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Highlands Today

COMPLETE STORY: Avon Park Sacks Football Coach

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: November 28, 2007

AVON PARK — After 22 games and two seasons without a playoff appearance, Earnest Perkins has been fired as Avon Park High School varsity football coach.

AP Principal Stu Guthrie said the decision "was his alone," and although he characterized the move as "not easy," Guthrie said a change at the top was "one that was necessary."

"Sometimes in coaching, much like life, things just don't work out the way we would have liked for them to," Guthrie said in a written statement. "I think this is the case in this situation. I have the utmost respect for coach Perkins, but a change was necessary."

Perkins, a 33-year coaching veteran, gathered many of his players on Monday in the locker room for one final time and told them he'd been fired on Nov. 19. Emotions ran high as many of the players jumped to their coach's defense and discussed boycotting next season.

"I told my kids to keep their heads up," Perkins said. "This is only a blip on their journey through life."

Red Devil linebacker Dwayne Council Jr. summed up the mood of the meeting.

"We were all very hurt when he told us," Council said. "I really think this messed up the bond that we formed over this season. It's just difficult to take, and a lot of kids got very emotional. Some of the kids say they don't want to play now, but Coach told them to play as hard for the new coach as we did for him. What some people don't realize is that we have a lot of love for Coach.

"I know I'm going to dedicate next season to him."

The coaching staff who bought into Perkins' philosophy were also effected by the news, with many wondering about their future and the new direction of Red Devil football. Whether the remainder of the coaching staff is retained is a decision yet to be made, according to Guthrie.

"I hope the new coach continues the programs that Coach Perkins started here," said AP defensive line coach Dwayne Council, Sr. "It has to be about the kids first. He's done a lot of good here and these kids are better men because of having been around him."

Perkins, a Miami native, replaced T.C. Cousins as the head football coach at Avon Park in Jan. 2006 after Cousins amassed a 7-3 record in his final season and was fired.

Immediately, Perkins instituted an after-school tutoring program for all his players, which helped his team carry a 3.0 overall grade-point average.

His "dress for success" program made it mandatory for his players to don shirts and ties on game days — a change, like many Perkins instilled, that had little to do with football.

"I was on a mission with these kids and this team," Perkins said. "I wanted to establish discipline and then academics. I knew, after I had those down in place, that football would take care of itself."

In his 22 games on the sidelines for Avon Park, Perkins amassed a 7-13 regular-season record, going 6-4 in his first season with a senior-laden squad that featured quarterback T.K. Hill, Josue Ortiz and Marcus Wyche.

This past season, the struggle to win became overwhelming to a young Red Devil unit.

With a roster featuring only four seniors and dozens of juniors and sophomores, not to mention a schedule laden with playoff teams, Perkins managed a single win over the course of the season.

But that win was against perennial powerhouse Hardee, a surprising 10-7 victory that earned him Coach of the Week honors from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But after closing the season with seven straight losses, a change was made.

"I knew coming in that it would take three seasons to get things where I wanted them to be," Perkins said. "I had a senior team my first year, and the second season I had a bunch of kids who played junior varsity last year. But I'm not hurt. I'm a veteran, and I believe that everything happens for a reason.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this team wins the district championship next year after the hell they went through this season."

A nationwide search is under way, and AP athletic director Mort Jackson said they'd like to have a new coach in place by Christmas. The job is posted on the American Football Coaches Association Web site, the FHSAA Web site and with the Highlands County School Board. Perkins is still under contract to continue teaching Health & Life Management and Team Leadership classes through the rest of the school year.

As the bags were filling up and the pictures of past glory were taken down in what was once his office, Perkins took one last look at what he's accomplished during his short tenure at Avon Park.

"Many of these kids can see that there is life outside of Avon Park," Perkins said. "They've got hopes and dreams about going to college and making something of their lives — dreams that weren't there when I walked into my first meeting with team last year. They know its possible if they work hard.

"They know that Grandpa was and will always be with them."

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