McArthur football coach Pierre Senatus is leaving the school to become an assistant coach at Florida Memorial University, Senatus and McArthur athletic director Dennis Dillon told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Tuesday.
“It’s an honor and a privilege,” Senatus said. “We’re developing young men to the college level, and the colleges come back now and recruit the coaches and give us an opportunity to coach at a collegiate level. So it’s a great honor.”
Senatus will be the fledgling program’s defensive line coach. Florida Memorial is slated to begin play in the 2020 season. They will play in the NAIA.
Senatus spent two seasons as the Mustangs’ head coach, going 16-5, winning two district titles and making two playoff appearances.
“I’m going to miss walking out on that field and that sunset and seeing that big guitar all lit up and seeing the city of Hollywood and the neighborhood come out and support these great young men we’ve got here,” Senatus said.
Before taking the coaching job at McArthur, he was the head coach at Hialeah and Miramar. He went 16-13 in three seasons at those two schools. He has a 32-18 overall record as a head coach.
Senatus took over the McArthur program after the team went 0-9 in 2017, and the Mustangs won nine games the following year.
“He very quickly started to do the things necessary to get us going back in the right direction,” Dillon said. “I think he won [nine] games that first year after he took over, which is kind of how I wanted to make it known that whoever comes to McArthur, things don’t stay down for long around here.”
Dillon complimented Senatus’ coaching style, saying he went beyond helping his players on the football field.
“He was more of a life coach than a lot of guys are,” Dillon said. “It wasn’t just about the wins for him. He genuinely cared about the kids and them moving on to the next level and getting out of high school and trying to teach them more than just the football piece.”
Dillon said the school is planning to hire Senatus’ replacement in the next few weeks. Whoever the next coach is will inherit a talented roster that includes three-star 2021 cornerback Kevin Knowles II and four-star 2022 safety Alfonzo Allen.
“He definitely is leaving the program in better shape than he found it,” Dillon said. “And it’s going to be a nice transition for the new guy. … We’re sad to see him go, but we understand why. And the good news for McArthur is that it is the kind of program where guys can make a name for themselves and even move onto the college ranks. That’s kind of a compliment to our kids and our community.”
Florida Memorial has another former South Florida high school coach calling the shots. The team’s head coach is Tim “Ice” Harris, who spent 11 years as a coach at Miami Booker T. Washington and won three state championships. Senatus was an assistant under Harris at Booker T.
“That was a great opportunity to come back and work for a guy that you know,” Senatus said. “You know his character, you know his integrity, you know his passion and you know how he treats young men. And the experience they’re going to have is going to be like no other.”
