Doug Faasse considers himself a teacher who also coaches. The second part of his resume is a bit more prominent these days. Faasse, a longtime Math instructor and assistant football coach at Mariner High School, will open the 2026 season as the Tritons' interim head coach. "It's been hectic to say the least, especially coming right before school started," he said. "A lot of things that I've had to take care of that I wasn't expecting to do, trying to keep these kids together, trying to show some leadership."
The 52-year-old was elevated to the position in early August, a result of the fallout from player misbehavior during a team lock-in at the school on July 26. Due to what Mariner principal Tom Michel called a lack of supervision in a letter, the school dismissed four coaches who did not work at Mariner and the Lee County School District placed head coach Tyran Jones and assistant coach Kaycie Zorbas on administrative leave as it continues to investigate the incident. According to a Cape Coral police report, the officer who investigated a parent complaint stemming from the lock-in wrote that "no intent to do harm" had been established and that "the consensus was a horseplay game that had the intention of being fun but ended with multiple upset parties." No charges were filed, but Michel's letter said the students involved in the misbehavior faced disciplinary action. Faasse said he accepted the interim coaching role because of his love for Mariner High School and a desire to help the program turn the page. "These kids, they deserve to have a football season," he said. "Our message was it's time to move forward. We're still having a season, so let's get back to work." Faasse said currently there are 35 players on Mariner's varsity squad, which will face Cypress Lake in a preseason game on Aug. 14. "The first couple days after we reconvened, they were a little rough," he said. "Things are being done a little bit differently than they were used to so there was some adjustment. "But they have responded. We had three really good days of practice this week and we're finally ready to go and hit somebody else." Faasse said there are a few specific things he wants to see out of his team in its matchup with the Panthers. "I want to see how our kids compete and respond to adversity because they've been through a lot of it in the past few weeks," he said. "When they get knocked down, are they going to get back up? "Our goals, they haven't changed. How we get there, that may have changed. We're just excited for the season." This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: After lock-in fallout, Mariner interim football coach focuses team on season