Jalazo "Excited" About Landing Northeast Football Job

ST. PETERSBURG - Mike Jalazo, the new Northeast High School football coach, bounced between excitement and humility.

Jalazo, who was hired last week as the Vikings' new coach replacing Jay Austin, was excited because he is taking over a program that he said has the chance to be a powerhouse, like it was when longtime coach Jerry Austin led the program.

But Jalazo was also humbled. This season will be the first in 33 years that a member of the Austin family has not coached the Vikings. Jerry Austin won 196 games in 28 years. Jerry Austin stayed on as an assistant when his son, Jay, took over five years ago and has his share of success as well.

So, too, has Jalazo. The St. Petersburg resident, who lives on Snell Isle, coached Admiral Farragut to postseason appearances and later coached at Clearwater Central Catholic for eight years. He compiled a 55-37 record at CCC; he led the Marauders to two region final appearances, losing both times to state national powerhouse Pahokee.

CCC had seven postseason appearances with Jalazo as coach, and he groomed current Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver and former Florida Gators star Riley Cooper and Miami Hurricanes linebacker Colin McCarthy, who is expected to be drafted as high as the third round in this month's NFL draft.

Jalazo also had other Division-I college players he developed at CCC including offensive linemen A.J. Trump (Miami), who had a brief stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Kevin Young (South Carolina).

Jalazo played his high school football at Dunedin and was a walk-on offensive lineman for the University of Florida in the 1980s. Ironically, Jalazo had resigned as coach at Leto High School in Tampa Wednesday, but he said that had nothing to do with taking the job at Northeast.

"I honestly didn't think I was going to get the [Northeast] job," Jalazo said. "I honestly thought I would be out of coaching for a year and get back into it next year, maybe as an assistant.

"Leaving Leto had nothing to do with getting the job at Northeast."

Jalazo is not a teacher. A former deputy in the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Jalazo runs a program geared to helping former prisoners acquire jobs and assimilate back into society.

Jalazo raved about Northeast's solid feeder programs and believes the Vikings are ripe for success.

"I can't wait to get to work," Jalazo said. "There is a ton of talent there. I'm psyched."