Russell Ellington resigns from Munroe; named Gadsden County head football coach
The Big Bend football coaching wheel continues to turn as another head coach has announced the departure from a program, but this time will be filling another local vacancy.
Munroe head football coach Russell Ellington announced on Twitter that he was leaving the Munroe program after one season as its head coach. Ellington confirmed to Tallahassee Democrat that he was taking the head coaching position at Gadsden County High School.
"I would like to thank you all for the support that you have shown me and my family through my tenure at Robert F. Munroe," Ellington said in a statement posted on Twitter. Know that I will never forget my time here. I take great pride in the program that we built at The Roe and am forever grateful for the opportunity to influence the lives of these great young men and women."
More:Respect the Roe: Munroe's growth from segregation academy to Gadsden grown football powerhouse
Ellington joined Munroe in 2020 as an associate head coach before getting promoted to the head coaching role in January 2022. In his only season as head coach, he guided the Bobcats to a 6-7 record, winning the program's first regional championship and first state semifinals appearance. Munroe garnered the programs first wins over North Florida Christian and Leon in the process.
Munroe has also seen a substantial rise in recruiting, into the program and with colleges. Under Ellington, multiple Munroe players have received offers from Power 5 programs, with senior Makari Vickers signing with Oklahoma, senior Ahmari Borden signing with Stanford and junior Keishawn Mashburn committing to Florida State.
Ellington follows Victor Winters as the next head coach at Gadsden County as the school and Winters parted ways at the end of the regular season. Winters, also a first-year head coach, went 2-8 this season, missing the playoffs by two spots. Winters came recommended by then-head coach Corey Fuller, who is now the director of football relations at Florida State.
This is the second coaching change in the off-season and ninth since the 2022 off-season when eight Big Bend programs announced coaching changes. The announcement also comes two days before National Signing Day.
Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Russell Ellington departs Munroe for Gadsden County as new head football coach
