Former Gators star Jacquez Green named interim head coach at Manatee High
Bradenton Manatee High tapped former Florida Gators star Jacquez Green, who played four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his NFL career, as its interim head football coach.
The Hurricanes announced via Twitter that Green, who was an assistant on former head coach Yusuf Shakir’s staff, was taking over the program on an interim basis, while the program conducts a national search to fill the head coaching vacancy.
Shakir was fired last week, though messages left with school officials and Shakir seeking an answer to the reason for the dismissal weeks away from spring football were not returned. The school did provide a statement from principal David Underhill through athletic director Danielle LaPoint and school district spokesman Mike Barber, but the statement did not answer why Shakir was let go.
Manatee is a two-time defending district champion and reached the playoffs in each of Shakir’s four seasons.
Green was brought in as Shakir’s offensive coordinator in 2019.
The Hurricanes tallied more than 300 points in each of the last two seasons, including an average of 30.6 points per game in 2020.
Green led the Canes this past fall when Shakir was suspended stemming from the Florida High School Athletic Association’s investigation that deemed Shakir, along with two other area head coaches, improperly gave tours of their schools to a Palmetto middle school football team.
Shakir was suspended for eight games.
Spring football begins Monday, April 26 with non-contract practices, before shifting to contact practices Saturday, May 1.
This story was originally published April 16, 2021 at 2:17 PM.
