The Eustis High football season started last week without a head coach, the Sentinel has learned. The school had managed to keep the situation close to the vest, but on Sunday it surfaced that first-year coach Joe Burnett had stepped down prior to fall practice that began last week.
Reached by the Sentinel via text Sunday evening, Burnett replied, “All is well, personal matter that led to the decision of stepping down. Tough decision, but a decision where my immediate family needed me.
“I will be back coaching sometime in my life, unfortunately the timing wasn’t right for me to step in and lead my Alumni at EHS.”
Burnett was hired this past spring to fill the vacancy left by Frank Scott, who is now at Leesburg.
After Burnett resigned, Eustis tried to maintain a consistency with its players, and former Leesburg and Bethune-Cookman quarterback Jabari Dunham was given the reins. Dunham was headed into the season as the offensive coordinator, but was offered the job as interim head coach. He turned down the offer.
“I’m taking the lead right now. I didn’t accept the interim head coach position, but yes, I’m taking the lead,” Dunham said. “We’re kind of coaching by committee right now. They may hire a new head coach or they may not. I’m not quite sure.”
Former Eustis defensive back Kobi Bowers is acting as defensive coordinator.
The Sentinel has reached out to Eustis athletics director Michelle Long via email to find out the status of the hiring process, but she has yet to respond.
Burnett played at UCF upon graduation from Eustis in 2005. He was named all-American as a senior in ’08 and is in the UCF Sports Hall of Fame. He had 16 interceptions in four seasons. Burnett went on the play in the NFL for three years with the Steelers and Giants, and seven years in the Canadian Football League.
Chris Hays can be found on X @OS_ChrisHays.
