Brent Indest returns to Abbeville High as football coach

Geauxpreps first broke the story that Brent Indest is the new head football coach at Abbeville High.
Here is the story courtesy of GeauxPreps.com

by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

Nearly two weeks ago, Brent Indest received a picture for an advertisement circulating online for a new football coach at Abbeville High.
His golfing buddy, Keith Carona, a former state championship coach at Independence High, was responsible for submitting the job opening at a place Indest knew very well. He served for a total of 12 years at the Vermilion Parish school, leading the Wildcats to the state playoffs in seven of the eight years as head coach.
Twenty-two years since his departure Indest, head coach at Lakeshore High in Mandeville the past four years, has accepted an overture Wednesday to return to Abbeville, where his coaching career began 35 years ago.
“He said he remembered those days,” Indest said of Carona. “That kind of got things rolling. I was contacted by some of the powers that be in the parish. One thing led to another. I talked to my wife (Tina) to see if it’s doable. Every day it seemed to make a little more sense that hey, ‘this is something I really want to do.’”
Indest, 59, said he will fulfill his obligation to Lakeshore through the remainder of the school year, including his role as track coach. He intends to make periodic trips to Abbeville and will attempt to conduct a version of spring training in May.
“It’s more about honestly getting back home,” said Indest, a native of Catholic-New Iberia. “We had four great years on the Northshore with probably the best administration I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. They’ve treated me and my wife (the school’s bookkeeper) both wonderfully.
“It’s gotten to a point where you miss home, you miss your family,” Indest said. “Most of all of my brothers and sisters still reside in the New Iberia area. We knew when we went to the Northshore, it wasn’t forever. This seemed like a great opportunity to be able to move back home.”
The move to the Northshore, following two years in private business, was a departure for Indest, who spent the majority of his 28-year head coaching career in the Acadiana area, which included stops at five schools.
Indest’s one of the state’s accomplished football coaches, currently ranking 43rd overall on the state’s all-time wins list with a 219-99 record. He’s the state’s eighth active winningest coach, two wins ahead of Calvary Baptist’s Rodney Guin (217-79).
The crown jewel of his career was leading Catholic-New Iberia, his alma mater, to the 2017 Division III select state championship, the school’s first in 55 years. He retired from coaching in 2019 and entered the private business sector, where he grew antsy working and playing golf.
Lakeshore, 11-11 before his arrival, went 32-14 during Indest’s tenure. The Raiders were 8-3 and fell to Cecilia in the Division II non-select state regionals this season.
“I had 192 wins or in that range,” Indest said of 2019 retirement. “A bunch of my friends said you’re so close to 200, that’s usually the number for the (LHSAA) Hall of Fame. I had a state title. That was something that had never really motivated me. I didn’t think about it. But it’s amazing how my attitude changed when I got back in.
“Over the two years that I was out, I realized that I was a ball coach, I’m pretty darn good at something, and that’s what I needed to do.” Indest coach. “That’s when I started looking and wondering about how cool it would be to get 300 wins. It would even be cooler to get 350 wins.”
Indest uses Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach Lewis Cook of Notre Dame as an example he would like to follow. The 74-year-old Cook completed his 41st season as a head coach and is the state’s third-winningest coach with a record of 419-104, including 29 years at Notre Dame, where he’s 321-59 with four of his five state championships.
“He’s been blessed with good health, and if I’m blessed with the same health of coach Cook, I’d like to think that I could coach well into my 70s,” he said. “That’s the plan.”
The return to Abbeville is reminiscent of two of his more enjoyable coaching experiences at Crowley and Kaplan.
The ability to play a positive role and create winning cultures remains atop Indest’s wish list, and that’s what he’ll find waiting at Abbeville. Since the departure of Roy Moy, who was 29-12 at Abbeville in four years, the Wildcats went through a stretch of 14 straight losses under Jonathan Zenon, who was relieved of duties after the team’s fourth game last season.
The school’s basketball coach, Trevor Eaton, helped to guide the Wildcats to three victories and a Division II state playoff berth against Franklin Parish.
“I got to watch Abbeville on film a couple of times this year,” Indest said. “I know they only won three games, but I do see a lot of potential there. They have a lot of good young players, and I think there’s a chance to be successful.”
Prior to Indest’s arrival, Crowley was 0-10 and became a 10-0 district champion three years later, winning 22 games in three seasons. Kaplan failed to win any district games over a stretch of years until Indest came on the scene, and the Pirates won 14 games in two years.
“We basically built programs from scratch,” he said. “We immediately became good there, and in a couple of years, we got really good. I don’t know if I’ve ever had more satisfaction than those situations.”

Catholic High, where he spent seven years, had moderate success with several regional appearances, but the Panthers were 72-17 during Indest’s stay, which included a state title in ’17. The Panthers were also twice state runner-up and played in three semifinals.
“We were able to take Catholic High to a whole new level,” Indest said. “Lakeshore had gone 11-11 in the two seasons before I got there. It was nice to get that thing going again. To go into a program without a lot of discipline and structure and really build that thing from scratch really gets me excited.”
Indest, who spent one season as an assistant at Louisiana Tech, also led Carencro to a Class 5A state runner-up finish in 2011.
Indest, a three-time LSWA Coach of the Year, got a good view at Abbeville during the 2025 season, getting an advanced look at the Wildcats’ non-district opponent, Franklinton, a District 7-4A opponent of Lakeshore.
He was impressed with the Wildcats’ play in the 33-30 defeat.
“The game was in doubt in the fourth quarter,” he said. “I’m not a Wing-T guy anymore, we’re in the gun. It’s still Wing-T principles. I really think this system is going to fit these kids. With the quarterbacks and receivers that we’ll have there, we’re going to be able to be pretty explosive in the passing game.
“I did my homework,” he said. “They’ve got a really nice mix of size and skill coming back. I’m really excited about that.”
Indest became the winningest coach in Abbeville High history with a 60-34 record, leading the Wildcats to several quarterfinal appearances and a home state semifinal against John Curtis.
He’s looking to replicate more of those memories in his return.
“It’s the challenge of it and the potential,” Indest said. “I see so much potential there. I still think Abbeville’s a great football community. (Division IV select state champion in 2024) Vermilion Catholic’s had great success recently. I think we can rally the troops. I’ve got a lot of former players that have kids playing there now, as well as guys I think will want to get involved. I look forward to that as well.”