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Florida high school football program hires former Alabama state champion head coach

Wg0vf-nP_400x400by: Keegan Pope03/12/25bykeeganpope
Syndication: The Montgomery Advertiser
Former Prairie View A&M assistant coach Patrick Browning has been hired as Edgewater High (Fla.) as its next football coach. © Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of Florida’s winningest high school football programs over the past half-decade has a new head coach taking over.

Orlando’s Edgewater High, which has won double-digit games in every season since 2018-19, is hiring former Pike Road (Ala.) head coach Patrick Browning to the same position, the school announced on Tuesday.

Browning replaces outgoing coach Cameron Duke, who accepted a head coaching position at Marietta (Ga.) in January.

Duke took over the program in 2016, finishing 1-10 in his first season before compiling an 85-16 record over the next eight years. That includes eight consecutive playoff appearances back-to-back 5A state title appearances in 2019 and 2020. His teams fell short both times to private school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas.

With his departure, the Eagles will be under new leadership for the first time in nearly a decade. But Browning brings plenty of his own winning pedigree into the Orlando area. During his stint at Pike Road — a program he helped start — Browning’s squads finished with an overall record of 66-7, three region titles and a state championship in 2021.

“It’s great being the head coach at such a historic program like Edgewater. They have an amazing tradition,” Browning told the Orlando Sentinel. “Coach Duke and the entire staff did an amazing job preparing the kids … I’m very blessed to fill his shoes and keep the program moving in a positive direction.”

After his time at Pike Road, Browning served as the head coach at Greenville (Ala.) for one season before leaving to coach at the college level. This past year, he was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Prairie View A&M. Browning spent the 2023 season as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama State.

In addition to his time as the head man at Pike Road, he also ran the program at Dadeville (2011-2013, 2015).