JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Bobby Ramsay is making the move back into the Duval County coaching ranks.
Jackson announced Ramsay as its new head coach on Tuesday to replace Darryl Bartley. Ramsay had spent the last two seasons at Impact Christian and helped take the Lions into 11-man football.
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Ramsay’s last foray into Duval County was a five-season run at Mandarin, where he helped lead the Mustangs to the Class 8A state championship in 2018. He was the state coach of the year that season but wasn’t retained after a 5-5 record in 2021. Ramsay said that he talked to former Jackson coach and athletic director Kevin Sullivan about the possibility of coaching there and that started the conversation.
“I talked to Sullivan and it kind of went from there. I think there’s a lot of positives there right now,” Ramsay said. “There’s a strong tradition. A lot of alumni passionate about seeing the team do well. A lot of ex-players who want to see it successful and I think that’s a good thing.”
Ramsay’s best stretch, record wise, was his time at Yulee. He went 64-36 there before leaving for Mandarin. Ramsay has coached a pair of Mr. football award winners, Carson Beck at Mandarin and iconic running back Derrick Henry at Yulee.
“I think when it’s been done right they’ve had success. If it’s done the right way you can win, when it’s not, you don’t,” Ramsay said. “The challenges are getting it back on track but also there’s the means and the support to want to. It checks a lot of boxes.”
Jackson slumped to a 3-8 mark last season under Bartley, who had a difficult task ahead of him. Bartley replaced Christopher Foy, who left for the position at Oakleaf. Jackson reached the state playoffs this season, but lost to Raines in the first round.
The hire is a notable one for Jackson, which had fallen into a churn of coaching changes and struggles after Kevin Sullivan’s departure. Foy went 19-12 there and took the Tigers to back-to-back playoff spots.
Area high school football coaching changes
| School | Former coach | New coach |
|---|---|---|
| Impact Christian | Bobby Ramsay | TBA |
| Jackson | Darryl Bartley | Bobby Ramsay |
| Sandalwood | Adam Geis | TBA |