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Columbia head coach Demetric Jackson signals to his team during the Class 3A state semifinals against Lake Wales on Dec. 2, 2022. (MICHAEL WILSON/Lake City Reporter)
Demetric Jackson resigned Thursday as Columbia’s football coach and boys weightlifting coach after two seasons.
The decision comes after Jackson led the Tigers to a Class 3S state semifinal this season, the program’s first trip to the Final Four since 2015. Columbia won back-to-back district titles in Jackson’s two seasons with a record of 15-9.
Jackson said he thought long and hard about the decision following the Tigers’ 37-7 loss to eventual state champion Lake Wales in the state semis and felt that this was the right time to step away.
“It was about timing and I thought it was the time to do it,” Jackson said. “It gives me an opportunity to explore other options in the district.
“I’ve been there two years and we went to state semifinals. We had a good run. I gave them my two years and it’s time to move on.”
Jackson said he believes he’s done coaching, though he did leave the door cracked open just slightly. He’s been a head coach since taking over at Fort White in 2007, where he posted a 90-61 record in 14 seasons before taking the job at Columbia in the summer of 2021.
But he said the long days spent at the high school away from home have worn on him, especially this season. Coaching is a 7-day-a-week job, with most of his days ending near 8 p.m.
“I think right now I’m done but I’m never gonna say never,” Jackson said. “There may be opportunities later on, but right now I think I’m done coaching, period.”
Jackson and Columbia principal Trey Hosford both said Friday that when Jackson was hired there were talks about him only staying for a few years. While the news surprised Hosford a little, he thanked Jackson for his time at CHS.
“When he first came here we even had conversations about how long he thought he’d be here and stuff like that,” Hosford said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a long, long time. I think he’s ready to explore other things and I thank him for his time here and wish him nothing but the best.
“He gave us everything he had and we appreciate everything he did while he was here.”
Jackson said when he took the job at his alma mater he never expected to be there for too long after spending so much time at Fort White. In his mind it was a two- to four-year plan that ended on the shorter side after one of the best playoff runs in program history.
He says he felt like he accomplished all he could at Columbia.
“I always said I didn’t want to do a long term here, Jackson. “I didn’t want to spend all my years coaching, so I already had a plan that I was only going to do a couple of years, maybe three or four years at the most. But after two years we won, now it’s time. It’s over. I’m good.”
The decision was made tougher by the fact that his youngest son, Jayden, will be only a sophomore next season. With Jayden having a chance to potentially win the starting quarterback job, it would have given Jackson a chance to coach another son behind center for his career like he did with his older son, DJ, at Fort White.
Jayden was born in 2007 right when Jackson became the head coach at Fort White. Jackson admits even back then he didn’t think he’d be coaching as long as he did, and he admitted to Jayden recently that he didn’t think he’d be able to coach through his graduation.
“It’s just too time consuming,” Jackson said. “That was probably one of the toughest reasons not to resign now because he really wanted me to coach him. But at some point you’ve got to realize what’s best for the program, what’s best for you and what’s best for your son.
“So I said the timing of it right now, the fact that we went to the state semifinals, we won, I think it’s good timing.”
Jackson had some memorable moments in just two years at Columbia. Last season the Tigers rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat Riverside for the first time since 2018, which also set up their first district title since 2018.
This past season was full of highlights, starting with a second straight district title. Columbia later made the long trip to Pensacola to squeak by Pensacola 17-15 in the Region 1-3S semifinals before beating Choctawhatchee 20-14 in overtime to win the regional championship.
Jackson said he hasn’t had a chance to reflect too much on his career as a whole yet, but he hopes he left a mark on every player he coached at Fort White and Columbia.
“I just got out here and did what I could do and tried to be impactful in these kids’ lives,” Jackson said.