Stanley was born in Kansas City and has spent the last 50 plus years working in high school and college football in the Metro.
A Southeast High School graduate he went to Missouri Valley College where he graduated in 1959. From there his coaching career began as an assistant at William Chrisman and Kansas City Central before being named the head coach at Westport High School in 1964.
In 1969 he moved to Winnetonka High School as the school’s first head football coach. During his time there he won five Suburban Conference titles and one district title.
From there he moved to William Jewell College as an assistant and then to his alma mater Missouri Valley as the head coach. After leaving Missouri Valley in 2002 he served as an assistant coach at Shawnee Mission North and Pembroke Hill.
Stanley had two more stints as a head coach. He returned to Westport earning a playoff win in 2009 and then at University Academy winning a district title. He coached until 2014 as an assistant at Lincoln Prep.
Stanley has been a part of 11 programs and influenced countless players and coaches during his time. He currently resides in Kansas City.
