(CSTV U-WIRE) WACO, Texas — The bullet whines as it leaves a repairman’s gun, sending a stench of gunpowder and a sonic boom through the office.

Coming to rest in its victim’s abdomen, the bullet leaves a gaping hole, from which blood soon pours.

Shocked by the impact, Gary Joe Kinne, former Baylor linebacker, gazes down and watched his shirt become red.

“I’m a football coach. You never think someone’s going to come in and shoot you,” Kinne said.

But in a small town in East Texas, Jeffrey Robertson did just that.

On April 7, 2005, Kinne came face to face with a disgruntled parent.

Upset by reasons he kept to himself and fueled by heavy drinking the night before, Robertson walked into the Canton High School field house and opened fire on the head coach.

“He didn’t even come up there to shoot me. I just happened to be there,” Kinne said.

Across campus, Canton principal Max Callahan went about his business until his receptionist’s phone rang. It was Kinne, calling for help.

“I sped down to the field house. No one was in the field house because it wasn’t an athletic period,” Callahan said.

Running to his office, Callahan banged on the locked door and yelled to Kinne to open the door.

Crawling across the room, Kinne unlocked the door. But the effort cost Kinne his strength and he collapsed into a chair.

“His shirt was totally saturated in blood,” Callahan said.

With the school in lock down, paramedics arrived at the scene within minutes and treated the football coach. Several days passed before anyone knew Kinne’s future.

But Kinne pulled through and returned to the team five months later, guiding the Canton Eagles to the class 3A regional final.

“It was a pretty inspirational thing for the kids,” Callahan said. “They bonded together and did an outstanding job.”

With Kinne’s son, Gary Joe Kinne Jr., taking snaps for the Eagles and Kinne Sr. calling plays, Canton entered the playoffs for only the second time in 40 years. Coach Kinne, who endured multiple surgeries throughout the past two years, managed to coach every game except one against Sabine.

“To be honest, the kids played horribly in the first half. They were down by 30 at halftime,” Callahan said. “Someone called Coach Kinne and he talked to them.”

The Eagles responded to Kinne’s long-distance speech with a 40-point swing, winning the game 48-40.

“Gary Joe was a leader as a player,” Baylor head football Coach Guy Morriss said, adding, “Leaders are leaders for life.”

Kinne is no exception. Under head Coach Grant Teaff’s direction, Kinne’s tenacity made him the No. 10 all-time Baylor leader in total tackles.

He also led Baylor to its first victory in Austin in 50 years.

“My last college game we beat Texas in Austin 50-7. As we got subbed out at the end, we all got standing ovations,” he said.

Both leadership and that lasting memory he left at Baylor helped him return to coach the position he played 18 years ago.

“That’s a heck of an ordeal for anyone to go through. We were praying for him and wishing his family the best,” Morriss said.

“He’s everything I want in an assistant coach.”

Since his position as Baylor linebackers coach began in spring 2006, Kinne has produced Associated Press Big 12 Freshman of the Year Joe Pawelek and received commitments from two highly recruited linebackers. One of those recruits, Chris Francis, is related to two of Kinne’s former teammates.

“The relationship I had with his father definitely helped,” Kinne said. “The trust factor was definitely there.”

While he received commitments from Francis and Earl Patin, Kinne wasn’t able to keep his son from changing his commitment from Baylor to the University of Texas.

“Every kid has to make a decision,” he said. “I want him to live his dream like I got to live mine. We talk all the time about someday one of my linebackers getting to sack him or pick off one of his passes.”

But for Kinne, recruiting, play-calling and competition have found a new place in his life.

“You definitely realize what’s important; your faith in God and your family are the two most important things in life,” he said.

“Before (the shooting) they weren’t. Football was definitely the most important thing in my life, and now it’s third.”

Today, shooter Jeff Robertson is serving 30 years in the Texas Department of Corrections on counts of aggravated assault on a public servant and possession of a weapon in a prohibited place.

The Eagles made it three rounds into the playoffs, and Kinne hasn’t needed a follow-up surgery since the spring.

Kinne is just glad to put the shooting behind him and focus on his interests.

“I love golf. I play every chance I get,” he said.

But he doesn’t forget the lesson he learned that April.

“Every day is precious,” he said.