Barber attended White Oak High School, where he played quarterback, passing for over 4,000 yards, and graduated in 1972.
He was voted a 1974 Little All-American, as was Bulldog teammate and future Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Fred Dean.
During the mid-1990s, Mike returned to football, when he took a voluntary coaching position at Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas.
However, he was suspended for a year in 2001, and was fired from the Head coaching position in May 2006 after a dispute with school administrators.
Because several prominent players transferred to Grace Prep along with Barber (for some of whom he was accused of improperly paying tuition, a claim he denies), TAPPS instituted what is informally known as "The Mike Barber Rule": players who follow a coach to another school are ineligible from playing for a year.