Bozeman football has been a team in transition since the Final Four run just three years ago.
Sean Maddox enters the 2026 season as the Bucks’ fourth head coach in four years, taking over after serving as offensive coordinator at Mosley. Despite the turnover, Bozeman is coming off a playoff appearance and enters a new chapter in the FHSAA Independent Series, where postseason qualification is determined by MaxPreps rankings following the regular season.
Maddox said one of the first signs of progress has been how much more comfortable his players look after going through spring football and summer workouts.
“We’re just executing the day-one install stuff way better on our first day of practice,” Maddox said. “Guys are a lot more comfortable lining up faster and a lot more comfortable with the coaching and the calls that come in on certain plays.”
The Bucks remain the smallest program in Bay County, making player attendance and participation essential.
“We’re going to have to rally guys on both sides of the ball, and it’s always going to be that way,” Maddox. “It’s been that way at Bozeman, and it’s something that’s part of their brand. We have to keep that going.”
While the move from coordinator to head coach has brought new responsibilities, Maddox said the football side of the job is what he’s been waiting for.
“Definitely a lot more responsibility, a lot more paperwork,” Maddox said. “The ins and outs of picture day — I realized how long and drawn out that process is. We got it over with, it’s done, and we finally get to focus on football.”
Bozeman returns one of the area’s more experienced quarterbacks in Hayden Gay, who threw for 1,611 yards and 14 touchdowns while rushing for 386 yards and four scores last season. Maddox also expects wide receivers Evan Clements and Riley McNeil to become key pieces of the passing game after Clements caught three touchdown passes in 2025.
“They’re guys that can go up and get it, and that’s something you’ve got to have with a passing attack,” Maddox said. “We’re hoping those guys have breakout years.”
Maddox expects a running back by committee approach led by Blake Durham, with Caleb Hentz and others rotating to keep fresh legs in the backfield.
“We’re mixing and matching in the backfield,” Maddox said. “We’re going to have a mixed bag of about four or five guys that are going to spearhead that.”
On defense, Maddox brought Chris Golden with him from Mosley to coordinate the unit, with flexibility serving as the foundation of the scheme.
“Our philosophy is we want it to look complicated, not be complicated,” Maddox said. “We’ll mix in and out of a four-down front to some 3-4 stuff, but ultimately it just depends on who we’re playing that week.”
The biggest change for the Bucks comes with their move into the FHSAA Independent Series. Rather than a traditional district race, Bozeman’s postseason hopes will hinge on putting together a strong regular season and finishing high enough in the MaxPreps rankings to qualify as one of the eight teams in the north region.
Maddox believes the format fits where the program is today.
“For these kids, this gives them an opportunity to play the most amount of games possible,” Maddox said. “It’s a new format the FHSAA came out with, and it’s good for our program right now. I’m really excited about it.”
He also isn’t shying away from expectations.
“We play our 10 games, then we have a region of 16 teams we match up against. We have to qualify in the top eight to move on,” Maddox said. “There’s going to be one winner at the end of this thing, and in my mind, why not us?”
Early Season Prediction: 7-3
Bozeman enters the season with a favorable schedule and a veteran roster that has remained largely intact over the past several years. The Bucks have finished .500 or better in each of the last four seasons and appear well-positioned to continue that streak. On paper, Bozeman enters games against Leon, Holmes County, Rutherford, North Bay Haven, Rocky Bayou Christian, Sneads and Destin as either the favorite or in what projects to be an evenly matched contest.
Bozeman enters the season with a favorable schedule and a veteran roster that has remained largely intact over the past several years. The Bucks have finished .500 or better in each of the last four seasons and appear well-positioned to continue that streak. On paper, Bozeman enters games against Leon, Holmes County, Rutherford, North Bay Haven, Rocky Bayou Christian and Sneads as either the favorite or in what projects to be an evenly matched contest. The Bucks are likely to be underdogs against Taylor County, Blountstown and Jay.
Adebanji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Sean Maddox leads Bozeman football into a new era with stability
Reporting by Adebanji Bamidele, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
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By Adebanji Bamidele, Panama City News Herald | USA TODAY Network
