South Florida teems with high school football talent, but the coaching ranks are handicapped by uncompetitive salaries and heavy workloads. Many coaches have left for schools in other states, leaving behind a young, inexperienced pool of replacements.

In the past three years, Broward has seen eight football coaches leave for jobs in Georgia, South Carolina and other neighboring states.

Miami-Dade lost two of its best coaches to the University of Miami, which hired Edison coach Corey Bell, 36, and Booker T. Washington's Tim ''Ice'' Harris, 43.

The departures have left a void in experience at both schools, mirroring the situation all over South Florida.

Miami-Dade now has 27 head coaches in their first five years -- including 15 who are either in their first or second years, and a handful in their mid-20s. Broward has 17 coaches in either their first or second year.

Ten years ago, Miami-Dade had a group of 13 veterans -- headlined by Carol City's Walt Frazier, Hialeah-Miami Lakes' Jerry Hughes, Coral Reef's Earnest Perkins, South Dade's Don Drinkhahn, South Miami's Charlie Yanda and Palmetto's Jim Kroll.

Today, Miami-Dade has just seven coaches with more than a decade of experience.

''We've lost a lot of good coaches,'' said Cheryl Golden, executive secretary of the Greater Miami Athletic Conference, the body that govern athletics for Miami-Dade public schools. ``We don't have enough of those older guys, who learned for years under those legends and were willing to wait their turn.''

The trend rankles those veterans who remain. ''I think it's an insult to the profession [to have young coaches rise so fast] because of the pride of what our coaching used to be and should be in this county,'' said Coral Gables coach Joe Montoya, now in his 15th season as head coach. ``We've lost the respect of what head coach used to mean.''

What's more, a coach in his 20s isn't in a position to play father figure to a teenager in need of role models.

''It's more than just football,'' said Cypress Bay coach Mark Guandolo, a 22-year veteran. ``Dade and Broward are tough places to grow up. There have been a lot of great coaches who have set a lot of young men on the right track. I don't want to imagine where we'd be without them.''

What's driving coaches out of town? Finances and workload. Coaches in Miami-Dade and Broward not only make less than counterparts in other states, they are also required to teach full course loads in addition to running their teams.

South Florida coaches get fixed bonuses -- roughly $5,400 for spring and fall football in Miami-Dade, and $3,038 in Broward. Assistants get $1,430 in Miami-Dade, close to $2,000 in Broward.

FULTON COUNTY

By comparison, head coaches in Georgia's Fulton County average $5,856 and assistants $3,843.

South Florida administrators admit they don't have the answer. ''It is what it is,'' said Rocky Gillis, athletic director of the Broward County Athletic Association. ``With the economy the way it is and schools constantly facing budget cuts, I don't know if there ever will be a time where we can do anything to raise those supplements.''

The outsized example of well-paid coaches is Texas, where many head coaches make six-figure salaries and don't have to teach. Hal Wasson, coach at Texas' Southlake Carroll, made $94,000 in 2007. His assistants made more than $50,000 each.

In addition to coaches leaving for better-paying jobs, some veteran assistants who have been mentors and father figures are retiring.

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