Russell Funks first head coaching job came in the fall of 1991 at Stringer MS. Over two seasons his teams finished with a 27-2 record and won state championships both seasons. In 1993 he moved to Brookhaven high school in Mississippi for three years.

In 1996, Funk took over the football program at Houston MS. He stayed with the school for seven seasons before moving to Columbus MS for two years in 2004-05. He served as an assistant at Tupelo high school the next two seasons before coming to Alabama.

Coach Funk took the head coaching job at South Lamar in 2008 for one season. His team finished with a 9-4 record. The next year he moved over to Marion County high school. Over the next five seasons, Funks teams went 45-17 including a 14-1 record in 2011 and a Class 1A state championship. The Red Raiders defeated Linden 23-12 for the title.

Marion County made a return appearance in the championship game the following season but lost in the title game to a great Brantley squad. In 2014, Coach Funk resigned at Marion County to take over the football program at Curry for one season.