(7-26-26) Tavares High School (Florida) head football coach Gavin Jones wore a T-shirt reading “We Coach, They Poach” at the Central Florida Media Day (Lake County portion in Lake Mary) last week to protest player losses from the Bulldogs to transfers.

Jones said that nearly 20 players left the Bulldogs roster this off season—many of them went to to other Lake County schools or nearby programs.

Transfers included —

  • linebacker twins Jelani and Ari Bentley (Hawthorne)
  • 1,400-yard rusher Tamauri Collins (The First Academy)
  • plus several others (reports say 5) to South Lake.

He described other programs as “recruiting” or poaching his players:

“Everybody is taking our kids because they know we got some good players, that’s why I’m wearing this shirt… I guess they think the grass is greener on the other side. I just don’t understand it.”

Tavares had around 27 players for its spring game and will have almost 40 heading into the season; Jones expressed frustration over declining loyalty and said that he was close to considering this being his last season. He also canceled a scheduled game this season against South Lake (which received several of his former players) to avoid on-field bad blood.


The shirt and comments went viral on social media and were noted by other coaches at media days. Winter Park’s Tim Shifflet (and others) publicly referenced or discussed the broader transfer issues in Florida high school football, citing open-enrollment laws, limited FHSAA authority, influence from college transfer/NIL trends, and a “rich get richer” dynamic that hurts mid-tier programs.

Jones has coached football (and other sports) at Tavares in the past. He took over the Bulldogs after a 0-10 season . He led Tavares and improved to 5–5 in 2023, 7–3 in 2024 and 6-5 last season.

Interview starts at 5:06:56

Jones was hired in June 2023, in a lakelandsumterstyle.com – Tavares High School Hires Gavin Jones as New Head Football Coach they decribed the coach this way–

Coach Jones is the type of coach who is old school. He is all about helping kids be the best they can be. He is a tough gritty coach who has been a leader in many different types of sports over the years.

It is often called the TRANSFER PORTAL but in the future Florida MIGHT be calling it ‘POACHING‘.

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