Former Gator Leading Rebuild at Local High School

ALACHUA, Fla.-- Earnest Graham roams the sideline of Santa Fe (Alachua) High School's football field. He's in his first season as head coach, taking over a program that has won only two games over the last four seasons.

While the program faces an uphill climb in its attempts to turn things around, Graham's impact is already immediate.

In the first game of the 2025 season, albeit a preseason game that won't officially go on the record, Graham's Raiders have already matched it's win total from the last two seasons combined with a 28-14 win over Gainesville on Thursday night.

"It means a lot. I mean, we've won, you know, the last three teams we've faced starting with the spring," Graham told Florida Gators on SI after Thursday's win. "I know this community really appreciates good football and the changes that are going on within the program. So just to be able to be part of it, I feel blessed."

Former #Gators RB Earnest Graham making his (preseason) coaching debut with Santa Fe (Alachua).

Raiders lead 14-0 over Gainesville at halftime pic.twitter.com/yghaKp0dBz
— Cam Parker (@camparker25) August 15, 2025

The former Florida Gators star running back is in his third head coaching gig of his career after stops at North Fort Myers (Fla.) (2014-17) and Fort Myers (Fla.) Evangelical Christian (2019-21). It also isn't his first rebuild.

Graham took over a North Fort Myers program that went 0-10 the year before, leading them to 16 wins over the next three seasons before an undefeated regular season in 2017, the program's first in over 20 years.

Now looking to do the same with Santa Fe, Graham has brought with him what he calls "key elements" for being a successful program that start off the field, such as cleaning up the facilities, "loving the space" the Raiders use and developing off-field accountability while building bonds among the team.

"I mean both places that I coached had similar situations," he explained. "We were either looking to turn the program back around, or we were looking to be more competitive at a higher level. This is very similar. We have a proud community again that really wants this football back. And we know we're accomplishing that. We're moving towards that."

On the field, Graham is building a foundation of self-discipline and having a team mentality, things the program has lacked in previous seasons.

"You can see the commitment he has made on the field," athletic director Scott McDaniel said. "And I, from personal experience, I've (coached) against (Santa Fe). I've seen them now twice since we played them, and it's night and day. You can see the way the kids handle themselves. That's a reflection of him and his coaches. That doesn't just happen."

Earnest Graham is in his third coaching stint after stops at North Fort Myers and Evangelical Christian. | Andrew West/The News-Press via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Graham also helped put together the building blocks of another rebuild currently happening with a local program. Ironically, it was with the team he beat on Thursday night.

Last year, Graham was the offensive coordinator at Gainesville, working under former Gators teammate Ian Scott. The Hurricanes went from having one win in two years before a 5-5 finish in 2024 with Graham running the offense.

"Definitely it helps. I mean, we talk all the time, and me and the guy, we talked every other day, and that's a brother of mine," Graham said of Scott, who enters his third season with Gainesville. "You know, it's fun to come out tonight and just get better together. We both speak all the time just about what it takes to really get this done.

"So this is a huge job, and you don't get paid a lot to do it, but coming out here and seeing these kids believe and give the effort they need to push things forward, it's a reward in itself."

The community in Alachua is already seeing the rewards, even though the regular season for the Raiders won't start for another two weeks.

"For these kids in this program, the adversity they've seen the last four years. It hasn't been real high here," McDaniel said. "And so, for these kids to perform really well in the spring and then come out here against a local team and played really well, it's incredible for the kids, the coaches and obviously the school and the community."

Graham also brings name recognition as a former Gator, with parents in the community remembering his college career fondly, while the kids recognize his son Myles, a sophomore linebacker with Florida who spent his senior season at nearby Buchholz.

To this day, Graham remains top five in program history in career rushing yards (3,065) and rushing touchdowns (33) and top 10 in single season rushing yards (1,085 in 2001).

"For kids, for the parents of the kids, everybody who has a kid in this program knows who Earnest Graham is as a football player," McDaniel said. "When they see his team play, they're gonna know who he is as a coach. When you get a chance to speak to him and spend some time with him, you know who he is as a man."

#Gators LB Myles Graham, son of RB Earnest Graham (‘98-‘02), nephew of DE Thaddeus Bullard (‘97-00), cousin of EDGE Titus Bullard. pic.twitter.com/Mmigo0jlqe
— Cam Parker (@camparker25) August 16, 2024

While the rewards for the community have been immediate, Graham is also taking time to personally reflect on the rewards of being a high school coach in a small town.

"It's good. I'm in my element when I'm on the field," he said. "Being a head coach, I love it because I believe I was born to help shape young men, particularly to help them build skills so they can ultimately have success. That's the fun part for me is introducing one thing to a kid that he can do very, very well and watch him use that one skill and have fun playing the game.

"Also not let them get away with a dang thing, instill some discipline, and let them know the world that they're going in. There's real consequences to the things that you that you do, and if you do that, we'll raise better young men coming out of our program."

Santa Fe has a bye for week one of the regular season before hosting Zarephath Academy.

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