Vote: Who is the 2023 Football Coach of the Year in Florida?
We know, we know. High school football season is over throughout the Sunshine State, but now we are coming up on our all-state awards and we wanted to pose the question to the public: Who is the Football Coach of the Year in Florida?
Winning a state championship plays a part in the nominations, but also programs being turned around after a dismal 2022 campaign also we took 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.
From Panhandle to South Florida, we wanted to throw out nine 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.
Voting will end on January 31st, 2024.
Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll.
Here's the nominees:
Travis Roland, Mainland: It was always a dream of Roland's to win a state championship at his alma mater. Winning a title with the Buccaneers as a player and pulling off the feat as a coach. The Buccaneers’ lead man guided the team to a thrilling 21-19 victory over St. Augustine for the Class 3S state championship. It was a job very well done by Roland and his staff.
Dave Dunn, Columbus: Not many opposing teams are going to out-coach the Columbus Explorers on the gridiron. Dunn did a terrific job with the Columbus Explorers in the 2023 season. Columbus pulled off the repeat of the Class 4M state championship, defeating Mandarin 38-15 in what was a masterful game-plan and well executed.
Garon Belser, North Port: Before this 2023 season, the North Port Bobcats had never won more than four games in an entire season. Never had reached the .500 mark or been above it for that matter. Belser changed all that this year with a season to remember at 'The Port'. North Port went winless in last year at 0-7 and turned it around with a 6-4 record.
Marvin Frazier, Lakeland: Since 1976, Bill Castle had been the head coach of the Lakeland Dreadnaughts. For those of you not counting, that’s 46 years at the helm for Castle. Enter Marvin Frazier into his first year as Lakeland's head coach and he was able to nab a state championship after a turbulent regular season. Frazier led the Dreadnaughts to a 12-3 record, finishing the season winning the Class 4S state championship in a 60-48 win over Venice.
Tyrone McGriff, Leon: There's no sugar coating it. The first season for Tyrone McGriff at Leon was pretty rough. After going through decades of futility, McGriff turned it around. McGriff led the turnaround, leading the Lions to a 6-4 record after going 1-9 in 2022. A five-win improvement definitely caught our eye from the Big Bend region.
Cornelius Ingram, Hawthorne: Back-to-back sounds mighty nice. Just miles away from where he played his college ball at, Ingram continues to give back to his high school alma mater at Hawthorne High School. Ingram guided the Hornets to a second state title in a row as Hawthorne edged nemesis Madison County for the Class 1R state championship.
Roger Harriott, St. Thomas Aquinas: The ‘Drive for 5’ motto said all season long for the Raiders of St. Thomas Aquinas and Harriott became reality at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee. The Raiders won the program’s 16th state championship and narrowly defeated Homestead 31-28 in the Class 3M final, capping another stellar 2023 season.
Jeremy Frioud, Tarpon Springs: Tarpon Springs has had a long, proud history of football run throughout the program's history. Plenty of great head coaches have roamed the halls like Don Davis, George Kotis among the list. Frioud, an alum of the school, knew the history and came back to his alma mater to restore it. Frioud led the program this past fall to an 8-1 record, turning it around from 2022's 3-7 mark.
Dominick Ciao, Berkeley Prep: The longtime Tampa-area head coach finally broke through for his first state championship. After starring at Jesuit and now with the Buccaneers. Ciao led the Berkeley Prep on an unprecedented run, going 13-2 and upsetting Miami Norland 28-20 to claim the Class 2M state championship.
-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
