Every successful program doesn't have the same recipe for success. In the old days, the former industrial powerhouses (Canton, Massillon, Warren, Fostoria, etc.) had blue collar atmospheres that bred tough kids. We're seeing that trend now at the smaller school with the MAC, a slew of farming communities that raise their children in an atosphere that promotes dicsipline & growth before they can even touch a football. When you take any of these aspects of "community" and build on them through other productive things (rec centers, youth building programs, proper mentorship, etc.), you put your school system in a much better position to surround put their youth in an environment that promotes success both on & off teh field.
As far as coaching goes, it's always a plus to have a coach that embodies the aspects that their school systems promotes. For example... I read that 100% of the alumni from Cleveland St. Ignatius go off to college. Often times, the discipline that they obviously show in the classroom is shown on the field, which aligns perfectly with the way Coach Kyle runs his program. The Wildcats' overall success suggests that they have the best talent in the state, but they've won championjshuips in years when they probrably didn't even have the best talent in Cleveland. They'll beat teams by 50+ with screens and draws the whole game simply because they usually do all of the little things right. Does that mean that Kyle wouldn't be successful at other schools? Not necessarily, but I think that Iggy struck gold when they hired him 30+ years ago.
Now, look at Massillon. As much as they're hated on, it's taken the best team in Division II, if not all of Ohio, to knock them off the last few years. Win or lose, their community builds their youth up to be successful and as a whole, everything aligns perfectly with the way that Coach Nate Moore likes to run his programs. This past September, I actually had the pleasure of meeting Moore at Buena Vista in Warren. He came with David Lee Morgan Jr., a good friend of mine who many of you know is an accomplished author from Warren who now teaches/coaches in Massillon. He really enjoys living/working there because of the way they set their kids up to chase success. I asked Moore about his time at Minster and La Salle and he preached about the sense of community in Western Ohio and the desire to emerge there as well as in Cincinnati. He said that people in Minster literally leave their keys in their cars cause everybody knows and looks out for each other. He even laughed about doing misatkingly doing that in Columbus before realizing he wasn't at home, lol. Now, he's gone from Minster to La Salle to Massillon, where he helped change/rejuvenate the cultures. With his mentality in a football crazed place liek Massillon, they're always seekking out big opportunities for their players during & beyond high school.
Long winded reply, but I believe that the communities that puts their youth in a great position to succeed makes life a lot easier for their coaches, especially when the mentalities of all align well. That's why '09 Hilliard Davidson knocked off Glenville, '05 & '07 Coldwater knocked off Mooney, why Iggy & St. X rebounded from 6-4 & 5-5 regular seasons to win state, etc.