William Floyd District Names Paul Longo's Successor, Pete Friedman, New Head Coach Of Varsity Football Team

MASTIC BEACH, NY — Replacing the winningest coach in Suffolk County history won’t be easy, but William Floyd School District officials say Pete Friedman, who served as an assistant coach under Paul Longo for 19 years and is familiar with success, is up to the task.

Friedman will strive to continue the winning tradition as the new head coach of the William Floyd High School Colonials varsity football team, and is building an "amazing" coaching staff that will likely include "some familiar faces from the past, as he looks to continue the winning tradition built by Longo" over the past 31 years, the district said.

Friedman, who currently serves as chairperson of Athletics, Physical Education, Health and Family Consumer Sciences at Floyd, brings 27 years of coaching experience, and has helped lead student-athletes in all facets of the game–offense, defense and special teams.

Friedman helped coach teams that made 14 appearances in the Suffolk County Championship game, won 12 county titles, five Long Island championships, and three Rutgers trophies as the best team in the county, including a team that ranked in the top 20 in the nation in 2007, and had a then-Long Island-record 42-game winning streak from 2005 to 2008.

Friedman began his coaching career in 1999 at Northport and joined Floyd one year later as the head coach of the William Paca Middle School football team, and in 2001, he joined the varsity staff as assistant coach and helped lead the Colonials to their first county championship title in program history.

Throughout his career at Floyd, he has held various roles, including coaching the defense alongside longtime coordinator Gil DeCicco, while also coaching receivers and special teams.

He coached boys' lacrosse at Paca and led the team to the only undefeated season for the sport – at all levels – in district history. He was also the first coach in school history to lead the girls’ varsity lacrosse program to the playoffs, and competed in the postseason five of the seven years he served as head coach of that program, including two final-four appearances and division championships in 2010 and 2011.

In 2023, he was the first coach of the girls’ flag football team, leading the Colonials to a 7-2 record and a playoff berth, to help that program hit the ground running. He also currently serves as the head coach of the Long Island Yellow Jackets, a girls’ club lacrosse team that won the past two national titles, and has been recognized as the number one club team in the country.

Brian Babst, the district's athletic director, said, "following in the footsteps of a coaching legend is a challenge for anyone."

“However, Coach Friedman will serve the program, our community, and the student-athletes well in this new role," he said. "I know that he will carry on the winning tradition that Floyd has come to expect out of the football program.”

Friedman said he is honored to be selected as the next head coach of this storied football program and will look to continue to lead with respect and passion, and, use my knowledge of the game, and of coaching, that has been forged over the past 27 years."

“I have learned what works and what doesn’t, and will apply that knowledge to help the program flourish," he added.