Vote: Who Has Been The 2024 Football Coach Of The Year In Florida?

We’ve put together a list of 10 head coaches we believe are candidates to be the Football Coach of the Year in the Sunshine State so far

Palmetto's head football Eric Sanders. The Palmetto Tigers with a 21-14 win over the Parrish Community Bulls during the Class 6A-District 11 opener game Friday night, Sept. 13, 2024, in Parrish. / Thomas Bender/ Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We know, we know. High school football regular season is over throughout the Sunshine State, but now we are coming up on our thoughts on coach/player of the year awards and we wanted to pose the question to the public: Who has been the Football Coach of the Year in Florida?

Winning a district championship played a part in nominations, but also programs being turned around after a dismal 2023 campaign also we take into account as well. Plenty of head coaches around the state are more than deserving after putting in countless hours around the clock preparing their teams all throughout the 2024 season.

From Panhandle to South Florida, we wanted to throw out 10 names from around the state that meant a lot in guiding their respective teams through the season and also made an immediate impact on the program. Please give our list a vote and let us know if you feel someone was left out.

SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. - SBLive Sports

Voting will end on December 1st, 2024.

Collin Drafts, Nease

The Panthers have run the table this regular season to a 9-0 record and by the last FHSAA power ratings, finished as the state's top teams. Nease heads into the postseason with some high expectations in Class 6A and Drafts has guided the team to many thrilling wins along the way, including defeating St. Augustine. Drafts has done a superb job and will look to continue that this November.

Dylan Potts, West Boca Raton

For the first time in school history, West Boca Raton has finished the regular season with an undefeated record behind a suffocating defense. Potts has led a team that has held opponents to eight points or less six times this season. The Bulls are a serious threat to compete for the Class 6A state championship.

Andy Schmitz, Mitchell

Many around the state have seen the kind of work that Schmitz has done at Mitchell, but this has been one of the best in program history. For the third time in program history, the Mustangs have finished the regular season undefeated and were able to defeat Wiregrass Ranch in the finale for the 6A, District 9 title. Could this be another year that sees Mitchell making a serious playoff run?

Curt Bradley, Southeast

Over the previous two years at Southeast prior to Curt Bradley taking the job at Southeast, the Seminoles' football program has been on some tough times. Bradley headed up the Braden River and then over last offseason left for Southeast and the results have begun to turn around. Between 2022-23, the Seminoles went 1-18 and this past 2024 finished at 5-5. Though the Seminoles missed out on the playoffs, this has been an impressive turnaround.

Jesse Braswell, Taylor County

The Bulldogs were 2-8 a season ago and the town of Perry has been hit by multiple hurricanes, making for difficult times. Braswell and the football team have been a major bright spot in town as they finished the regular season at 7-3 and qualified for the Class 2A playoffs. Regardless of how the postseason ends, Braswell has done a tremendous job turning around the program.

Kent Smith, Pace

Now you might be wondering how a team that made a one-win improvement gets to make this list. Well, making the postseason is one of them, of course. Another is also taking into account that the team lost dual-threat quarterback Nick Simmons to transfer, but the Patriots didn't take a dip at all. Pace got better this fall and finish at 9-1 and qualified for the Class 6A playoffs.

Tommy Joe Whiddon, Mosley

Though the Dolphins did fall to FSU High at the end of the season, that doesn't take away from the kind of job Joe Whiddon has done this fall. From beating Niceville to winning a district championship, Mosley has made the jump from 6-5 to 9-1 this season. Mosley has a shot to make a strong postseason run to solidfy an impressive regular season.

Eric Sanders, Palmetto

When Rashad West stepped down as the head coach of the Tigers after the 2023 season, questions swirled around the team. All of them were answered by the hiring of Eric Sanders, who has taken a team that went 5-5 a year ago to 9-1 and hosting a playoff game in the opening round of the Class 6A postseason.

Omar Haugabook, Glades Central

Teddy Bridgewater isn't the only former quarterback returning to be the lead man of his alma mater. Haugabook returned to his old stomping grounds at Glades Central and led the Raiders to an impressive return to glory. Glades Central have gone 9-1 this 2024 season, a far cry from last year's 2-7 record. The Raiders will get to host Lakewood in the opening round of the Class 2A playoffs, a chance for the team to win a game and make a run.

Adam Gore, Chiefland

The Indians finished 4-7 last season and when Adam Gore made his return to the program, expectations were that the team would be seeing success sooner rather than later. Gore guided the club to a 9-1 season in 2024, with the lone loss coming up against Taylor County, which just happens to be on this list as well. There's no doubt one of the feel good stories of this season has been Gore and the Indians.

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