Last year, the Dixie County (Cross City) football team made a run all the way to the 2024 FHSAA Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) championship game under then-head coach Ric Whittington.

Whittington stepped down as head coach at the end of the 2024 season and the Bears hired former Riverside Christian (Trenton) coach Steven Hall to lead the program. However, Dixie County struggled in 2025 and finished 1-9, which resulted in Hall getting “let go after the season.”

“We loved Coach Hall,” said Dixie County Athletics Director John Thomas. “He is a wonderful, godly man. We just felt we needed to go in a different direction as a program.”

That opened the door for former football Union County (Lake Butler) coach Andrew Thomas, who was fired from his head football coaching and athletic director roles at the end of May.

This past Friday, Dixie County hired Thomas, a Dixie County alum, as its next football coach.

“The announcement of bringing Andrew Thomas back home to lead the Dixie County Bears football program has created a buzz in our community that is truly hard to describe,” said Dixie County Principal Eli Long. “The players, parents and community in general are excited to see the new direction of our football program under a veteran coach with an impressive resume who was born and raised right here. As a Dixie County graduate myself, I am proud to bring Coach Thomas back home to build something special within our program and redefine the tough, physical brand of football that Dixie County has been historically known for.”

Long said he believes Thomas’ experience and leadership “will elevate our student-athletes, rekindle our program’s rich culture, and position Dixie County football for long-term success looking forward.”

“Andrew is known for creating high-excitement, explosive offenses that make watching football fun for the fans and creating an electric environment that makes rural high school football so special,” Long said. “The vision that Coach Thomas and his staff are bringing into the program will be exciting to see unfold in the offseason and even more so under the lights next Fall. We look forward to building on Coach Thomas’ reputation of winning, and I couldn’t be happier that he is back home to do it.”

Thomas has an impressive resume, which includes two Class 1A state titles in three years (2013 and 2015) as Trenton’s head coach.

“I think this is a home run hire for Dixie County football,” said John Thomas. “I can’t think of anyone that we could have brought in that would have been a better fit for our program. He already has strong ties to the community, our administration, and our quarterback club. He understands the people of Dixie County and knows their love for football. He’s a proven program builder and knows what it takes to get Dixie football to the next level.”

John Thomas, who is Andrew’s older brother, thanked the entire school system for helping make this happen.

“He has a clear vision of the things that need to be done to get us back to being a force in high school football,” John Thomas said. “This has to be a community effort and they have all stepped up and made a major commitment to football. There are going to be a lot of changes coming and I’m excited for the players and the community to experience what we have in store for them.”

Having his younger brother back home to lead the program is “extra special” to John Thomas.

“I’m so excited,” he said. “Growing up playing all the sports together in the yard and destroying things inside the house, you have that bond, so it was tough when he went out, on his own, away from Dixie. It’s always been tough hoping he would have success, but then having some of that success come against you.”

Ironically, Andrew Thomas won his 100th game overall against Dixie County four years ago as head coach at Union County.

“It’s hard to cheer for your rivals, so I had hoped that someday that this may happen, but I honestly had my doubts.” John Thomas said. “Just so thankful our superintendent, school board, administration and community have stepped up to make this happen. We’re all going to put Dixie back on the map.”

Union County, which struggled and finished 2-8 this past fall, went 10-2 and advanced to the FHSAA Rural State Semifinals in 2024 under Thomas, who began coaching at Union County in 2020.

Andrew Thomas, who finished 46-14 for a .767 winning percentage in Lake Butler, was still on the sidelines this past year just outside of Lake Butler.

“Obviously, I was disappointed by what happened in Union County,” Thomas said. “I had a good five years there and feel it didn’t need to end the way it did. I poured a lot into that program, and it is disappointing that it wasn’t appreciated. As far as this past year, I was on staff in Baker County (Glen St. Mary) and still able to coach one of my sons, who is a senior, but it feels good to be back as a head coach and able to put my visions and goals back to work in my hometown.”

In addition to two state titles, Andrew Thomas also has a state runner-up finish, five regional titles, and he has taken five teams to the final four (state semifinals).

