Brunswick High School hires new football coach

Brandon Dorsett, a 2005 Portland High graduate, has been named the head football coach at Brunswick High School. Contributed photo/Brandon Dorsett

BRUNSWICK — Football has taken Brandon Dorsett across the country, from Maine to Colorado to Florida and various stops in between.

But when the Brunswick High School head coaching position opened up, Dorsett didn’t hesitate.

“Football has brought me to a lot of places, but I’m just a huge fan of tradition,” said Dorsett, 36, of Saco. “And Brunswick has a lot of tradition. It was something I wanted.”

And, the school announced Friday, it was something he got.

Dorsett was introduced as the next Brunswick High School varsity football coach Friday. Dorsett served as Westbrook High football head coach from 2019-21. The Blue Blazes improved to 3-5 last fall after an 0-8 season in 2019.

Brunswick athletic director Aaron Watson said he received more than a dozen applicants for the job.

“We posted this in January and wanted to take our time with it,” he said. “We wanted to make sure we got this one right. He’s a legit hire.”

Brandon Dorsett is the next varsity football coach at Brunswick High School. Contributed photo/Brunswick High School

Dorsett takes over a program that canceled the remainder of its 2021 season on Oct. 6 and dismissed longtime coach Dan Cooper in the wake of an investigation into an alleged hazing incident during a preseason team retreat at Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick.

The Brunswick varsity football program faced a two-year ban from competition, but won an appeal with the Maine Principals’ Association in January that allowed it to move forward in 2022.

High school varsity teams that can’t complete a season are prohibited to compete in games or playoffs for two years, according to MPA rules.

“I’m totally focused on the upcoming season,” said Dorsett, a 2005 Portland High graduate. “I am focused on the future, focused on 2022. At this point, I think everything that needed to be addressed has been addressed. It’s time to move forward.”

Added Watson: “We would be silly for not learning from the past, but the focus has to be on the future. This is not just a good fit for us, but I think it’s a good fit for him, too.”

Dorsett played at a junior college and then two years at NCAA Division I Colorado State, followed by assistant coaching stops at Falmouth and South Portland high schools and, in 2018, at IMG Academy in Florida.

IMG Academy fields some of the best players at the high school level in the nation, with many receiving Division I scholarship offers.

Dorsett also volunteered with the University of Maine football program during its 2021 spring season, the result of the 2020 fall season being canceled.

“With the pandemic, it just gave me an opportunity to stay in coaching,” he said. “I volunteered up in Orono. I was able to learn from their staff, sit in on meetings.”

Dorsett, who works from home in the insurance industry, said his top priority is to meet the players and establish expectations.

“The first thing I want to do is meet the kids,” he said. “I want to meet them, hear their goals and their expectations. It’s not just me, it’s us. We’ll get moving with the offseason program, conditioning outside in the spring. … They are getting a coach who understands football from schematic point of view. I am inclusive. I encourage input. They are going to get someone who is dedicated fully and who understands the game. I want to be someone the kids can lean on. We’re not just football coaches, we are life coaches..

“I am very excited for this opportunity. I am ready.”