Q: What was the factor that drew you to the job here at Gulf Breeze over other coaching
opportunities?
A: Being able to return back to Florida; for us Florida is home and I’ve coached here for a
long time in Jacksonville. Having a school that is very community based/supported was also a big draw. But really the biggest draw was the administration: Ms. Barker, Mr. Alt, etc. They
came across as very caring about the school and the future of the program and I feel blessed and honored that I was chosen to be the head coach. The people here have been great, the families have been phenomenal, but I feel like this is a great place to be a destination job.
Q: What changes do you expect to make with the team this upcoming season?
A: The normal systems on offense and defense are not going to be changed, I think the
way we do things like, the terminology we use, of the drills we run, the way we train are going to be changed to fit my blueprint. I believe in excellence in what we do whether it’s practice, how we act, what we say, or even what we wear to accomplish our goal of being 1-0 at the end of each week.
Q: What other hobbies/passions do you pursue outside of football?
A: I love to fish, any kind of fishing. Family time is also particularly important; being
able to spend time with my wife and children. But most importantly is my faith. My daily
devotional, prayer, and time with God is the most important. Those are the most important things to me: faith, family, football, and fishing.
Q: What’s one thing that you would like to say to the students?
A: I want the game time atmosphere to be exciting. I believe that as a team we need to
accomplish things on the field to get the stands invested. There will be times when I need the
crowds to get pumped up at crucial moments in the game and I’m so excited to see the splash
zone and to get them involved during the game. I would also like to be a coach that is
approachable not only by players but also are faculty as well as students, being able to work
things out with other teachers as well as help students regardless of if I coach them or not. I not only want to be a coach, but a representative of the school.
Q: How do you feel about leading a team that has seen multiple head coaches in the past
two years and what else are you trying to do with this team?
A: The first thing that I have to do is build trust. Without trust the players won’t believe
in the systems and then it becomes hard to find success. Second, I don’t talk about the past.
However, I do like to look at what we do well because if we can learn what got us our past
success and expand upon it that makes us much better. I am a positive coach, so I try to look at everything in a positive manner, so I also don’t
see it as wins and losses but instead as wins and learns. If we see it as a loss, that’s it, we’re done, and we can’t learn from what happened because we see it as an opportunity lost. But if we come up short, then we can see it as a learn and talk about what didn’t go our way and learn so we can win the next week.
Q: What professional or college coaches do you look up to?
A: Several coaches I try to learn from, or study are Bobby Bowden, Tommy Bowden,
Dabo Swinney, Tony Dungy, Tom Osborne, just to name a few. They’re all men of faith, they’re positive coaches that try to use football to shape player’s characters. Success will follow if done the right way. They developed them through motivation, direction, and correction as opposed to tearing them down. If I don’t pour into my athletes, the teachers, and the student body then I can’t expect to get back from them what I need.
Q: We heard that you had a son who plays football that transferred here as well, could
you elaborate more about him?
A: He is a rising senior, who plays quarterback and has been playing the game since he
was 5. He has run my system since 7th grade and has been the starting quarterback for the past three years at previous high schools. He is a very hard worker both on and off the field who spends lots of time reviewing film from players like Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Farve, and other great quarterbacks, so I’m excited to have this last journey with my son this upcoming year.
Q: What specific traits about current players really stick out to you?
A: I’ve watched the film from last year and the players show lots of talent, and they play
hard. I was really impressed with the way they competed and the way they worked. Also, the fact that they come in at 7:15 every morning to work out is everything that I could ask for. Im asking for effort and they’re giving that every single day, so I have to match that with what I bring every day.
Q: Where do strive to take this team with their first year?
A: First off, we have to be a team that is respected with the way we play and how we act.
We have to bring respect to the school, our families, and the program over everything else. The second goal is to be 1-0 at the end of each week. If we come in with the mentality that we have to win a certain number of games and make the playoffs, then if we drop a few games then we start to feel like our season is in jeopardy; whereas if we see it as trying to be 1-0 each week then were not stuck trying to chase something and instead were focused on the next game.
