At the Plant City High School National Signing Day ceremony, football head coach Wayne Ward was there to speak highly of his senior class. When he was done, he walked off the stage to a round of applause and left the Raider fans in good spirits.
So when he announced his resignation just a few days later, no one in Raider Nation saw it coming.
Ward, the team’s head coach for the past six years, first announced his decision with a Facebook post the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 9.
“Having had the ability to positively help change the lives of so many young men through the game of football has been such a tremendous blessing and opportunity I do not take for granted,” Ward wrote. “I have taken this program as far as i could take it and I look forward to the next chapter of my life. I thank the Plant City community and parents for showing your support over the last six years. It has been an amazing journey.”
The post, which racked up nearly 100 “likes” was met with dozens of positive comments from past players and their families. The next day, Feb. 10, athletic director Traci Durrance confirmed that Ward was stepping down.
He has since spoken about his decision to leave the team, and cites a need to be with his family as the main reason behind it.
“There are some things, family reasons, that I need to focus on,” Ward says. “I love these boys tremendously. This is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
Ward, who played running back for the Raiders in his high school days, joined the team as an assistant coach in 2002. In 2010, he replaced Jason Strunk as head coach and immediately took the team to a 7-4 record and a playoff appearance with future star quarterback Bennie Coney.
In 2013, with Landon Galloway under center, Ward guided the team to an 8-3 record and another playoff appearance, following a three-way district tiebreaker, and helped bring the spotlight to players such as Montel McBride (Alabama), Sedrick King (Nebraska) and T.J. Chase (transferred to IMG Academy). Last season, the Raiders posted a 4-6-1 record but made the playoffs by finishing second in the district.
He leaves the team with a 30-22-1 career record and will continue to teach at the high school.
Ward says that he isn’t sure what his future in football will hold, but he isn’t ruling out a return to the game.
“At some point, I’ll coach again,” Ward says. “I’m not sure if I want to be a head coach right now. I would prefer an assistant role over a head role.”
Plant City has been interviewing potential candidates and, as of press time, has not yet made a hire. For all of the school’s sports, Durrance prefers to hire coaches that also teach at the school, which makes it very possible that associate head coach Greg Meyer, who teaches television production classes, could land the job.
Meyer, who has confirmed his interest in taking the head job, was previously the head coach of Jacksonville-Wolfson High, posting a 4-17 record in two seasons, and was an assistant coach at Plant High School, when the Panthers completed a run for the 2008 state championship. He joined the Raiders two seasons ago as the defensive coordinator and has also served as the team’s college recruiting liaison since his promotion last season.
Until Durrance makes a hire, which should happen fairly soon, Raider fans will be waiting with bated breath to see who will take over the team — and if they can improve on Ward’s successes. The former coach also has high hopes for the boys.
“You will go on to do magnificent things and represent this city proudly,” Ward wrote. “Now, it’s time to go win a state title. I look forward to an amazing year from you guys.”
