Eustis High School’s football program has encountered a change as Head Coach Joe Burnett announced his resignation, effective immediately. Burnett informed the team of his decision yesterday, marking the end of his tenure as the head coach.

We reached out to Eustis High School Athletic Director Matthew Burgess who says “We wish Coach Burnett well, and we are working to name an interim head coach at this time. We will be naming one soon. This was a mutual decision,” says Burgess. Once an interim head coach has been named, we will update with more information.

The Eustis Panthers are fresh off back-to-back district championships. This change follows the offseason move of former head coach Frank Scott to Leesburg High School to lead their football program. With Burnett stepping down, Eustis High finds itself in a challenging position with the start of the season just a few weeks away.

Despite this challenge, Eustis High School has demonstrated resilience in the past. The school’s athletic programs, particularly the softball team with their continued state championships, underscore Eustis’s commitment to excellence in sports.

While this situation is undeniably tough, there is confidence within the school community that Eustis High will navigate these changes successfully. The school has faced and overcome numerous challenges before, and their determination to ensure the best outcomes for their athletics programs remains strong.

This reminds me of my Junior year of high school football. We had a successful two seasons and during the spring of my junior year, our coaching staff left and we had a new coaching staff come in. I had a good experience with the new staff who believed in me as a player. Every situation is different but my point is that this could be a good thing for Eustis High School.

The timing obviously is not ideal, but I will be the first one to extend my best wishes to Joe Burnett and to Eustis High School. I reached out personally to Joe Burnett to ask what had happened. However at the time of this article coming out I had not heard a response. Whatever it is, I wish coach Burnett the best of luck in what he does in his future. Coach Burnett is a Eustis High School football legend and put UCF football on the college football map. He is a good person and I enjoyed our conversations earlier this year about his plans for the program.

In this day and age we all need to lift each other up and encourage one another. Even if it’s a rival program I don’t wish anyone to have to go through a coaching change this close to the start of the season, but we need to be supportive to the athletes, coaches and families. My best wishes to the Eustis High football program. I will update as I know more info.