Lakewood football coach leaves high school to become scout in NFL

Lakewood High head coach leaves for NFL

The Lakewood High School football team is losing a key player to the NFL. FOX 13’s Mark Skol Jr. reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Cory Moore lives for Lakewood football.

"Everyone is going to remember Lakewood as 'Oh Coach Moore,'" Lakewood senior defensive lineman Aydan Clinton said.

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Moore became the head coach back in 2008, and it was everything he ever wanted.

Pictured: Cory Moore, who is a 1994 alum of Lakewood High School. Courtesy: Cory Moore.

"I just wanted to come in and give back to my community – the place where I also went to school," Moore said.

However, the 1994 Lakewood alum is hanging it up at his alma mater after the school year. He has agreed to become a full-time scout in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams.

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"This was a great opportunity to be able to stretch as an individual, to stretch to better myself, to work on being the best version of myself," Moore said.

Pictured: Moore's Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams. Courtesy: Cory Moore.

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It's an opportunity Moore has certainly earned over the years. He's already been working with the Rams from afar and even earned a Super Bowl ring for his efforts when Los Angeles won it all back in 2022.

"Just to be part of that whole atmosphere was electric," Moore said. "Being a part of a Super Bowl run and getting a chance to see the whole process of how things are built. To put everything together and see how things pan out at the end was great, but also even greater was to come back and tell our young men that these things are possible. Just do the right thing. Keep a great foundation. These things can happen to us."

Moore was also an intern for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a part of the Bill Walsh coaching fellowship under Mike Mularkey. He even spent some time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when current Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris was in town.

Courtesy: Cory Moore.

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Moore has paid his dues, and now, he's ready for the next step.

"Just diving in," Moore said. "Just working on doing the best part I can do for the Rams."

Local perspective:

He certainly did his part to leave a good impression at Lakewood.

"He's a big mentor to everybody," Lakewood junior linebacker Logan Houck said. "Literally, anybody and everybody. Coach Moore has a big heart and won't ever give up on you."

Moore likes to check in with his players throughout practice, asking them about anything outside of football, like what they ate for lunch or how their classes are going. He wants to have a personal relationship with the kids.

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"Coming here, I didn't have a lot of male role models beforehand," Clinton said. "He has been a huge impact on my life."

Lakewood football coach gets drenched in Gatorade in last game

Lakewood High School's football coach Cory Moore agreed to become a full-time scout in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams. Before the 1994 Lakewood alum officially stepped away, he got a Gatorade bath during his last spring game.

The impact has certainly been felt over the past 17 years. His staff is primarily composed of former players and high school teammates. They wanted to be in the trenches with him, because he breeds success.

Several Spartans have played in the NFL, including Dante Fowler, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, Isaiah Wynn and Shaquell and Shaqueem Griffin, just to name a few. Over 400 of his players have played college ball.

He's been named the FACA Coach of the Year two different times. His Lakewood coached teams did not lose to another Pinellas County school from 2019 to 2022. The list of accomplishments could be rattled off for hours. But the numbers and the wins don't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Moore with NFL player Dante Fowler, who is also a Lakewood grad. Courtesy: Cory Moore.

"I think my most meaningful accomplishment I ever had at Lakewood and what I continue to want to have is to stand on the foundation of faith and let them know that truly all things are possible when you believe," Moore said.

What they're saying:

Moore wants his players to learn a valuable lesson with his departure. That it is okay to grow into something new even if it ends up being a tough decision.

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"We want them to transition," Moore said. "We want them to go from one level to the next, whether it's athletically, academically or as a person in general. We talked about that. Sometimes it may get rough, but if we just narrow our focus into what we truly want to do that we can be successful in any capacity that we truly want to do."

Courtesy: Cory Moore.

While Moore may be leaving for the bright lights of the NFL, he still plans on attending every Lakewood football game on Friday night, just like he has for almost two decades. He does not want to run completely away from it.

"I also understand there has to continue to be a bridge," Moore said. "To continue to give back. To continue to uplift. To check on them. Though I have coached them from a football standpoint, that has nothing to do with our relationship."

That relationship will always be there.

"I am just happy to be a part of that journey with them," Moore said.

No matter where Moore will be.

"I want to be the best I can be for the Rams organization," Moore said. "I also want the opportunity to give back to my community. Just to be able to say, let's keep going."

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13 Sports' Mark Skol Jr.

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