He has an overall record of 132-36 in 14 seasons, and he has never had a losing season as a head football coach.

Other accomplishments include three-time Florida Dairy Farmers 1A Coach of the Year and 23 playoff wins in 14 years as a head coach.

With that pedigree, there were other offers, but the opportunity to come home felt right.

“Yes, there were some bigger opportunities that I looked at,” said Andrew Thomas, who played football, basketball and baseball at Dixie County. “I wouldn’t take this job without the administration and booster club’s commitment to hiring staff positions, coaches’ pay, facilities upgrade, and a vision for the future. I am excited to work with an administration that I can trust and has my back, that is going to support football and understand what it takes to run a successful program.”

And there is no place like home.

“It is obviously where my family is, and my parents are getting older, and it is important for me to be closer to them at this time,” Andrew Thomas said. “It is also important to me for my alma mater to be successful. I want them to have a relevant program again, but I also want to take it to another level and possibly see them competing for a state title. But we have a lot of work ahead of us and I am ready to get started.”

Part of that process includes bringing back Whittington, who will serve as the Bears’ defensive coordinator.

“Dixie County is home for me, and with that, it holds a special place in my heart,” Whittington said. “What truly matters most to me is that Dixie County Football is set up to be successful so the players can reap the benefits. Hiring a coach of Andrew Thomas’ caliber does just that. In the modern day of high school football, there are many things that need to be in place to ensure that everyone involved is set up to be successful, and most importantly, that the players have what they need to be successful.”

Whittington said the hiring of Thomas brings a lot of positive changes to ensure that success, including the facility upgrades, the ability to hire a great coaching staff, “and overall alignment to the program vision from top to bottom in school and community.”

“This past year I worked for a great company outside of coaching and had no plans to get back into coaching this soon, but the special opportunity and situation this was, at a place that is near and dear to my heart, this was something that I could not pass up,” Whittington said. “It’s going to be an incredible journey for all involved with Dixie County Football.”

Ironically, the last time Whittington and Andrew Thomas were in Dixie County together was 2009, when Thomas was in his last year as the defensive coordinator and Whittington was a senior. The Bears (10-2) won a district title that year.

“Coach Thomas has been a close friend and mentor of mine for a long time,” Whittington said. 

Whittington also coached with Thomas for two years at Union County.

“We have a really good relationship, and he understands my vision,” Andrew Thomas said. “He has a love for Dixie County and the kids. Those things, plus his football knowledge, are huge.”

The Tigers were within a game of playing for the state title (2021) and advanced to the region final (2022) in Whittington’s two seasons.

“During my time on his staff at Union, we had a ton of success, and it was an awesome experience to work under a Hall of Fame caliber head coach, on an elite coaching staff, at a special place and community in Union County where I got to see firsthand the incredible impact it had on our players,” Whittington said. “I am beyond excited at the opportunity to replicate that success and impact in Dixie County.”

The next order of business is to finish building a staff and “get the kids in the weight room.”

“That has always been the foundation of my programs,” Andrew Thomas said. “It’s where we start getting stronger, tougher, and start building a culture as a team. I believe that we don’t win games in the fall; they are won from January to August and how we train is what separates us.”

Dixie County made the decision to leave the FHSAA for the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) before Thomas was hired.

“At the moment, we feel as though the SSAA is the place for us in football,” John Thomas said. “We’ll see how things go. We will always keep an eye on FHSAA, but for now, the SSAA is what fits us. We’re glad to be there and really like the direction it’s headed.”

There is no question that with Andrew Thomas returning home, the football program at Dixie County is already on its way up.

“He’s a Hall of Fame caliber coach who puts an elite product on the field,” Whittington said. “He is truly the best play caller I’ve ever been around, and I’ve been around some good ones. Brent Wilkerson, who is another one of my mentors that I view as a Hall of Fame caliber coach, built Dixie County into a rural football powerhouse, but the program has declined in the modern era of high school athletics…with all the changes coming to the infrastructure of the program we are very determined to get it back to the prestige that Brent had built it to. It is truly a full circle moment for both of us.”