Three games into the season, Lely HS (FL) has decided to make a change at the top.
The Trojans fired head coach Dan Nieboer this week after an 0-3 start in which the offense never found the end zone. Lely was outscored 166-0 across losses to Gulf Coast, Immokalee and Naples, a stretch that included a 63-0 loss to Naples.
Nieboer was in his first year on the job.
He arrived with a notable pedigree. Lely hired Nieboer away from Jason Witten's staff at Liberty Christian (Argyle, TX), moving him cross country to take over a program coming off one of its best seasons in a while. Witten, the former Cowboys tight end, is now coaching tight ends at Oklahoma.
Nieboer also inherited a roster that was gutted following a December coaching change. Quarterback Carter Quinn (2027) transferred to St. John Neumann after the coaching transition. His younger brother, four-star 2028 quarterback Brady Quinn, left for Chaminade-Madonna. Running back Nino Joseph (2027) headed to Miami Central. All three were central to what Lely did a year ago, and all three were gone before Nieboer coached a down.
"Our building administration worked closely with Coach Nieboer to establish a plan focused on player development and the overall operation of the program," principal Jennifer Bledsoe said in a statement. "Ultimately, we determined that a leadership change was necessary to best support the future success of our students and program as a whole."
Assistant coach Carlos Cornelio and varsity baseball coach Kit Fowler will serve as co-interim head coaches for the rest of the 2026 season. The district has announced they plan another national search for the next leader of the football program.
Nieboer replaced former head coach Ben Hammer, who left the program in a good spot.
Hammer went 20-14 over three seasons at Lely. His 2025 team finished 8-4, reached a regional semifinal and averaged 45 points per game. That group piled up 5,654 total yards, good for 471 a night. Hammer led the program to two district titles and made a pair of playoff appearances in three years, and he did it with an offense that was fun to watch.
Hammer, who previously had a successful 7-year run as the head coach at Rock Island HS (IL), was let go last December when the school said it wanted to go in a different direction. "Lely High School's vision for the program was different than mine," he shared at the time.
The offense he built put up points in a hurry and sent players to the next level. Whoever Lely lands in its new national search will be walking into a job that Hammer, not long ago, had humming.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.