Sarasota High parts ways with football coach Brody Wiseman

SARASOTA – Sarasota High has parted ways with football coach Brody Wiseman.

Sailors director of athletics Shane Ahles said the school wanted to take the program in a different direction.

"Sarasota High School is grateful for the time and effort head Coach Brody Wiseman dedicated to the Sarasota Sailors Football Program," Ahles said in an email. "We've decided to make a change in leadership and take our football program in a different direction. We will begin conducting our search for our next head football coach immediately. Sarasota High School wishes Coach Wiseman the best in all future coaching endeavors."

More: Capsule, prediction on Venice football in the state semifinal

More: Players to watch and coaching moves among girls basketball teams

Wiseman had no idea a change was in the works.

"There wasn't a whole lot said," Wiseman said after being informed Thursday.

Sarasota finished 5-5 this past season, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The Sailors also made the playoffs in the 2020 COVID season, Wiseman's first season as head coach, when teams were permitted to opt in to the playoffs.

Two of the losses this past season came to Riverview High, including a 27-7 setback in the regional semifinals. Qualifying as the sixth seed, the Sailors went on the road and upset third-seeded Manatee, 30-20. in the first round of the playoffs.

After the second loss of the season to Riverview, Wiseman said, “This loss hurts, It’ll take me a few days to get over that, or maybe a few weeks. But when I’m able to process what we were able to do this season and the steps we’ve taken, there’s a lot of positives. Unfortunately, we weren’t ready for this moment yet, but we’ll go back to work and hopefully we’ll be ready by this time next year.”

Originally hired on an interim basis, Wiseman completed his third year as head coach. He compiled a 16-15 record in three years after taking over for Spencer Hodges.

"We made a lot of strides. That was on display this year," Wiseman said. "The schedule we were able to play and the teams we were able to compete with.

A former player at Out-of-Door Academy, Wiseman served as the Sailors' offensive coordinator for a couple of seasons under Hodges before getting the interim tag and eventually getting his first head coaching position.

"I always tell people the first game I was at Sarasota we lost 24-0 to Bayshore," Wiseman said of the 2018 season opener when he was the offensive coordinator. "We've come a long way. I'm proud of what we've been able to do as far as getting kids into school, what we've been able to do as far as their character. I'm proud of all the people who have worked here and put their time in."

The Sailors were slated to return 15 starters in 2023.

"I felt we were in a position to really do something special here," Wiseman said. "I was surprised."

Sarasota High plans to begin a search "as soon as possible," according to Ahles.

Coaches interested in applying for the Sarasota High School Head Football coach position, please email a letter of interest, resume, and reference information to Athletic Director Shane Ahles at shane.ahles@sarasotacountyschools.net.

Wiseman said he would "love to" continue to coach. "I've done a lot of other stuff before I coached and could be making a lot more money doing something else. I do this because I really love it. I'll be coaching somewhere."

Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Support local journalism by subscribing. 

Follow @maffsports on Twitter

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: high school football coach Sarasota High parts ways