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Former NFL'er Erik Harris to lead Florida high school football team

IMG_8358by:Andy Villamarzo•06/28/25•

Andy_Villamarzo

NFL: Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
Oct 31, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons free safety Erik Harris (23) breaks up a pass intended for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson (11) in the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

It’s the second straight year in a row that Gulf Breeze High School‘s (Florida) football program has had to make a head coaching hire. Looking at their latest appointment, the Dolphins are shooting for the stars over in the Florida Panhandle.

Gulf Breeze’s football team announced in a social media post via X, formerly, known as Twitter, on Friday afternoon that they have tabbed former NFL safety Erik Harris as the Dolphins next head coach. Harris heads into the position with no known previous coaching experience, but with the success of former NFL’ers like Miami Northwestern‘s Teddy Bridgewater and a host of others, Gulf Breeze is aiming for the sky.

‘We are THRILLED to welcome ERIK HARRIS as our new Head Football Coach!

*NFL veteran with stops in New Orleans, Oakland, Atlanta, and Philadelphia

*Bringing championship-level experience to Gulf Breeze

*Ready to develop our young Dolphins into champions on and off the field’

In the case of Bridgewater taking over his alma mater Bulls, the scenario was a little different compared to Harris now accepting the lead football position for the Dolphins. Bridgewater may have not coached at the high school level before, but the team wasn’t too far away from turning the corner in Florida, either.

Bridgewater brought home Florida’s Class 3A state championship to Northwestern after a rout of Jacksonville Raines back in December at FIU’s Pitbull Stadium.

Harris played his high school ball at Pennsylvania’s New Oxford before playing college ball at the California University of Pennsylvania. There, Harris recorded 231 tackles over the course of four seasons before going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft.

During Harris’ 8-year NFL career, the former safety recorded 267 tackles and batted away 28 passes, playing for the Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.

At Gulf Breeze, the team is coming off a 2-8 season and is 10-20 over the past three campaigns combined. Jim Stomps handed in his resignation on June 19th, after an announcement by the school. Stomps took over the Dolphins ahead of the 2024 season for Jeff Gierke, who stepped down after the 2023 campaign.