Glades Central drops Hester
Jessie Hester’s second stint as Glades Central’s head football coach has come to an end.
Hester, a Glades Central alumnus, is no longer the Raiders coach, according to a statement sent from Palm Beach County School District spokeswoman Julie Houston Trieste.
Hester and Glades Central assistant principal Micah Mays could not be reached for comment early Wednesday afternoon.
The end of Hester’s tenure was first reported by the Palm Beach Post.
The end of Hester’s second three-year stint as the Raiders coach was rocky. Glades Central forfeited three of its four wins for use of an ineligible player, turning the Raiders from a playoff contender to a one-win team.
Glades Central originally had to forfeit four victories, but the school amended its original self-report because the ineligible player did not participate in the Raiders’ win over Wellington.
After a loss to Pahokee in the Muck Bowl, Glades Central finished the year 1-9.
Hester’s first stint as Glades Central’s coach ran from 2008-2010. In those three years, he went 36-4 and led the Raiders to back-to-back state title games, but he was fired after dropping his second state championship game in a row.
He spent one season coaching Suncoast, going 4-6, and then was named athletic director at Lake Worth.
He was named the Trojans head coach in December 2012.
Hester was removed from the AD position and ultimately let go as coach after he was arrested for domestic battery on Jan. 2, 2016, but no charges were ultimately filed. He went 15-17 over three seasons at Lake Worth.
Glades Central rehired Hester on Jan. 27, 2017, but his second stint with the Raiders was not as successful as his first.
Glades Central went 15-8 over his first two seasons. The Raiders made the playoffs in 2017 and 2018 but lost in the first round in ’17 and the third round in ’18.
Hester went 1-2 in three Muck Bowls during his second stint as the Raiders head coach.
Hester was an AllAmerican at Glades Central before starring at Florida State. He was a first-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Raiders and spent 11 years in the NFL.