100 years of Manatee | Who is the Hurricanes' top coach

Here are Manatee's top five head coaches:

1. Joe Kinnan (1981-2000, 2005-13)

A messy split from the school district shouldn't take away what Kinnan managed to do on the field. A 1963 graduate of Manatee, Kinnan returned to his alma mater 18 years later after a successful assistant coaching career in college and won 284 games and five state titles while leading Manatee to seven state championship games in four different decades. Health issues forced Kinnan to step away after the 2000 season, but he returned in 2005 to lead Manatee to consecutive appearances in the Class 5A state semifinals before Manatee won another state title in 2011. The Hurricanes won 27 district titles and 14 regional championships under Kinnan, who was named to the Florida High School Athletic Association's All-Century coaching staff in 2007. Prior to his career at Manatee, Kinnan coached for two seasons at Fort Myers Cypress Lake in 1969-70, where he won six games.

2. Wheeler Leeth (1950-61)

One of the men Kinnan said was responsible for getting him into coaching, Leeth won 85 games while suffering through just one losing season at Manatee, where he also served as principal. Leeth's impact was immediate: He took over a team that went 1-9 in 1949 and led it to an 8-2 mark the following year before leading the Canes to a pair of South Florida Conference championships and a share of a Western Conference championship, along with a 24-game winning streak. Leeth, who played college ball at Alabama, helped former Canes Ed Culpepper, Bill Anderson and Roger Pettee reach the NFL.

3. Ed Rousseau (1942-43, 46-49)

A former football and basketball player at Stetson University, Rousseau came to Manatee has an assistant in 1941 and took over the football team the following year, crafting an impressive career that included 40 wins and three South Florida Conference championships. Rousseau served in the Navy medical corps during World War II in 1944-45, but returned in '46 to lead Manatee to consecuive eight-win seasons. Rousseau had just one losing season and wound up serving as principal at four different Bradenton junior high and elementary schools.

4. Calvin Short (1971-75)

Though Short had his best days at Gallatin High in Tennessee, his 30 wins at Manatee are fourth all-time. Short led the Hurricanes to a 7-2-1 record in '72, their best mark in 10 years, before helping Manatee clinch its first district title and playoff berth the following season. Short went to Gallatin after the '75 season, where he won a state championship, reached three state finals and won 143 games.

5. Julian C. Howard (1914-15)

Howard arrived in Manatee County after graduating from the University of Georgia and brought football with him, introducing the sport to Manatee County High and paving the way for the years of tradition that followed. Howard also was perfect as a head coach, going 13-0 in two seasons. And his 1915 team didn't allow a point in nine games. Howard also taught science at Manatee County High.

This story was originally published November 28, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "100 years of Manatee | Who is the Hurricanes' top coach ."