Popular California high school football coach to take a year off

One of the most popular high school football coaches in the state of California announced on Thursday via social media that he intends to take the year off from coaching before returning to the sidelines.

Former Coronado (Calif.) head football coach Kurt Hinesposted on his social media pages that he plans to take the 2026 season off before making a decision on returning to coaching high school again.

“It’s official. I’ve landed on my feet after 28 years of coaching high school football. I’ve decided to take a year off,” Hines said in his video statement. “Through a lot of fasting and prayer, talking to my wife, family members, and friends, it’s time. I’ve loved everything about the past 28 years of coaching high school football—all the losses, all the wins, game planning, the practices, the off-season training, game day, the morning after a game. It’s all been a tremendous blessing. But it is the people. The people are what matters most and what makes the difference. And I think that’s what I’ll miss the most in the year that I take off. But I’m gonna take a year off, spend more time with family and friends.”

The Islanders ended the 2025 season by losing in a 35-14 decision to La Jolla Country Day in the opening round of the California CIF San Diego Section Division IV playoffs. Hines, who has a following of over 79,000 followers on X, announced back in late November on his page via a video that he had been fired as Coronado’s head football coach after the loss.

Hines took over the Coronado football program in 2017 and went 56-50 in his nine seasons at the helm of the Islanders. Coronado under the watch of Hines ended up reaching the California playoffs every season for the exception of 2020 where the program only played five games due to the pandemic.

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