advancing twice to the semifinal round. Barry put together 112 total wins in those 15 seasons and took the Magicians to four Dakota Bowl appearances. He was 14-14 in the postseason, advancing to the playoffs in all but one year.

It didn’t take long for Barry to realize just how much he missed coaching the game he loved.

“After I stepped away from coaching, I taught one extra year, and teaching and not coaching that last year at Minot High was hard,” Barry Holmen said. “I really missed it. I knew I missed coaching and then another year or so went by, so I was out of the game for a couple years and then when Jacob got this unique opportunity to start from scratch, he asked me right away and I felt like it was a pretty cool opportunity for him and I wanted to be a part of it.”

Barry’s official title on staff is the quarterbacks coach, but Jacob also considers him as the unofficial co-offensive coordinator. Jacob calls the plays on offense, but he isn’t hesitant to consult his father in certain situations over the course of the game. Jacob recognizes that his father has coached in far more high-pressure games over the course of his coaching career than he has and has plenty of wisdom he can share that not only helps him, but the team as well.

Jacob looked to him in Minot North’s semifinal game against Central Cass and will again during key moments in the Dakota Bowl.

“I rely heavily on him in any game, but this one probably a little bit more because he’s been there and been in my shoes several times,” Jacob Holmen said. “Even in the last game, late in the game I just deferred to him. When you’re in those pressure situations as a younger coach, younger playcaller, that’s the tightest game and the most stressful game I’ve been a part of and he’s been there several times. Having him to just ask questions and learn from has been beneficial and will continue to be.”

Barry is more than willing to lend his two cents to his son when asked, but there is no power struggle between the two. The former Minot High coach lets his son be his own coach and form his own identity.

“He’s the play caller, but I’m in his ear,” Barry Holmen said. “I can suggest things and he decides whether he likes them or not. He’s the decision-maker and he’ll defer as much or as little as he wants in a given situation. We are running a version of the offense that I know best and over these four years it has evolved into Jacob and Zach (Rudolph)’s offense. You start with what you know best and Jacob felt most comfortable running an offense similar to what we did in high school and it has evolved based on his experience in college and then coaching with Zach. It looks much different than what we did at Minot High in some regards.”

Jacob’s coaching career has gotten off to a strong start. In two years as a varsity head coach, he is 19-3 with three playoff victories and a Dakota Bowl appearance. Barry’s first two seasons with the Magicians looked quite similar. He won 18 of 23 games, including three playoff wins. They both advanced to the semifinals in their first year and the Dakota Bowl in their second.

The success of the program didn’t happen overnight. There were a lot of growing pains in the first two years before the Sentinels became a varsity squad. Barry recalled it feeling a bit like coaching a middle school team in the beginning. Roughly 14 kids showed up to the inaugural practice and they dressed in the Ramstad garage and practiced at Erik Ramstad Middle School for the first two years.

“Those first two years were plenty of challenges, but looking back now it makes it a little more special,” Barry Holmen said. “We were a rag-tag bunch who got to play football together and we’ve grown pretty close as a collective group.”

Barry said one of his favorite moments as a member of his son’s staff is that first sub-varsity victory in Williston because it gave the team a taste of what it felt like to walk off the field with a win. The Sentinels have experienced that feeling plenty since.

For Jacob, last weekend serves as one of his top moments coaching with his father, advancing to the Dakota Bowl with his dad by his side.

“That’s a special thing beyond our team that has a bunch of good kids and I love coaching our kids, but that’s just a little extra element that makes it extra special,” Jacob Holmen said. “After our game last week, that’s a memory I’ll have forever is hearing that horn go off and running over and giving him a hug.”

Much like their players, the Holmens are always looking for ways to improve their craft. That is why they have spent their springs attending coaching clinics across the country at some of the biggest college football programs in the country. Over the years, they have attended clinics at Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State. Last year, they went to Clemson and Georgia Tech.

As a lifelong coach, Barry has an eye for recognizing talent and seeing potential in the athletes he’s led over the years. The same is true when it comes to evaluating members of a coaching staff. In the four years he has observed Jacob coach the Sentinels from a rag-tag group of 14 players on the first day of practice to a team four quarters away from a state title, he can’t help but be proud.

“His confidence to run the show is dramatically different than it was at the beginning,” Barry Holmen said. “He’s improved as a leader of the program. That’s clear in my mind. I’m proud of him that he chooses to do some non-football related things each week, trying to develop young men as people. That’s a component in his program that he stresses that he backs up well. I’m a proud dad in that regard. He’s good for kids. He’s grown as a coach and his confidence level is improving.”

While football is – and has been – a major part of the Holmen’s life, there is more than just gameplanning and watching film that brings father and son together. Family is important to them, so they make sure to spend as much time together as possible. They will take trips to watch Jacob’s older brother Micah umpire college baseball games in the spring and summer months. They attend church together and hit the golf course whenever possible. And on Friday, they will again be together, looking to bring home a state title.