Ronnie Thornton Jr. no longer head football coach at Homestead; accepts associate HC/DC position at South Dade

The former Broncos' head football coach stepped down on Thursday and will join the Buccaneers' coaching staff
Ronnie Thornton Jr. has stepped down as head football coach at Homestead
Ronnie Thornton Jr. has stepped down as head football coach at Homestead / Matt Christopher

After two seasons at the helm of the Homestead Broncos football program, Ronnie Thornton Jr. has decided to step down as the head football coach and head elsewhere.

Thornton Jr. told High School On SI Florida Thursday evening that he stepped down as Homestead's lead man and will be heading to South Dade High School, where he will become the associate head coach and defensive coordinator.

"I officially stepped down today and accepted a position on South Dade's staff," Thornton Jr. said on Thursday evening. "Things move fast around this time."

During Thornton's two seasons as head coach of the Broncos, the former Southern Miss linebacker compiled an overall record of 16-7. Thornton's best season was 2023, which Homestead went 12-2.

Thornton led Homestead to the Class 3M state championship game, where the Broncos fell to St. Thomas Aquinas, 31-28.

St. Thomas Aquinas completes 'Drive for 5' with state title win over Homestead

Homestead had reached the Class 3M state title game in 2022 under former head coach Philip Simpson, who after the season accepted a position at the University of Nebraska.

The Broncos went 4-5 this past season under Thornton, in which the team reached the Class 6A playoffs and lost in a heartbreaking 28-21 loss to Monarch.

Controversial non-fumble call ends Homestead's playoff hopes: Watch and Decide


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


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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.