(This story has been updated with comments from Jim Stomps.)
Gulf Breeze is on the hunt for a new football coach again.
Jim Stomps resigned from the Dolphins’ head coach position on June 18. The Gulf Breeze News was first to report the resignation, and Gulf Breeze athletic director Matt Alt confirmed the news to the PNJ on June 19.
Alt said that Stomps wanted to move closer to his family in Jacksonville.
“We wish Coach Stomps all the best, and thank him for his year at Gulf Breeze,” Alt said in a phone call. “This was definitely unexpected.”
“Between prayer and evaluating the situation with where we’re with my family, with the passing of my stepfather on Father’s Day who was very close to me and influential, it felt like it was time and God was leading us to move back closer to my daughter and son-in-law in Jacksonville,” Stomps told the PNJ. “I want to coach again. I’m going to coach again. When that opportunity becomes available, I’ll take advantage of it. But right now, it’s a matter of tying up loose ends in Gulf Breeze, getting (my son) Brock up to North Alabama on July 1 so he can start his college career and fulfill his dreams. … Then getting my family moved to Jacksonville when we can.”
Stomps was hired by Gulf Breeze in February 2024 in the wake of Jeff Gierke’s firing in December 2023. Both coaches were only with the program for one season. The Dolphins went 2-8, and 1-2 in District 1-5A play, with wins over South Walton and Milton.
The win over South Walton in Week 1 was a thriller, with Gulf Breeze completing an 80-yard drive with just about a minute to go in the game, winning 20-16. It was an exciting start to the Jim Stomps era at Dolphin Stadium.
“I felt like we were on the right track. The next coach coming in will be able to, hopefully, continue on a positive and successful climb with the Gulf Breeze football program. I’m very appreciative of the school’s administration – Mrs. (Sarah) Barker and Mr. Alt – everything they did to support the program and me as head coach,” Stomps said. “I’m very appreciative of how hard our players played, and how they and my coaching staff bought in. … We were very young last year, but our guys played hard in every game. That was all I could ask. We didn’t have the wins we wanted, but I felt like we made some strides to get the program going back in a positive direction.”
Gulf Breeze will now be searching for its third head coach in as many seasons, following Stomps’ departure. The Dolphins are looking for their first non-losing season since 2022 and first winning season since 2021, when Bobby Clayton was still in charge.
Clayton left following the 2022 season for Fort Walton Beach, and has since returned to the area and was named the head coach of Pensacola Catholic back in January.
The Dolphins graduated a few heavy producers on the offensive side of the ball. That included Stomps’ son, Brock, at quarterback, who threw for 1,782 yards and 12 touchdowns during his lone season in Northwest Florida. Brock is now at the University of North Alabama.
Jake Hooten hauled in 325 yards receiving in just four games after spending some of the year injured, and is set to head to the Naval Academy to play baseball.
Defensively, Gulf Breeze also graduated Jake Radominski (67 tackles), Anthony Lee (47 tackles) and Dillon Pinardo (46 tackles), among others.
With how late it is into the summer, Alt told the PNJ that Gulf Breeze is now rushing to figure out plans for a head coach, whether it’s naming an interim head coach for the season or fully hire someone.
“We’re going to look at all applicants and decide what the best option is,” Alt said.
“It’s going to be a team effort between the coaches right now. I know the administration is aggressively looking for coaches. I know they’re going to be successful in bringing somebody in,” Stomps said. “We have a great all-season program that’s led by coach (Brett) Nicolich, who does a fantastic job with our strength and conditioning. … Our coaches are broken up into their position groups, working with players to get ready for the season. The staff is working hard as we speak. Hopefully it’ll be a smooth transition once they land on a new coach.”
With Stomps’ late resignation, this now makes it seven new head football coaches in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties entering the 2025 season, including Clayton at Pensacola Catholic.
Milton hired longtime head coach Ronnie Douglas, who was last an assistant at Pensacola High, to replace Kelly Gillis. Kerry McDowell was brought on at Pine Forest, most recently serving as defensive coordinator at Pensacola Catholic, to take over for Tony Carter.
Vance Smith, at Pace, was promoted to head coach after serving as an assistant, taking over for his father, Kent Smith, who retired. Wes Summerford moved back into the city at West Florida after previously coaching at Northview, taking over for Harry Lees who moved to Walton. And Doug Vickery crossed state lines to take over Northview’s program after coaching at Flomaton in Alabama.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Jim Stomps resigns from Gulf Breeze football head coach position after one season
Reporting by Ben Grieco, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
