Plenty of high school programs across the country would have traded the fall seasons they had in 2025 for a 7-4 campaign and used that momentum to head into 2026.
While that may be the case for a lot of teams, a high school in California that has had a head coaching vacancy since late last year, has decided to throw in the towel on the season instead of filling the head coaching job.
Anthony Jackson resigned from the head coaching job at Fremont Irvington HS (CA) back in December, and after about six months of trying to find his replacement, the school has decided to fold their fall football season instead.
The reason behind the decision, according to a report from The Mercury News is a lack of interest, as between 17 and 20 student athletes in 8-11 that would have made up the JV and Varsity squads expressed an interest in playing in the fall.
A letter sent to players and parents shared the following on the decision to suspend the season:
“Only 17-20 eligible players combined across both JV and Varsity teams," before adding “Even if we were able to hire a coach and staff at this time, we do not have enough players to safely field a varsity team or complete the required summer conditioning.”
When Jackson stepped away six months ago following a trip to the playoffs the roster sat at about 30 players.
Eight months ago, a petition was started on Change.org by players to reinstate Jackson as head coach following a multi-game suspension in-season that many felt was unwarranted after an ineligible player was allowed to practice.
The good news is that those still interested in playing football this fall are able to immediately transfer to a pair of neighboring school sin Washington HS or Kennedy HS, both within the district where a hardship waiver could be used to continue their playing careers.
Anyone that has spent any amount of time coaching or teaching at a smaller school has an intimate understanding of how interest in football often wanes in the winter and spring months. There's always a handful of kids who claim they're on the fence about playing, and 95% of them end up coming out once summer comes, and another 3% of those will report to the first day of fall camp for the season ahead.
I can only imagine 17-20 kids being interested in football after a 7-win season has more to do with not having a head coach in place than it is actually about interest in football. Those of us that have been around the game for a while have seen firsthand what the right hire can do to energize a program, the hallways of the school, and the entire school community, so count me among those disappointed to see a school fold up the year without giving a new hire the chance to do those things for the kids that attend Fremont Irvington.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.