Vote: Who should be the Florida high school football midseason coach of the year?

We are past the midway point of the high school football season in the Sunshine State, but we do have an idea of which head coaches have done a bang up job so far.

The first half of the season featured numerous surprises and also obvious picks when it comes to coaches that stand out in 2023. We’ve gone ahead and picked out 15 head coaches that we think are candidates for Coach of the Year for the 2023 campaign.

Take a look at our list and let us know who you think has done the best job by voting for one of the nominees.

Stephen Moffett, Leesburg: The former UCF quarterback has been a breath of fresh air to the Yellow Jackets football program. Moffett has Leesburg at 6-1, four wins better than last year’s 2-8 finish.

Tyler Eden, Bartow: Though the Yellow Jackets suffered their first loss to Lakeland last week, Eden has done a superb job nonetheless. Using the ‘Close the Gates’ motto and keeping kids at Bartow, Eden has the program sitting at 6-1.

Tyrone McGriff, Leon: McGriff has done one of the best coaching jobs in the state to this point as the Lions are approaching a record-setting kinda season. The lead man has Leon currently at 5-1 on the season, a far cry from last season’s 1-9 team.

Jacquez Green, Manatee: Many people down in Bradenton remember the days of Joe Kinnan’s Hurricanes winning games on a weekly basis and Green has brought that magic back. The Florida Gator Hall of Famer has led Manatee to a 6-1 record through seven games.

Jeremy Frioud, Tarpon Springs: The Spongers were a program that had less than 20 players at one point a couple years ago. Now Frioud has Tarpon Springs rolling under his watch with a record of 5-1, best start since 2014.

Dameon Jones, Chaminade-Madonna: Now many would say it’s easy to win with the kind of talent Jones has, but the level of difficulty has been at an all-time high. Jones has led the team to wins over teams that are nationally ranked like Bergen Catholic (New Jersey), Miami Central and St. Frances Academy (Maryland).

Travis Roland, Mainland: There’s no underscoring the kind of job Roland has done to this point with the Buccaneers. Having to retool the offense and still nab tough wins over teams like Bartram Trail and DeLand have been impressive through the first half of the season.

Ryan Schneider, Cocoa: A lot of adversity has had to be overcome by Schnieder and his staff. From the mishap by officiating in the loss to St. Thomas Aquinas to a gritty win over Sanford Seminole to beating talented clubs like Treasure Coast, Venice, Schnieder has done an admirable job.

TaVaris Johnson, Lake Wales: The talk before the season was how the Highlanders didn’t have enough to get back to the Class 3S state championship. Too many transfers and so on and so forth. Well, all Johnson has done is zone that all out and has his Highlanders undefeated at 6-0 and only yielding 27 points so far.

Price Harris, Madison County: 2022 wasn't your typical kinda Madison County season. Harris knew 4-7 wasn’t it when it comes to Cowboys’ football and they’ve turned it around this fall with a 3-1 start.

Chuck Bell, Buchholz: Being elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach was always going to seem like an easy transition, but Bell has taken it a step higher. The first-year head coach has the Bobcats playing lights out so far, with impressive wins over Creekside, Sarasota Riverview and Vanguard.

Brian Braddock, St. Augustine: Did you have the Yellow Jackets marked down to compete for a state championship this season? Might want to start thinking about it because Braddock has his program playing top tier football and eyeing a deep playoff run. St. Augustine is currently 6-0 on the season.

Brian Kemp, Hardee: After a 1-7 campaign last season, the Wildcats look to be back on track under Kemp. The Hardee lead man has his team off to stellar start and are a team looking to win 6-plus games for the first time since 2018.

Don Southwell, Lemon Bay: Coming off a season in which the Manta Rays went 4-5 in 2022, Southwell has already exceeded that win total in the program’s 6-0 start.

Eric Kresser, Benjamin: The Buccaneers won five games all of last season, but Kresser has already tied that mark through six games. The back end of Benjamin’s schedule will tell the tale if the Bucs can keep the winning going.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl

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