BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Jamie Rodgers is moving on from Bradford High School after four incredible seasons as head football coach in which the Tornadoes won 86.8 percent of their games to go along with three district championships, two regional titles and one state runner-up finish.
Rodgers went 46-7 at BHS, with every one of his teams qualifying for the postseason.
A Bradford High School social-media post read: “After a successful four-year run, the Bradford Tornadoes and Head Football Coach Jamie Rodgers have decided to part ways. We are thankful for his contributions to Bradford High School and our student-athletes. With a strong foundation already in place, Bradford High School will conduct a thorough search to identify the best possible leader to guide our program into its next chapter. We are excited for what the future holds for Tornado Nation!”
Bradford Superintendent of Schools Will Hartley said the news may be surprising to many people, but admitted it wasn’t a shock to him and fellow administrators.
“I think with a program like ours, where you have a coach everyone wants every year, I don’t think it can ever really be a shock,” Hartley said. “As soon as Jamie came, and we had early success, we kind of knew every year that people were going to be after him.”
Rumors have been circulating that Rodgers is returning to Baker County — his alma mater. Hartley couldn’t confirm that, saying that Rodgers hasn’t announced where he’s going and has said he hasn’t received any offers. The superintendent did say that when he last met with Rodgers, the coach admitted he was torn between spending time at home with his family in Baker County to spending time at BHS, which he considered one of the best jobs in North Florida.
The Telegraph-Times-Monitor left a voicemail for Rodgers on Jan. 6, but he hadn’t returned the call as of this posting.
Hartley said what Rodgers did more than anything at Bradford was build a program that caused excitement in and outside of the community.
“For me, this is back to Bradford football when I was growing up,” Hartley said. “This is what I remember from being a little kid, and little kids now are getting to experience it. Everyone’s excited to come out on Friday night. You can look at all of the teams around us — if they aren’t playing on Friday night, a lot of their people are here watching us.
“To me, that’s what Bradford football should be. We’re grateful to (Rodgers) for getting us to that point. I think now the challenge is to bring somebody in who can take that and build on it and continue that. Not only just keep doing what we’re doing, but make it even better. That’s the next challenge.”
Hartley said the job is sure to receive a lot of interest. He and Athletic Director Sampson Jackson received notification after notification on their phones as they were meeting with players and telling them the news.
“A lot of that was coaches calling us,” Hartley said.
The goal is to name a new coach in the next couple of weeks.
“It’s definitely something nowadays you have to do quickly,” Hartley said. “It’s not a secret with open enrollment that kids can pretty much go wherever they want to go. If you don’t have a coach in place, those types of things will happen. You can’t blame them. Parents have to do what’s right for their kids.
“We know there’s a timeline. We’ll take care of it as quickly as we possibly can.”
Rodgers arrived at Bradford with 10 years of head-coaching experience at Suwannee, Baker County and Cook in Adel, Georgia. He made an impact immediately, especially on the defensive side of the ball. His Bradford teams held opponents to an average of 6.9 points per game. The Tornadoes recorded 23 shutouts in its 53 games under Rodgers. That included a school-record nine in one season (2022).
The Tornadoes’ first season under Rodgers saw them go undefeated until losing 10-7 on the road to Suwannee in the final game of the regular season. Bradford rebounded to defeat Crescent City 48-0 in the first round of the playoffs. The Tornadoes added a 37-0 win over Eastside and a 28-17 regional-championship win over Baker County before their season ended in the state semifinals with a 31-21 loss to Cocoa.
Bradford finished that season 12-2, outscoring its opponents 411-79.
In 2023, the Tornadoes went 14-0 before losing 20-6 to Cocoa in the Class 2S state-championship game. Bradford’s undefeated regular season was its first since 1990. The Tornadoes had playoff wins of 42-0 over Atlantic, 28-7 over Eastside, 43-0 over Baker County (regional championship) and 22-21 in overtime over Pensacola Catholic.
The Tornadoes, who played for a state title for the first time since 1985, shut out six teams in 2023, outscoring opponents 462-90.
After winning two consecutive district championships, the Tornadoes failed to do so in 2024. Still, it was a 10-2 season that included one playoff win — 35-0 over The Villages. Both losses came against Newberry, which won the district title and ended Bradford’s season with a 34-19 loss in the second round of the playoffs.
Bradford outscored teams that season 319-103, shutting out four opponents.
Rodgers coached the Tornadoes to an 11-2 record in 2025. Bradford’s only loss in the regular season was by seven points to Class 6A Mandarin. The Tornadoes won their district and earned playoff wins over Avon Park and Berkeley Prep by scores of 55-6 and 24-14, respectively. Bradford played Cocoa for a regional championship, losing 17-10.
The Tornadoes scored 380 points in Rodgers’ final season, while allowing opponents to score 94. Bradford recorded four shutouts.
