JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The longtime assistant to Corky Rogers, the most successful high school football coach in Florida, was named Thursday as the head football coach for The Bolles School.
Wayne Belger, who coached with Rogers for more than 28 years and has served as offensive coordinator of the varsity Bolles Bulldogs, will be the team's new head coach.
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"I am excited and looking forward to it. I know we can keep the program Corky started going strong," Belger said in a statement posted on the school's website. "We are going to keep everything the same as we can, keep up the hard work and see the pay off on the field."
Rogers, who announced his retirement Tuesday and will work through next week, had recommended Belger for the job. Belger officially takes over, just in time for spring practice to begin in April.
"One of the things I told them was not only was he deserving of the job, but I knew the other coaches wanted to work for Wayne," Rogers said. "He is the best way to keep the program intact. Bolles is a special place and he knows Bolles and its athletes and will do a wonderful job."
Belger played for Rogers at Lee during his first winning game in 1972 against Ed White and they have been together ever since. The partnership with Rogers goes deeper than just the two of them. Belger's oldest son, Mathew '00, played in Roger's 250th win at Bolles and Belger's youngest son, Mitchell '03, played in his 300th.
"I am just thankful to Corky that he gave me a job over 40 years ago," laughed Belger.
Rogers led Bolles to 10 state championships and another six state runner-up finishes, but his health increasingly became a challenge. His 466 wins are the most ever in Florida and the fifth most in the nation.
"I just don’t feel like I have the ability to do what I need to do for my classes and it is becoming more difficult each day," Roger said Tuesday.
UNCUT: Corky Rogers press conference
Rogers had heart surgery in 2013 and last year, he fell ill while on a vacation in North Carolina. He coached the entire 2016 season, despite needing frequent procedures to drain fluid from his mid-section. Rogers still led the Bulldogs to and undefeated regular season and an appearance in the state championship game, where they lost to Cocoa High School, 31-17.
"I want to coach. It’s what I know. It’s what I love doing," Rogers said Tuesday at the Bolles School. "It’s just gotten to be that in my classes, I’m sitting in a chair. I’m not coaching, I’m not teaching. It’s not fair to the kids. I don’t want to short them in any way."