With just the state championship games left to be played, the 2022-2023 high school football season in Florida is just about wrapped up. The end of another season means one thing: Coaches around the state will be on the move. Following is a look at some of the biggest coaching changes in Northeast Florida so far. There will surely be more moves once the championship games are finished.
Darrell Sutherland, Bartram Trail
Perhaps the biggest and most surprising of the Florida high school football coaching changes that have been announced so far is Bartram Trail High School’s Darrell Sutherland, who has been at the helm since the school’s opening in 2000. Sutherland spent 23 seasons as the Bears’ head coach, amassing a record of 182-94.
During his tenure the Bears made 19 playoff appearances and reached the state semifinals four times. Sutherland was voted multiple times by his peers as the best coach in the northeast Florida area, and he was the longest tenured coach in St. Johns county before hanging it up.
Chuck Dickinson, Keystone Heights
Somewhat of another surprise among Florida high school football coaching changes, Dickinson is hanging up the headset after more than two decades leading the Indians program. He joined the Keystone staff as an assistant in 1983 and took over as the head coach in 1999. Dickinson leaves with a record of 118-121 in his 24 seasons, a run that includes Keystone’s first-ever playoff win in 2021. He was Northeast Florida’s third-longest tenured coach.
Rickey Armstrong, West Nassau
After a disappointing 2-8 campaign, Armstrong resigned as the Warriors’ head football coach after nine seasons. Armstrong was 51-43 at the school, including four playoff appearances from 2017 to 2020.
Damenyum Springs, Fleming Island
Springs spent seven seasons as the Golden Eagles’ head coach before stepping down this past week. Springs took over halfway through the 2015 season on an interim basis. After leading the Golden Eagles to a strong finish in 2015, he was officially given the head coaching job.
Springs finished with a 36-12 record and three playoff appearances. Fleming Island finished the year with a 5-4 record, missing out on the playoffs for the second season in a row.
Mike Montemayor, Atlantic Coast
After posting a winless season (0-10) this year, Montemayor is out as the Stingrays’ head coach. The fourth head coach since the school’s opening in 2010, he led the Stingrays to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2020-2021, making a surprise run in 2020 after winning a play-in game and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in school history. Montemayor was 12-30 in his four years at Atlantic Coast.
Marcus Miller (Interim), Oakleaf
Miller, the athletic director at Oakleaf High School, was serving as the interim head coach for the Knights this year. Frank Garis resigned from his position as head coach last summer, leaving Miller to take over for the season. The Knights finished at 5-5 under Miller, just missing out on the playoffs.
