One of the most successful eras in Central Florida high school football came to a sudden and definitive halt on Tuesday afternoon when Osceola High Head Football
Coach Doug Nichols called it quits after a 28-year coaching career at the school – including the last 11 as a head coach.
“I really don’t have a lot to say about it, except that I came to the realization that it was simply time,” Nichols said from his St. Cloud home on Tuesday night. “All I can really say is I did a lot of soul searching over the past couple of weeks and decided this was in the best interest of my family and myself.”
Nichols leaves a legacy unmatched.
In 11 years as head coach, the Kowboys went 111-23 (.828 winning percentage). Osceola advanced to the state championship game three times, the latest last year, where they lost 38-10 to Seminole High School. Previous title losses came to Hollywood Flanagan in 26-17 in 2015 and 31-0 to St. Thomas Aquinas in 2014.
But the fact remains that losses in state championship games does little to define Nichols as a head coach or the effect that he has had on his players.
“We had perhaps our most talented team ever in 2015 and we lost,” Nichols said Tuesday night. “But you know what? We had nine kids earn football scholarships off of that team. What do you think means more to me? Getting a ring on my finger or the fact that nine kids earned a free college education from that team by getting scholarships? It’s always about the kids.”
Osceola Athletic Director Jim Bird said he was saddened but supportive of Nichols decision to step down.
“What an incredible run he has had,” Bird said. “He’s a guy who has always done things the right way. No short cuts, never the easy way out. We’re certainly going to miss him on the field but he is leaving the program in tremendous shape.”
“I couldn’t believe the news when I heard it,” long-time rival and St. Cloud Head Coach Bryan Smart said. “Doug Nichols has been a tremendous mentor to me personally. In my early years, he always welcomed me to his practices and allowed me to observe how they did things. Who would let an opposing coach who he had to play every year do that? I learned a lot from the man and certainly wish him the best.”
Marc Deas, a former Osceola player, Kowboy assistant and head coach at Tohopekaliga and now the head coach at Feltrim Academy, says he was shocked to hear the news. “Doug is a great friend, a mentor and a guy who gave me an opportunity to become a football coach,” Deas said. “He played a pivotal role in helping me to become a head coach. Many of the things we do on the field and in practices were things I learned from Doug. He will always be a legend in my mind.”
Nichols spent 17 years as an assistant coach at Osceola and was on its staff for the 1998 state championship team. He would leave to start the program and spend three years at Liberty High School, before returning as head coach in 2010.
Under Nichols, the Kowboys won eight district championships and won 42 consecutive district games. That streak was interrupted in 2020, when COVID-19 crisis eliminated district play. Nichols leaves with a 34-game winning streak against county opposition and was 36-1 overall against county teams, with the only loss coming to St. Cloud in his first year in 2010.
Nichols said he leaves his post with many great memories but few regrets.
“We played in three Florida state championship games, we beat an incredible Lakeland team three times in a row in playoff games, getting past Palmetto in the state semifinals last year will always be a great memory, and being an assistant on the state championship team in 1998 will always be a cherished memory,” Nichols said. “But the thing I will miss the most are kids. Players that put it on the line day after day, practice after practice, year after year – all just trying to get better and all for the team and the greater good, that’s what I will remember more than anything.”
Bird said he was in no hurry to name a successor.
“One of Doug’s greatest attributes was his ability to identify and hire great assistant coaches and then never micro-manage them. His staff was with him for a long time and they have my complete trust. I went to practice today with Doug gone and it was like any other practice that he ran. Whether our next head coach comes from the outside or from within is not an immediate concern right now. Doug did a great job of continuing the legacy of Osceola Football and is leaving our program in great hands.”
