Pine Ridge parted ways with football coach Eric Poyner late Tuesday afternoon, athletic director John New confirmed to The News-Journal in a phone interview.
Poyner, 47, guided Pine Ridge to its best start to a football season in 15 years as the team won its first three games of 2023. However, the Panthers ended the campaign on a six-game losing streak and endured its fair share of disappointing finishes along the way.
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Pine Ridge lost by one point to Lake Howell, two to Mount Dora and three to Seabreeze in a game in which it held a three-touchdown lead late in the third quarter. The Panthers also fell to then-winless rival Deltona, a victory which would have been its first in the Battle for the Boulevard series since 2012.
“I’m obviously disappointed I’m not going to be the head coach moving forward, but I know what I inherited a year-and-a-half ago,” Poyner said. “I know the stability that I brought, which was sorely needed. It sucks, but I know the good I did and the turnaround at the school.
“I’ve been around long enough to know these things happen. It’s just not the right fit anymore.”
A first-time head coach, Poyner ends his tenure with a 3-16 overall record.
Pine Ridge has gone through nine coaches since 2010; Poyner matched Bob Goebel, Matt Yancey and Kenny Pickens for the most wins of any coach during that stretch.
Yancey holds the best winning percentage (.333), stepping down two months after the conclusion of the 2016 season, his only one in charge.
In the last 14 seasons, the Panthers have lost 116 of 132 games, including five wins forfeited in 2011 for dressing an ineligible player.
New, in his second stint as the school’s AD, leans toward finding a replacement with prior head coaching experience but is primarily seeking a candidate that embodies leadership.
“We’re trying to right the ship and get back on track with football,” New said. “We’ve had a lot of good coaches that have come in but, for whatever reason, we can’t find the right fit for our program.”
Pine Ridge has qualified for the Florida High School Athletic Association’s football playoffs only once since the school opened in 1994. Eight teams from Volusia and Flagler counties made the field this season, including West Volusia counterparts DeLand and University.
Poyner plans to take time to “decompress” during the Thanksgiving break before potentially re-entering the coaching ranks. Prior to his stint at Pine Ridge, he spent five years as an assistant at Lake Howell.
“The right situation will find me, whenever that happens,” Poyner added.
