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Florida high school dismisses head football coach after spring ball

IMG_8358by: Andy Villamarzo23 hours agoAndy_Villamarzo

Manny Evans had coached Naples (Fla.) Gulf Coast in their Florida high school football spring game last week against Fort Myers (Fla.) Riverdale, which ended in a 27-27 tie on May 28. Less than a week later, Evans is no longer the lead man of the Sharks, according to a report by the Naples Daily News on Wednesday.

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Gulf Coast has dismissed Evans as the school’s head football coach, ending his tenure after just two seasons and compiling an overall record of 10-11. The school has already promoted offensive assistant Tommy Kleinmeyer to the position of head coach, per the report.

“I was informed of the news and was surprised. But I respected the decision,” Evans said via the report. “I spent five years with Mr. Kutz when he was the principal at Barron Collier. I’ve had a relationship with him that goes back to 2007. Coach Scott was the one that afforded me the opportunity to be a head coach. All I did at the end was respect their decision. I feel like I let a culture down. Not a lot of us get an opportunity.”

The Sharks have not had a winning season since 2022 when the team went 8-3 overall. Evans went 5-5 in his first season (2024) before finishing with a 5-6 mark last season.

Gulf Coast activities coordinator Alan Scott provided a statement to families and supporters regarding the decision to move on from Evans, per the report.

“We would like to thank Coach Evans for his dedication, time, and commitment to our student-athletes and football program during his tenure at Gulf Coast High School. We appreciate the countless hours he invested in supporting our students and wish him the very best moving forward.”

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