Meet every new Volusia-Flagler high school football coach for 2024 FHSAA season

Nine of the Volusia-Flagler area’s high school football coaches remain the same as 2023 .

But the other six? They’re new this year.

Atlantic’s Jerrime Bell, Halifax’s William Bell, Mainland’s Travis Roland , Pine Ridge’s Eric Poyner , Seabreeze’s Lester Davis and Trinity Christian’s Bill Cosens all departed from those jobs.

Taking their places were Tombe Thomas at Atlantic, Lawrence Garner II at Halifax, Bell at Mainland, Greg Miller at Pine Ridge, Mike Klein at Seabreeze and Allen Johnson at Trinity Christian.

The Florida High School Athletic Association allows teams to begin non-contact practices Monday. The first contact date is Aug. 3. Preseason classics kick off Aug. 12, with the regular-season openers following on Aug. 23.

Before the fall gets rolling, here is a look at each new leader.

Atlantic High School: Tombe Thomas

Thomas brings playing, head-coaching and Volusia County experience to his new role in Port Orange. Atlantic hired him in April.

The South Sudan native attended San Diego Mesa College and Syracuse, suiting up as a fullback for each. He earned his first head-coaching gig at Marion C. Moore in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2019. During his first season, the Mustangs posted an 8-3 record and reached the third round of the Class 4A playoffs. Thomas claimed District 3 Coach of the Year honors.

In 2020, he followed friend Jeff Smothers to Deltona and spent three seasons as the Wolves’ offensive coordinator. They averaged 40.1 points per game in 2022, his last year as play-caller.

Halifax Academy: Lawrence Garner II

Garner takes over the Knights after the best season in program history. They set a new record with seven wins and qualified for the FHSAA playoffs for the second time since the squad’s inception in 2014.

Garner was a part of that success, serving as co-defensive coordinator. Before 2023, he worked at Seabreeze as defensive backs coach for two years and coached three seasons of the Daytona Beach Cowboys youth program.

“Coach Law” played for two different institutions — Vermillion College and the University of St. Louis — before an ACL tear ended his collegiate career.

Mainland High School: Jerrime Bell

The Buccaneers stayed in the family when searching for their new captain . Bell is the cousin of former coach Travis Roland, who led Mainland to its second state championship last December. Bell is also a 2002 alum of the school, with three varsity campaigns on the Bucs’ defensive line.

For the last three seasons, he guided the Atlantic Sharks to a 10-19 record during his first term as a head coach. The Sharks charged to a District 8-2S championship last fall.

Prior to that, Bell coached seven years of local Pop Warner clubs, coordinated Calvary Christian’s offense in 2012 and then turned in seven years as an assistant at Treasure Coast.

Pine Ridge High School: Greg Miller

Miller returns to Florida after a season as the defensive backs coach at South Gwinnett High School in Georgia. He holds one year as a head coach on his resume, and it was a good one.

In 2022, Miller steered River Ridge to a 6-4 regular-season record and a District 6-3S title. The Royal Knights fell in the first round of the playoffs to annual power Vanguard.

Before shifting to River Ridge, Miller served as the defensive coordinator at Lake Brantley High School. He helped mold twin linebackers Andrew and Michael Harris into four-star recruits. He also lived in Deltona for more than a half decade.

Seabreeze High School: Mike Klein

Klein represented the final Volusia-Flagler hire of this year’s cycle, signing in late April .

A local product, Klein grew up in Edgewater and starred as a three-year starting linebacker for New Smyrna Beach before heading to Jacksonville University. There, he collected All-Pioneer Football League second-team and honorable mention nods.

For the last 10 years, he enjoyed stints as a defensive assistant at New Smyrna Beach, Tusculum University, Spruce Creek and DeLand. Last year, his DeLand defense accumulated 97 tackles for loss and 15 interceptions as the Bulldogs captured a regional championship for the first time since 2009.

Trinity Christian Academy: Allen Johnson

The Eagles’ longest-tenured head coach is back for a second stint.

Johnson was Trinity Christian’s first football coach, filling that role from 2004-2012. It won 60 games and appeared in the 2007 state final four during his tenure. Then, Johnson moved to Deltona for seven years, compiling a 26-43-1 record and notching the program’s first playoff berth in 2015. It was still its only postseason trip when he stepped down after the 2019 season.

Most recently, he occupied the top spot at Pine Ridge for a season and a half in 2020 and 2021. His overall record stands at 88-87-1.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Meet every new Volusia-Flagler high school football coach for 2024 FHSAA season