By Kenneth Books
Ernest Green III’s life has been football. The Fort Walton Beach native was a star wide receiver on the gridiron with Fort Walton Beach High School, where he led the Vikings to an undefeated season and a No. 2 national ranking by USA Today en route to the Florida AAAA state football championship in 1991. After high school, he played football for Florida State, finishing his college career as the Seminoles’ all-time leader in receiving touchdowns with 29. His 182 total points, still stands at 13th on the all-time scoring list at Florida State.
A third-round NFL draft choice, Coach Green made 54 catches for 665 yards and two touchdowns. And now, he faces a new challenge – head coach of the fledgling Destin High School football team. He relishes the opportunity. “We’re going to have tough, hard-nosed, disciplined kids,” Coach Green said. “We have a lot of skill and talent, just not a lot of big guys.” So far, the team, which opens play Sept. 2, has 35 players, but “we still have some kids in the building who’ve played before,” Coach Green said.
Coach Green is no stranger to coaching, having done so at Tampa Freedom High School, American Heritage High School in Plantation, and IMG Academy, Bradenton, where he was assistant head coach. This will be his first time in charge of the entire operation.
One advantage he’ll have is he doesn’t have to live up to the reputation of a predecessor. “When you’re coming in cold, it’s a mad rush,” Coach Green said. “You really get only one chance. It’s like a painting. They might know of me, but they don’t know me.”
He said he tends to be offense-minded. “I like to throw the football,” he said. “Ideally, on both sides of the ball, we’ll be fast, physical and (ticked) off.”
With Coach Green, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. His father, Ernest Green Jr., a math teacher and coach with Fort Walton Beach High School, coached defensive backs and receivers to win the 1991 Florida State 4A Football Championship.
A high school coach ideally is not a taskmaster, a philosophy embraced by Coach Green. “I told the kids we’re teachers first. We’re not here to cuss the kids. I enjoy teaching the game. I love the game. It’s been very good to me. You can get paid a king’s ransom to play a child’s game.”
Currently, Coach Green and his wife, Michelle, live in Pensacola. He’s looking for a closer home, but said he doesn’t mind the drive each day. They have two grown children, Isaac and Will, and Dominic, age 12.
Coach Green’s background has gone a long way to prepare him to run the Destin High School football program. But it’s been a dream of his for quite a while. “This is exactly when I was 5 I saw myself doing,” Coach Green, 46, said.
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