Pahokee fires football head coach Emmanuel Hendrix

PAHOKEE — Pahokee High fired head football coach Emmanuel Hendrix on Thursday and is set to begin the search for a new leader.

The move comes after the Florida High School Athletic Association sanctioned Hendrix on Feb. 22 with a six-week suspension for the beginning of the 2023 spring football season and a $5,000 forfeiture of his salary. Pahokee High administration self-reported allegations of "improper contact" regarding a transfer student-athlete.

Hendrix said he was "devastated" by the firing and was given the option by the school administration to say he resigned.

A statement provided by Pahokee Assistant Principal Brian Lawson read: "At the present time the Athletic Administrative Department at Pahokee Middle Senior High School has decided to move in a different direction with our head football coach Emmanuel Hendrix. The Athletic Administrative staff here at Pahokee Middle Senior High School would like to thank Coach Hendrix for his dedication to the program. We like to wish Mr. Hendrix good luck and Godspeed in all of his future endeavors."

In an earlier interview with The Post, Hendrix denied the allegations of "improper contact," acknowledging that his "social media activity may have left things up for interpretation."

When The Post reached out to Pahokee Principal Dwayne Dennard and Athletic Director Lashonda Baldwin for a statement on the suspension, the school did not respond but informed Hendrix that a statement would be made "later."

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Although Hendrix's stint as head coach with the Blue Devils came with a share of controversy, there were consistently on-field successes.

Pahokee went 18-5 under Hendrix. The Blue Devils fell one point short of reaching the state semifinals against Hawthorne in 2022, a marked improvement on the previous season's 51-12 region final loss.

Across 23 games, Hendrix's defense held opponents to an average of 15 points and claimed the first-ever Muck Bowl shutout against Glades Central in 2021.

Pahokee flourished equally in the classroom with Hendrix at the helm.

The team reached a 100% graduation rate, according to Hendrix, helping such students as linebacker Bijay Boldin make history as the program's first athlete to have the option to attend an Ivy League school. He ultimately signed with Georgetown University.

Initially an interim head coach in February of 2021, Hendrix was officially hired months later to carry on the work of D.J. Boldin — the brother of NFL Hall of Fame candidate Anquan Boldin — who moved to the collegiate ranks to coach Lake Erie.

In a June 2021 interview discussing his promotion, Hendrix said he "never wanted to be a head coach anywhere but in the Glades."

"If I was going to be a head coach, I wanted to be the head man at Pahokee. That's the only high school head coaching job I ever would have felt that I got to take it, especially as I got older. There's something you can't turn down."

Including Pahokee, eight Palm Beach County schools have changed head coaches so far this offseason.

Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Pahokee fires football coach Emmanuel Hendrix