Breaking: Bruce Patterson hired as Wesley Chapel (Florida) head football coach

Patterson was a wide receivers coach at Cypress Creek High School this past season

It's been a long, winding road for Wesley Chapel High School when it comes to finding its next head football coach, but they finally feel like they may have found their guy. 

According to Wesley Chapel principal Matt McDermott on Friday afternoon, the school will be hiring Cypress Creek wide receivers coach Bruce Patterson as the program's next lead man. Patterson was also formerly an assistant at Pasco High School under Alphonso Freeney. 

“We had a lot of good quality applicants,” McDermott said. “Mr. Patterson stood out, just the way he carries himself. The way he works with people and his current principal. The plan is to have someone to come in breed some longevity. Success breeds success and we feel he will bring that to the program.”

Patterson replaces Lawrence Coleman, who lasted just one season as the Wildcats' head coach. Coleman was let go after the 2023 season and re-applied for the position when it was posted. 

Patterson coached up a Cypress Creek wide receiving corps that hauled in 131 passes for 2,586 yards and 30 total touchdowns as a unit. 

Breaking: Lawrence Coleman no longer head football coach at Wesley Chapel (Florida)

Coleman previously served as an assistant coach at East Lake High School coaching wide receivers before searching to become a head coach in the area the last few years.

Coleman was tabbed to replace Anthony Egan, who was the program’s head coach for seven seasons, going 34-34 overall. Egan is now the defensive coordinator at Fivay High School.

Egan, who was an offensive line coach at River Ridge before landing at Wesley Chapel, brought the Wildcats back to respectability during his time as lead man. The Wildcats went 5-5 three times, 6-4 twice and 7-2 once during Egan’s tenure, but the 2022 season proved to be the program’s first winless campaign since 2013.

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl