Coach Jacob Doss leaving Windermere Prep for business opportunity
It comes with much apprehension, but Jacob Doss finally made his decision. Presented with a business opportunity, the Windermere Prep football coach has decided to step away from his post after 12 years.
“Windermere Prep is all I’ve ever known,” Doss said of his life since playing quarterback at the University of Wyoming. He started the Windermere Prep football program in 2009. “I kind of grew up here. I just think it’s time to try something new for the first time in my career.
“We’ll see how it goes, but you put 12 years of your life into anything, especially building a program and sending kids off to college, and you create such lifelong bonds. That’s what you live for as a coach.”
Doss’ resignation became official at the end of a 3-4 season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Windermere Prep posted the job opening Monday.
“I’m leaving on really, really good terms with Windermere Prep and I’m still actively involved with helping find a replacement,” Doss said. “It’s hard because football has never been out of my life.”
Doss, who is from Lexington, Ky., established a solid foundation at Windermere Prep, and in recent years saw several players sign at Football Bowl Subdivision schools, including: OT Ryan Swoboda (Virginia), LB Khadry Jackson (North Carolina, LB Mason Russell (Duke), LS Brett DioGuardi (Florida), and WR Rahsaan Lewis, who transferred from UCF to Kentucky.
“I look at them as sons to me and I talk to all of them pretty much weekly,” Doss said. “Then there were countless others, maybe not on the FBS level, but we sent so many kids off and I’m really thankful for my time with those kids. We have kids in the military, kids who have become police officers. That’s pretty exciting to see.”
Doss was tapped to start the Windermere Prep football program in 2009, and he was also athletic director at the school for part of that time. He compiled a record of 73-33 during the Lakers 11 varsity seasons since 2010.
Windermere Prep was 10-0 and champions of the Sunshine State Athletic Conference in 2014. The Lakers went 10-1 in 2016 and 2017 and 9-1 in 2018.
“I owe everything to athletics director Danny Haney, who called me out of the blue one day and said, ‘We’d like you to take over this program for us,’ ” Doss said.
Doss met his wife Jessica, who is from upstate New York and was a standout lacrosse player at Colgate, in Orlando. They have a nearly two-year-old son, Jackson. Jessica is also expecting the couple’s second child. With his life transition at the stage it is now, the job opportunity became more appealing.
Doss will take the position of Director of Partnerships at Mia Share Inc., a company that works with educational institutions to help coordinate alternative solutions to traditional loans.
“They saw my background, and a friend of a friend runs this company, so he’s kinda been bringing me along for a little while,” Doss said. “But I thought, ‘I’m a coach, I’m not going to get into that world’. But then it kind of got more and more attractive. The whole world worked from home for a little while and this is a remote job, and I learned a little bit how to do that [with COVID].
“So, if there was a time to do a career change, it’s now. That’s kind of how we felt. So I’m at peace with the decision.”
This story was first published at OrlandoSentinel.com. Chris Hays can be reached by email at chays@orlandosentinel.com.
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