Homestead’s Philip Simpson is Miami-Dade County’s 8A-6A Football Coach of the Year
It happens every once in a while for Philip Simpson and it did again as recently as last week: It was a Sunday morning and he was out eating breakfast when someone he had never met came over to talk to him.
He was a Homestead alumnus, the stranger told Simpson, and he wanted to thank the coach for the job he was doing with his alma mater.
It had been a long time since the Broncos had given the alumni and the Homestead community much of a reason for excitement, and Simpson takes pride in seeing the change.
“When I watched people who seemed ashamed to say they’re Homestead alumni or their kid goes to Homestead, or a kid themselves plays football at Homestead, now I see such a difference where people are being prideful about it,” Simpson said. “Guys are just so happy to see the school turn around.”
After leading the Broncos on their deepest postseason run since 2002, Simpson is the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Coach of the Year for Classes 8A-6A. The hope is he’ll have even bigger accomplishments to celebrate in the future.
This was, after all, only year three for Simpson at Homestead.
Before he took over the Broncos, Simpson cut his teeth at Southridge, first as a defensive line coach and then as a defensive coordinator for three years, including their 2016 championship season. He took the job at Homestead only a few weeks before the 2019 season began and his rapid-fire rebuild was underway.
In his second season with the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, the Broncos were one of only five Miami-Dade County Public Schools to opt into the 2020 Florida High School Athletic Association and they wound up winning their first playoff game since 2007. It was exactly the building block Simpson was hoping for, and Homestead followed it up in 2021 by winning the District 16-Class 7A title and reaching its first region championship since 2002.
The Broncos haven’t been to the final four since 1984 and have never played for a state title.
As much as he has enjoyed winning at Homestead, Simpson feels his biggest accomplishment is the culture change within the program.
He was the Miami-Dade Player of the Year back in 2003 as a defensive lineman for the Spartans, and then coached for his alma mater and, briefly, at Palmetto. A lifetime spent in southern Dade County meant he knew well where the region’s best players were coming from. Often, it was the Broncos’ territory, only players would leave Homestead to go play at Southridge or South Dade, or even travel further north.
To turn the Broncos into one of the top teams in the county, Simpson has made Homestead an appealing place for homegrown players to stay.
Star defensive lineman Daniel Lyons lives across the street from the school, Simpson said, and star edge rusher Dante Anderson and star wide receiver Richard Dandridge all live in the neighborhood. They grew up playing local parks like Florida City Park and Modello Park, and decided to try to win in their hometown.
Simpson has proved it can be done. He hopes it’s only the start.
“These guys,” Simpson said, “are going to be superstars in their community.”
