Manatee head coach Joe Kinnan to address career, allegations in Wednesday press conference
Joe Kinnan is ready to talk.
Manatee High School's former football coach, who announced in June he was taking a medical leave of absence for the 2014-15 school year, will conduct a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Bradenton City Hall.
"I will be speaking about my career at Manatee High," Kinnan wrote in an email, "and the allegations made against me by the Manatee County School District."
During a 2012 investigation of former Manatee baseball coach Dwayne Strong, district officials recommended Kinnan, formerly Manatee's athletic director, be suspended for 10 days without pay for failing "to maintain honesty in his professional dealings."
Kinnan resigned as athletic director in December, roughly two weeks before
the district unveiled its findings and Manatee's athletic program was fined more than $13,000 by the Florida High School Athletic Association for violations committed by Strong and the baseball program.
Kinnan responded with a statement through attorney Douglas Peebles, acknowledging he "could have been more diligent in my oversight and follow through," regarding Strong.
He added: "However, the allegations and findings contained within the complaint are far overreaching. I cannot abide and cannot more strongly disagree with any allegations or findings which wrongly characterize my conduct as intentional, misleading or dishonest or that may otherwise impugn my integrity."
Citing health reasons, Kinnan, a three-time cancer survivor, did not coach Manatee during the spring football season, which ran through May, but held off making a decision about whether he would coach in the fall.
On June 20, however, Kinnan, on medical leave since December, announced he would not be coaching Manatee in 2014 and requested a yearlong medical leave of absence.
"I would love to continue as the head football coach. However, there are conditions that exist that make that impossible at this time," read Kinnan's statement. "The turmoil and uncertainty that exists in the Manatee County School District has impacted my health to the extent that I cannot perform as head football coach at the level of excellence that Manatee players and fans expect and deserve."
District Superintendent Rick Mills, who recommended Kinnan's suspension in December, said he was hoping to see Kinnan chase down his 300th victory this fall.
"He is a great coach with a great legacy," Mills said June 20.
A nationwide search for Manatee's new football coach yielded 70 applicants, and Jason Montgomery, hired in February to replace Kinnan as athletic director, said he wasn't looking for an interim hire.
"There have been no mixed signals on our end," Montgomery said June 30. "We're looking for a long-term solution."
The choice to replace Kinnan was John Booth, a Manatee alum who played four years under Kinnan and spent the last five years coaching at Valrico Bloomingdale.
He makes his Manatee High coaching debut Aug. 22 when the Hurricanes head to Tarpon Springs East Lake for a Kickoff Classic.
Kinnan won 290 games and five state titles in two separate stints at Manatee and graduated from the school in 1963.
This story was originally published August 13, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Manatee head coach Joe Kinnan to address career, allegations in Wednesday press conference ."