Niceville football looks to hire next head coach week of April 6

NICEVILLE — With spring football looming, Niceville is looking to hire its next head football coach the week of April 6.

That was the update from Niceville High Principal Charlie Marello, who said "the timeline is obviously tight so we are moving on this immediately."

Tight is an understatement with the start of spring football looming April 20. Niceville currently doesn't have a spring game set for May, which is unprecedented for an Eagles program that before Morgan owned the offseason. That Morgan scheduled inarguably the toughest schedule Niceville's scene this last decade, a slate highlighted by 2025 Final 4 finalist Choctaw, Alabama powerhouses Hoover and Pratville, and Pace and Crestview, makes this timeline even more urgent.

The finalists from last year's search extensive search following the surprise resignation from Grant Thompson included current running backs coach Adron Robinson, Andrew Jackson head coach Robby Ramsay, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep Patrick Fox, Tohopekaliga head coach Anthony Paradiso and former Westmoore head coach David White.

Robinson was the only local candidate to receive consideration, and rightfully so. The Niceville alumnus helped lead the Eagles to a 4A state championship in 1988 with two touchdowns and an interception in a 48-14 rout of Bradenton Southeast. After a career in military intelligence and a slew of prominent administration rolls, he joined the Niceville football coaching staff in 2010 and embraced several roles — most notably recruiting coordinator, running backs coach, and associate coach — in helping the Eagles advance to four Final 4s. He's also head coach of the girls flag football program, which is 8-0 and coming off a 20-12 win over powerhouse Choctaw in which several of the best boys football players showed up to support.

For the other past candidates, Paradiso went 6-5 this past season at Tohopekaliga, David White resigned at Westmoore the week before the 2025 season, Ramsay led Andrew Jackson to a 5-7 campaign that featured a playoff win, and Fox led Pontiac Notre Dame Prep to an 11-3 mark that culminated in a 42-14 loss to West Catholic in the MHSAA Division 5 state football championship.

The search comes after a shift in culture after Niceville's Final 4 run in 2024. Players transferred out of Niceville, and after losing all four rivalry games and dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Ponte Vedra in the first round of the playoffs to finish 6-5, the offseason was met with news that Morgan was applying elsewhere.

Now the Niceville head coaching job, long one of the most sought after in the Panhandle, will be advertised sometime next week with the hire coming the following week.

"Per Okaloosa County School Board policy, a screening committee consisting of NHS faculty, school administrators, School Advisory Council members and community representatives will review applications and participate in the interview process," Marello said.

Stay tuned.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Niceville high football looking to hire next head coach 'immediately'