Chris McPherson named new head coach of Raiders flag football team

Chris McPherson was named the next head coach of Navarre’s flag football team just as summer practice was getting started on Monday, July 7, giving the Raiders a quick pivot point before the next phase of the season takes shape.

That timing matters for a program that is no longer building from scratch. Navarre set a program record with 15 wins in 2024, finished district runner-up and advanced to the second round of regional play. The Raiders also showed they could win in different ways in 2026, opening with a 19-0 shutout of Cleveland (Tenn.) on March 12 at Bennett C. Russell Stadium, then later beating Crestview 27-7 at the same field and reaching 7-6 before their season ended with a 13-6 loss to Chiles in a Region 1-3A quarterfinal.

McPherson inherits both that recent success and the expectations that come with it. Navarre’s rise has happened while girls flag football has become an established part of Florida’s high school landscape. The Florida High School Athletic Association officially sanctions the sport, and its 2026 state tournament moved through regional play on April 28-29 before the state championships were staged May 15-16 at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa. Nationally, high school participation reached a record 8,260,891 in 2024-25, with girls flag football among the sports helping drive growth.

The Raiders also enter this transition with a clear local identity. Navarre and Pace have met 12 times since both schools launched programs in 2019, and that rivalry has helped define how quickly flag football has taken hold in Santa Rosa County. Former coach Jason Kisor, who led Navarre for four years, resigned before taking over the new flag football program at John Melvin Christian College in Pace, set to debut in spring 2026.

For McPherson, the immediate job is not abstract. He steps into a live summer practice environment, where structure, tempo and communication can be established before the fall pressure builds. Navarre has already shown it can post a program-best season and beat out-of-state competition; the next step is turning that foundation into a steadier standard under new leadership.