- February 1, 2025
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Daniel Fish, who was removed as Flagler Palm Coast High School's football coach on Jan. 21, resigned from his teaching position on Wednesday, Jan. 29, as confirmed by Principal Bobby Bossardet. Fish responds to an Observer article that was posted online on Jan. 24 and ran in the Jan. 30 print edition:
I would like to address the inaccuracies quoted in your recent article regarding my termination as the head football coach at Flagler Palm Coast High School.
First and foremost, at no point did I ever inform anyone on campus that I planned to step down from or resign as head coach. However, I did express concerns about how I was being treated and spoken to by Principal Bobby Bossardet, which I conveyed to the Athletic Director. This was not the first time I had raised such concerns. It became clear that there were personal issues between Principal Bossardet and myself.
These issues came to a head during a meeting on December 5th, in which Mr. Bossardet repeatedly accused me of recruiting student-athletes. He mentioned that several Matanzas High School students had filed hardship transfers to attend FPC, and one of them specifically cited football as a reason for their transfer. I was completely unaware of this situation and repeatedly assured Mr. Bossardet that I had not been involved in any recruiting efforts. I also made it clear that there was no evidence to support such a claim.
To address the following quote, “Bossardet met with Fish regarding an email he received from the registrar about improper contact with a student-athlete at another school,” a parent reached out to me with questions about the opportunity to enroll at FPC for both academics and athletics. I referred the parent to the registrar's office, as I was informed that this is the correct procedure for transfer students.
During this meeting, Mr. Bossardet also stated — several times — that all I cared about was winning, claiming that I would compromise integrity to achieve that goal. He further suggested that my employment at FPC was at risk if I had indeed engaged in such behavior. I was both upset and offended by the questioning of my character, the misunderstandings, and the false accusations. As a result, I requested another meeting with Mr. Bossardet, via email, to address some of the allegations and comments made during our meeting on Friday, December 5th.
When we met on Monday, December 9th, I approached the conversation professionally and began by expressing my respect for him, both as a person and as a leader (a view I no longer hold). I again assured Mr. Bossardet that I had no involvement in the hardship transfer requests. I also emphasized that FPC has strong programs and excellent coaches, which naturally attracts students who want to be part of that environment. I ended my statement by adding, “That’s why we had so many wrestlers join our program from Matanzas.”
Immediately following that statement, Mr. Bossardet — FPC wrestling alumni, former FPC head wrestling coach, and brother to the current FPC head wrestling coach — became visibly upset and began making personal remarks towards me such as, “I would fire you right now if I could” and “I will never allow another football player to transfer into FPC again.”
The following day, December 10th, I was called into a meeting with Mr. Bossardet and my supervisor, Nick Schell, where I was reprimanded over my gradebook. Despite it being the middle of the semester — meaning assessments were still incomplete and grades were not final — my gradebook was consistent with others in the PE department. Mr. Bossardet falsely claimed that I had given every student in the class a 100%, but that was simply not true at that time, nor was it true by the end of the semester when all grades were finalized. I repeatedly argued this during the meeting and never admitted to giving all the students 100’s, as he suggested in the previous article. In fact, when he tried to prove this point in the meeting, a student with an 80% in the class was shown on the print out.
I signed the reprimand only because I was told I had no choice if I wished to keep my job at FPC, though I never agreed with the claims or admitted to any wrongdoing. There are multiple students from my class who did not receive a 100% for quarter 2. The following statement is completely false: “Coach Fish admitted that he had set his gradebook to automatically enter a 100% for every assignment listed.”
Similarly, the claim, “In addition, it was also confirmed that Coach Fish was entering 100% grades for students who were no longer in his class,” is also false. Any students no longer in my class had the “no count” box checked for them in Skyward, ensuring their grades were not included.
In addition, there were a total of three PE department meetings throughout the 2023-2024 school year and have been three PE department meetings so far this year (2024-2025). There was not one meeting where curriculum, lesson plans, or standards were discussed. Moreover, the article states that I received “professional supports.” However, I never received professional support directly related to what I was being reprimanded for.
During my four semesters at FPC, I received "Highly Effective" ratings — the highest possible — on both of my formal observations. When I requested feedback from my supervisor, Nick Schell, on my informal observation, on November 5, 2024, I was told, “This one doesn’t matter; it’s the formal observation that counts,” and no further feedback was provided. Given this context, I find it ironic that I was reprimanded for "failure to plan and effectively implement instructional activities designed to achieve the goals and objectives of the curriculum I am assigned to teach."
Furthermore, the administration’s solution was to reassign my teaching position — rather than remediate — placing me in charge of a course that had never been taught at FPC, nor by anyone at the school. This felt particularly ironic as well, given that I was reprimanded for the very issue of “failure to plan and effectively implement instructional activities,” yet I was now assigned to teach a course with minimal resources and little to no guidance.
I was also disappointed to read the superintendent’s quote in your recent article. The quote was based on a private conversation between myself and the Athletic Director, behind closed doors. At no point did the superintendent reach out to me to confirm that I had said, or done, any of these things.
Regarding the concerns mentioned in the article, such as “his absences from faculty meetings, failure to follow proper sign-out procedures, failure to follow processes for submitting leave ...”— I believe I missed only two faculty meetings during my entire time at FPC. The reference to failing to properly sign out pertains to the day I was dismissed from my position as head football coach, without any explanation. It occurred during my 7th-period planning, when I had no students under my supervision. Yes, I left campus that day due to the emotional distress I was experiencing and had no explanation to give several players who witnessed my emotional state leaving the meeting. I had planned to be at FPC much longer, and having that taken from me so suddenly was incredibly disheartening.
Due to the challenges presented within this work environment, I made the decision to resign from my position as an educator at Flagler Palm Coast High School on Wednesday, January 29th. I want to emphasize that I hold no ill-will toward the school. I deeply value the relationships I built with the faculty and staff, coaching staff, and the young men in the football program. To my football family, you will always have my love and support. I look forward to the opportunities on the new journey ahead.
FPC Principal Bobby Bossardet noted that an additional investigation by the district is ongoing and responded to Coach Fish's statement: “I understand the allegations that are being made. When the investigation is complete all the facts will be presented.”
