Former Pahokee football coach Emmanuel Hendrix resurfaces at Moore Haven, still defiant

The commute takes nearly an hour from Pahokee to Glades County, but Emmanuel Hendrix isn’t complaining.

On Friday night, at jam-packed Joe Brown Field, Hendrix made his debut as defensive coordinator for Moore Haven High when it hosted Glades Central in a preseason Kickoff Classic.

There came the familiar sight of Hendrix waving his arms at the players on the sidelines, animated as ever as he delivered defensive instructions during its 23-0 victory. His defense pitched a shutout and didn’t give up a drive that had more than one first down in the rout.

The recently-fired Pahokee head coach can go on and on how he got wronged by Palm Beach County administrators last March after getting suspended by the FHSAA for “improper contact’’ with a student-athlete transfer and subsequently getting fired from the football powerhouse.

Hendrix, known for his gregariousness and activity on social media, was let go despite an 18-5 record in two seasons with a 100-percent graduation rate. Pahokee fell two points shy of the state semifinals last season.

The former Pahokee football star of the 1990’s chokes up – at a rare loss for words - and admits it’s in the past, not to dwell.

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“It’s always a great feeling to be back out there to coach,’’ Hendrix said. “I’m a Pahokee native. Anytime you get a chance to play Glades Central – I don’t care how good they are - it’s always fun.’’

Moore Haven coach Jack Garrett is ecstatic to have Hendrix, who brought along his Pahokee assistant coach David Simmons as offensive coordinator. Hendrix also got Simmons’ younger son, Kenneth, to transfer - an 8th-grader who will start for junior varsity and be third-string varsity quarterback.

Kenneth Simmons’ older brother, the southpaw Austin, after a sensational Pahokee career, is now on scholarship at the University of Mississippi.

“He didn’t do anything wrong,’’ Garrett said of Hendrix. “It was taken out of context. There was behind-the-scenes things going on that led to it. He’s been nothing but a great asset to us.

“We’ve been friends for a long time. He’s a great coach. Great guy. He’s a heckuva football coach. He’s detailed. Technique-wise, I don’t know if there’s a better guy in the state doing it. As a defensive backs coach, one of the best in the state of Florida for sure.’’

Hendrix has found a pathway to start the football season despite the six-game suspension levied by the FHSAA for improper contact with a recruit. Moore Haven hired him last spring to be an assistant for baseball, softball, track in addition to football.

As such, Moore Haven has counted two softball games he missed, two baseball games, one track meet and the spring football game to cover the suspension.

Moore Haven’s lawyers contend the language of “six games” didn’t specify football games. The matter still is under review by the state.

With the season opener set for Friday, Hendrix is so far good to go.

“(Garrett) always wanted to coach with me,’’ Hendrix said. “ When he reached out, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do.’’

But Hendrix became more motivated when he saw “the paper trail’’ that got him fired by Pahokee, feeling it was an axe to grind by certain Palm Beach County administrators.

Hendrix contends the dismissal stemmed from 2021 when placed on administrative leave for several months. Hendrix said he was exonerated after an investigation into an inappropriate conversation with a female student.

“They couldn’t close my case, so they kept it open,’’ Hendrix said. “I ruffled a lot of feathers (proving my innocence). When you piss people off, they got to get you out of there.’’

That got him pumped to coach again, but in a new county.

“When I found out that people didn’t want me to coach anymore, I wanted to make sure I did coach,’’ Hendrix said. “I’m a very competitive person. I’ll stop coaching when I want to stop. I said I got to coach. It’s the biggest 'FU' to them is to continue to coach and go out on my own terms.

“I’m out of the district. Nobody in this county is trying to do anything to me. It’s peace of mind. Coach Garrett has always been a good friend and always respected me. To be able to go there with a good name, it all made sense.’’

Garrett trusted Hendrix to be in charge of the summer offseason workouts. “Since I set foot in Moore Haven, I’ve been grinding,’’ Hendrix said. “I implemented the same things at Moore Haven as in Pahokee.

“I think we can win a championship. We got a great opportunity to win it all. We got size, athletes and with me and Coach Simmons added to the staff, you’re going to win a whole lot of football games.’’

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Former Pahokee head coach Emmanuel Hendrix resurfaces at Moore Haven