Florida High School Football Team Lands New Head Coach

Gadsden County names Daniel Fish the new head football coach

Coach Daniel Fish accepts the Defensive Football Player of the Year award for Flagler Palm Coast's Colby Cronk and stands with Dee Strange-Gordon at the 2025 Volusia-Flagler High School Sports Awards Show at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Monday, June 2, 2025. / David TuckerNews-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A Florida high school football team has a new head coach for the coming 2026 season.

According to a report by Allison Posey of WCTV, Daniel Fish will take over the football program at Gadsden County High School.

BREAKING: Gadsden County has a new head football coach. We've confirmed that Daniel Fish is taking over the reins of the Jags.

He last spent two seasons at Flagler Palm Coast, but was let go following the 2024 season for "failures in his teaching and administrative duties."

— Alison Posey (@AlisonPosey14) January 14, 2026

It was a hectic 2025 season for the Jaguars, as Russell Ellington left the program without a head coach following an investigation that led to several players being ruled ineligible for Gadsden County.

Florida High School Lands New Head Coach

During the summer months, Ellington and eight of his then-players were dealt a one-year suspension by the Florida High School Athletic Association. Shortly after, though, the players were ruled eligible to compete in 2025, just not for the Jaguars.

Ellington stepped down from the Class 2A program, receiving a position as an assistant coach at Savannah State. He had gone 18-7 in two seasons with Gadsden County.

Daniel Fish Had Successful Two-Year Run At Flagler Palm Coast

Fish most recently served as the head football coach at First Baptist Christian following two seasons leading Fagler Palm Coast. He was relieved of his coaching duties at Flagler Palm Coast due to “failures in his teaching and administrative duties,” according to the report.

First Baptist Christian was without a varsity football team for a number of years. They joined the Sunshine State Athletic Association with hopes of becoming a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association, according to a prior report.

Fish had a successful season in 2024 with Flagler Palm Coast, going 9-2. He was 12-9 during the two seasons spent as head coach.

Gadsden County won its final three games of 2025, including a 28-20 victory over Wakulla in the season finale, to finish 3-5 overall. Ashton Callahan, Andreas Green and Jacob Gilcrease are all expected to play key roles for the Jaguars.

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