Advertisement

Dixie Hollins hires Shane Wheeler as football coach

 
Published Jan. 9, 2015

Dixie Hollins officially announced the hiring of Shane Wheeler as the school's football coach Thursday.

Wheeler, a defensive assistant at Cairo, Ga., replaces Shannon Brooks, who resigned in November after three seasons and was hired at St. Petersburg Catholic on Wednesday.

"I'm excited about the opportunity," Wheeler said. "It's a school that's had a tradition of winning in the past, and I want to try to bring that back."

The position drew more than 80 applicants with the list whittled to eight who were interviewed three weeks ago. Dixie Hollins administrators narrowed the finalists down to Wheeler and Northeast assistant coach Mitch Disney two weeks ago.

Wheeler was tabbed as the Rebels coach before the winter break but had to go through a vetting process by the county before it became official.

"We were impressed by Shane's energy and enthusiasm about being a teacher and coach here," Rebels athletic director Luke Kademoff said. "We feel having a coach who is on campus full time and who wants to be here long term will help us build a competitive and disciplined program.

"(Shane) will bring a high level of excitement with him, a great intensity and drive to win."

Wheeler played at Suwannee High. He was college teammates with Pinellas Park coach Kenny Crawford at Westmar (1995-97) and Huron (1998). Wheeler started his coaching career as an assistant at Boca Ciega from 2000-02 before moving on to the small college ranks. He returned to coaching at the high school level as a defensive coordinator at Pelham, Ga., (2011-13), then moved to Cairo this past season.

Last year, Wheeler was a finalist for the openings at Boca Ciega, Largo and Northeast.

"I wanted to get back down to this area, but I wanted to find the right fit for myself and my family," Wheeler said. "I feel like I found that here at Dixie Hollins."

The Rebels were 3-27 the past three seasons. Wheeler inherits a team that was 1-9 this past year and will graduate most of the offensive talent.