The head football coach at Pinellas Park High School, Kenneth Crawford, admits he was shocked when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers nominated him for the 2018 Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award. The award recognizes two special coaches out of 32 nominees for their character and their leadership, for their dedication to the community, and for their commitment to their players.
“I could not believe it,” says Crawford with a huge smile on his face. “It is awesome to be able to do something that you love and get recognized for it.”
Crawford stopped by the News Channel 8 station on Thursday afternoon before he drove to his final destination, the Pro Bowl in Orlando. The two award winners will be announced during the game on Sunday.
“It is awesome,” he tells us. “I mean, there are 32 people in the United States of America that get to go do this, 32 high school coaches, and every one of us works super hard.”
Crawford has been coaching at the high school level in Pinellas County for 22 years. He has been the head coach at Pinellas Park High School for 10 years. If he is selected as a finalist, he will receive $15,000 from the NFL Foundation. Crawford says the money would be used to buy equipment for the football players.
“It would help us tremendously,” he says. “We have to fundraise for every single thing we get and we are way behind. The money would go right back to the kids.”
