JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tocoi Creek High School’s Kevin Fagan, a longtime teacher and multi-sport coach in the area, died unexpectedly on Monday.
Fagan was in the process of battling cancer and turning the corner in that fight before his unexpected passing. He was 56.
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Fagan spent the bulk of the 2000s teaching in St. Johns County high schools and also at Bolles. He was Tim Tebow’s baseball coach at Nease in 2004, and also coached both golf and wrestling. After leaving Nease, Fagan went to Bolles where he was on staff with the Bulldogs from 2007 to 2020, including the final three of their 11 state football championships (2008-09, 2011). He coached under the iconic Corky Rogers until Rogers’ retirement in 2017. Fagan left Bolles to return to St. Johns County and new high school Tocoi Creek. He was the boys’ golf coach with the Toros.
“The Bolles community is saddened at the sudden loss of Kevin Fagan. He served our school for 13 years as an assistant football and wrestling coach and teacher,” Bolles said in a statement. “He worked closely with and influenced many of our students from 2007 to 2020. Kevin was also an adjunct wrestling coach from 1993 to 1995 and helped to win many championships for the Bulldogs. The Bolles School extends our thoughts and prayers to his family.”
Toros athletic director Jeff Holland saw Fagan from two different vantage points in his career. Holland was the athletic director at St. Augustine when Fagan’s Nease baseball teams turned in some classic head-to-head games against the Yellow Jackets in the early 2000s. When Holland was hired at Tocoi Creek to build the Toros athletic foundation from scratch, he tabbed Fagan to lead the boys’ golf team.
The Toros won the District 4-2A championship in just their second season.
“All that [athletic success] aside, just being able to rely on his experience, knowing that the main thing he had in consideration was the kids,” Holland said. “Having a brand-new staff of 80 plus, having those connections and relationships with people and knowing them, that was a relief for me. I knew he was a quality person and made good decisions based on the kids.”
Fagan’s demeanor is what made him such a memorable teacher and coach. He could sell any situation to players and had a way of lightening the mood during uncomfortable conversations. Chase Fontaine, who played shortstop for Fagan’s Nease teams and signed with the University of Texas, said his former coach was an easy guy to like. Fagan’s personality could work both for and against him, but Fontaine said that he respected the way he carried himself and related to people.
“He had a lot of bravado, just that air of confidence. He wasn’t the biggest guy, but he acted like he was a 6-5, Adonis type. I don’t know if that was charisma or not,” Fontaine said. “All in all, it seemed like he was always in a good position. One thing about Fagan, everybody knew who he was. Very memorable.”
When Fagan was let go as Nease’s baseball coach following the 2004 season after winning two district titles in three years, he joked that the administration must have gotten tired of winning in the postseason. That demeanor is something mentioned time and again by those remembering Fagan. He could hard sell a joke by keeping a straight face and was the perfect salesman for whatever situation or moment he was in.
“The thing that struck me as Kevin as an opponent, he was always there, no matter win, lose or draw and you could have good, meaningful conversations with him,” Holland said. “Knowing his experience at Nease in the golf world, it was a no-brainer to me that he should be in the head golf position for us. He had the perfect personality for that.”
Tocoi Creek boys golfer Caleb Hobbs became the first college signee in program history on Wednesday, and said he was saddened by the loss of his coach.
“He meant a lot. He was obviously my first golf coach, and to lose him on Monday, two days before I sign, and I was kind of hoping he’d be here, especially after he beat cancer, it’s a little disheartening,” he said. “He would want me to [enjoy the moment]. I know he’d be excited that I’m going to play golf at a college.”
Fagan is survived by his wife, Jennie, stepson, Cody Berkner, and son, KJ Fagan.
A visitation will be held Sunday at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home and a service at 11 a.m. on Monday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.