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Florida high school football coach retires after 28 years

Lawrence Andrew Fernandezby:Lawrence Fernandez•06/06/25•

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Marty Lee - Florida high school football
© Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Florida high school football coach Marty Lee stepped down from his position after nearly three decades. However, he will remain as First Coast High School’s athletic director and will pass the coaching role to Jarvis Parker, his former assistant.

Lee has been working with the school since it opened in 1990. He started as the head coach of the baseball team and an assistant football coach. However, he became the head football coach after Billy McCann stepped down during First Coast’s 1996 season-ending loss.

Lee stepped down as the longest-tenured Florida high school football coach in Duval County. Among football coaches in Northeast Florida, only Trinity Christian’s Verlon Dorminey (since 1991) had a longer stint.

Originally from Mississippi, Lee led the Buccaneers to a 169-122 record in 28 years. His first victory came on September 12, 1997, when First Coast defeated Fletcher 25-10. The opposing team’s head coach, Joe Reynolds, presented him with his first game ball.

Since then, Lee led the Buccaneers to six double-digit win seasons, including five straight from 2010 to 2014. First Coast competed in the Florida high school football playoffs during those years, which is part of ten consecutive postseason appearances since 2005.

While Lee stayed as head coach for another decade, he didn’t enjoy the same success and had only two winning seasons. However, though the Buccaneers finished the 2024 season with a 4-6 record, he received some coaching accolades.

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected him as the top high school football coach in the region. Last January, the Florida Athletic Coaches Association presented him with the Wink Barnette Award. These achievements add to his FACA induction in 2019.

Beyond personal recognition, Marty Lee’s impact rests on the Florida high school football players he mentored along the way. In addition to over 200 First Coast student-athletes who played college football, two of his former wards (Andrew Farmer and Tavaris Barnes) played in the NFL.