Brett Timmons named Southeast head football coach

Brett Timmons is coming home.

On his third attempt at landing the head coaching job at his alma mater, Timmons succeeded when athletic director Joe Collis announced his hiring Friday.

Timmons, a linebacker on Southeast High’s 1993 and 1994 state championship teams before embarking on a college career at Tulane University, previously applied for the Southeast head football coaching vacancy when the position opened following Paul Maechtle’s retirement in 2013 and again in 2015 when John Warren resigned.

Following Southeast alumnus Rashad West’s resignation after two seasons on Nov. 9, Timmons bested a field of 55 applicants that was narrowed to four finalists late Wednesday.

“I’m pretty fired up to kind of continue the work that coach West and his staff, what they did,” Timmons said. “I felt as an alum it wouldn’t be right if someone else came along and took the reins. For the job to be done, it needed to be someone from the Southeast family to continue it.”

Among the 55 applicants were former Southeast High and Florida State University star Peter Warrick, who played with Timmons on the Seminoles’ lone state championship teams. Warrick, though, was not among the finalists.

The other finalists were former Ruskin Lennard head coach Keith Chattin, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas assistant coach Jesse Norris and King’s Fork (Suffolk, Va.) High head coach Scottie Littles.

The search committee weighed the finalists through interviews and Thursday’s community forum. Collis said the committee, forums, principal Rosa Faison and himself all felt Timmons was the best fit for the job.

“I’m definitely confident that’s he going to help bring continued success to Southeast High School football,” Collis said.

The Noles underwent a rebuild with West’s arrival following Warren’s resignation, and were heading for a playoff berth in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s revamped playoff system this season before they were forced to forfeit five victories for using an academically ineligible player.

Like West, Timmons has ties to Southeast and Collis said that played a part.

“It definitely had an impact for sure,” Collis said.

Timmons, who once was in the NFL intern program in Indianapolis under former Colts head coach Tony Dungy, became Out-of-Door Academy’s first head coach when the program debuted in 2006. He compiled a 45-46 record as the Thunder transitioned into a rebuilding mode his last two seasons. Timmons and ODA parted ways in the summer of 2015, which saw Timmons exit as the Thunder’s head football coach and athletic director.

His finest season with ODA was 2009 when the Thunder claimed a district championship and advanced to the Class 1B state semifinals, their lone state final four trip.

Following his departure from ODA, Timmons volunteered in the University of South Florida’s recruiting office when Manatee High alumnus Willie Taggart was at the Bulls’ helm in 2015-16. Timmons continued in a smaller capacity with USF this past season.

“It was an awesome experience and something I will cherish always,” Timmons said.

West’s departure left a sour taste with Southeast players, who voiced their displeasure on social media.

Timmons said he can relate to how they felt through personal experience when his college head coach, Tommy Bowden, bolted Tulane following an unbeaten season in 1998 to join Clemson.

“I know how they feel,” Timmons said. “And my place is to meet their anger with love. I understand where they are. ... Trust me, I get it.”

Timmons said he wants to meet with the players and parents in the coming week, but logistics are being worked on. He’s a teacher at Buffalo Creek Middle, where school ends later than high school does.

Timmons said with proper respect, he wants to sit down and talk to this season’s staff and give them the opportunity to “continue on this journey or not.”

Part of that journey is continuing to bring back Southeast’s swagger, which was blossoming during West’s rebuild.

“That’s something that throughout the (years) have been forgotten with the building of various schools throughout the county,” Timmons said. “Southeast was the east side and will continue to be the east side. We took pride in being the guys that were on the other side of the railroad tracks.”

Though it took three attempts to land the head coaching position at his alma mater, Timmons took to reading various books during his latest chance at the gig. One book was particularly profound: Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist,” with the prevalent theme of destiny.

Walking through Southeast’s fieldhouse, Timmons felt it.

“There’s a picture of Coach Maechtle with a lot of his former players and that picture was taken at my mom’s (Carol Timmons) funeral,” Timmons said. “And that, to me, was the sign to say that it’s time to come home.”

This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Brett Timmons named Southeast head football coach."