Todd Long, 59-41 in 11 seasons, must start his new job as Durant assistant principal immediately.
By SCOTT PURKS, Times Staff Writer
Published October 13, 2005
TAMPA - Todd Long stood in front of his team Monday afternoon and with tears rolling down his cheeks said he was leaving as Plant City's coach effective immediately.
He will be an assistant principal of student affairs at Durant High and there was no way he could finish the season.
"I felt like I was letting my kids down somewhat," Long said Wednesday. "I interviewed for this job, and I was told I had it last week. I have no choice but to start right away."
Defensive coordinator Kevin Kelly will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season.
Long was in his second stint as the Raiders coach, going 45-28 in his first eight seasons and 14-13 since 2003. Long stepped down in 2000 to pursue his master's degree in educational leadership. Long continued teaching business at Plant City, and in 2003, when Cornelius Bobo resigned, Long took over. "I've loved coaching, and ... this was a tough decision for me to make," Long said. "I told the team my first three priorities are faith, family and football in that order. This decision was based on what was best for my family, which comes before football. I hope they understood. I think they did."
Center Aaron Sullivan knew Long had applied at Durant because his aunt, Pamela Bowden, is Durant's principal.
Sullivan, however, didn't realize the appointment would come so soon.
"It was kind of awkward because we went through practice not even thinking about it," he said Wednesday. "At the end of practice, he said, "Everybody get a knee.' "He kind of paused for a little bit, so me and some of the other seniors were thinking he was mad and we said, "Hey, everybody, take a knee."
Sullivan said he quickly realized it was something else. "I looked up, ... and he started quivering. I looked over at one of my buddies, another senior on the line. I knew as soon as I looked at Coach, and the second I looked at my buddy, he knew.
"He told us, and heads went down. It was tough, especially for some of the seniors. Some of the juniors, all they've known is Coach Long. But the seniors helped him build the program back up. He said there was no way he wanted it to happen like this, but he's just going to do what God has in store for him."
Times staff writer Ernest Hooper contributed to this report.
