Former longtime Miami Beach and Palmetto High football coach Jim Kroll dies at age 81

Football coach Jim Kroll loved Miami – the vibrant people, the variety of languages and the deliciousness of the food.

Kroll’s prime years were spent at Miami Beach High, where he coached future NFL players such as Chad Ochocinco, Duane Starks, Samari Rolle, Terry Cousin and Dave Thomas.

“To say that he helped me get to the NFL is an understatement,” Thomas said. “He really had an incredible impact on my life.”

In the 1980s, after going to games to scout upcoming opponents, Kroll would often pull up at Jimmy’s when he wanted soul food or at Puerto Sagua when he was in the mood for Cuban.

“He was born on the South Side of Chicago,” said his son, Jeremy Kroll. “When he came to Miami, it was like going from black-and-white to color TV.”

Kroll, who battled prostate cancer for 15 years, died on Oct. 25.

He was 81.

Kroll’s first job as a head coach was in Illinois at Evergreen Park High from 1971 to 1977. From there, he moved to Miami, where he was a head coach at three high schools – Southwest (1978-1979); Miami Beach (1980-1997); and Palmetto (1998-2006).

The 1984 Beach High team – with quarterback Demetrius Brown, who went on to star at the University of Michigan – was perhaps Kroll’s best team. That Hi-Tides team was stopped that year by mighty Southridge.

Kroll finished his career with a record of 213-137-1 and still ranks second all-time in Miami-Dade County history in wins behind only former Miami Belen Jesuit coach Rich Stuart.

But Kroll’s career was way more than just about wins and losses.

“He was the most organized coach I’ve ever worked with,” said Marc Berman, who was Kroll’s offensive coordinator at Beach High for three years. “His practice schedule – everything ran like clockwork.”

Kroll was an overachiever. The son of Polish immigrants, Kroll was the first member of his family to go to college (Northern Iowa University). He later earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration at Governors State University.

The love of Kroll’s life was Suzanne, a girl he had known since they were in grade school. They both went to Reavis High in Burbank, Illinois.

However, as the prom approached, Kroll still hadn’t asked her to be his date.

“My mom was getting mad because nobody had asked her to the prom,” Jeremy Kroll said. “My dad was an imposing guy (a 6-foot-3 wrestler and tight end). No other guy asked her out because they knew he liked her.”

Kroll finally popped the prom question, and the rest was sweet history.

They were married for 47 years until, sadly, Suzanne passed away in 2012, also due to cancer.

The couple had two children: Melissa Anderton, who is now a retired teacher; and the aforementioned Jeremy Kroll, a criminal defense attorney. Suzanne and Jim also had four grandchildren: Kat, James, Caroline and Jackson.

Jeremy Kroll was close to his father. During Jeremy’s four years of high school, he would ride with his father from their home in Kendall to Miami Beach High.

Jeremy, who was a tight end (like his dad once was), has fond memories of those hour-long car rides.

“We would listen to music, and we would have great conversations,” Jeremy said.

“I introduced my father to the music of Fleetwood Mac, and I learned to like some of his favorite songs.

“We developed a bond that most young men don’t get to have with their dads, and that’s why this hurts so much.”

Jeremy Kroll said his father was constantly evolving.

“He was a World War II-era baby, and he moved to Miami during the time of the ‘Cocaine Cowboys’ and the crack epidemic,” Jeremy Kroll said. “He talked to me about making good decisions and the importance of being a gentleman and being responsible.”

During his high school years, Jeremy saw just how hard his father worked.

On game nights, the coach would wake up at five in the morning, and he wouldn’t get home until 1:30 a.m.

After games, Kroll would go make sure all his players had a ride home. Then he would go back to Miami Beach High to wash his players’ uniforms.

Finally, he would drive home … only to return to school for a 7 a.m. coaches meeting.

“There was a lot of stuff that my dad did that most people didn’t see,” Jeremy Kroll said. “Especially in his first two years at Miami Beach, a lot of kids were undernourished. He made sure they had pregame and post-game meals, and many times that came out of his own pocket.”

Gus Zambrano, an offensive tackle who played for Kroll at Beach High from 1984 to 1987, broke his right leg during a game in his senior season.

Doctors placed 14 screws in the leg of Zambrano, who thought his career was over.

For his first year out of high school, Zambrano worked as a Beach High assistant coach. And every time a college scout visited to recruit one of Kroll’s players, the coach told them about Zambrano.

At last, Zambrano started to get scholarship offers, and he ended up living his dream as a college football player at Wayne State.

Zambrano said Kroll was a father figure to him.

“He had a natural way of talking to his players,” Zambrano said. “If he told us to run through a wall, we would do it because he always had a purpose.”

Zambrano said Kroll did a masterful job of taking different personalities and blending them into a team.

At Beach High during that time, there were Jewish kids, Cuban-American kids and Black kids, many of whom lived in the Overtown area.

“My dad was an advocate for his players and his students,” Jeremy Kroll said. “He didn’t see color or social status. None of that was meaningful to him.

“What was important was lifting people up and helping them have better lives.”