Florida High School Football Team Hires Two-Time Super Bowl Champion as Head Coach

St. John Neumann, a Florida high school football team competing in Class 1A, welcomes Chris Maragos as its new head coach. The defensive back, who played for three teams in nine NFL seasons, will replace Rich Crosby.

Naples Daily News’ Alex Martin wrote that Crosby resigned after two seasons and a 10-9 record due to health reasons. Meanwhile, Maragos will bring a spring of knowledge from his pro football experience to a struggling program.

Maragos is a two-time Super Bowl champion. The Wisconsin native won his first Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. Four years later, he was with the first Philadelphia Eagles team to win a Super Bowl.

In addition to those teams, Maragos started his NFL career as an undrafted rookie for the San Francisco 49ers. He announced his retirement before the 2019 season. Maragos finished his career with 93 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and a defensive touchdown.

Before entering the NFL, Maragos played wide receiver at Western Michigan, where former NFL player Greg Jennings mentored him. However, he didn’t last long with the Broncos because he transferred to the University of Wisconsin. Moving schools wasn’t the only change for Maragos because the Badgers used him on defense.

The new St. John Neumann head coach also underwent transition during his high school football days. After three years at Racine’s Park High School, he transferred to Horlick because Park’s long-time coach retired. Maragos earned All-Region honors in his lone season with the Rebels.

Maragos will take over a Florida high school football program that has threaded the .500 mark over the last five seasons. From an 8-3 record in 2019, the Celtics finished at 4-4 in 2020, 6-5 in 2021, and 4-5 in 2022. St. John Neumann went 5-4 in 2023 and 5-5 this season under Crosby. The On3 Composite Team Rankings have them at 386^th among Florida schools.