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Former NFL Players and Head Coaches Mike Singletary and Doug Pederson Named Head Coaches for 2025 Polynesian Bowl

The Polynesian Bowl has announced that Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary and former NFL quarterback Doug Pederson have been selected as head coaches for the 2026 Polynesian Bowl. In addition to their professional playing careers, both have served as head coaches in the NFL.

The Polynesian Bowl is an annual all-star game played in Hawaii, featuring 100 of the nation’s top-ranked junior and senior high school football players.

Singletary, who was inducted into Canton in 1998, will serve as the head coach for Team Mauka (Hawaiian word for mountain). Singletary played his entire career for the Chicago Bears from 1981 to 1992, earning 10 Pro Bowl honors, two Defensive Player of the Year Awards, and the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 1990.

From 2008 through 2010, Singletary was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. In addition to being a 49ers assistant coach, he also held coaching roles with the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, and Los Angeles Rams.

“The Polynesian Bowl is a celebration of a beautiful culture and the game we all love,” said Singletary. "I look forward to coaching the top high school players in the nation.”

Singletary, who is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, previously served as a head high school football coach in Texas, leading Trinity Christian Academy in Addison during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Doug Pederson will serve as head coach for Team Makai (Hawaiian word for ocean). Pederson won Super Bowl LII as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. After leading the Eagles from 2016 to 2020, Pederson became the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022.

Pederson also played 13 seasons in the NFL, earning a Super Bowl ring with the Green Bay Packers.

“I am honored to be a head coach for the 2026 Polynesian Bowl,” said Pederson. “It is an incredible chance to work with the next generation of NFL talent in such a beautiful place as Hawai’i.”

Like Singletary, Pederson has also coached at the high school level, serving as head coach at Calvary Baptist Academy in Louisiana from 2005 through 2008.

This year's game marks the third consecutive contest in which former NFL head coaches have worked with some of the nation’s top high school football players.

Last year, Gary Kubiak (Denver Broncos) and Ron Rivera (Carolina Panthers), who squared off in Super Bowl 50, were the head coaches. The 2024 game featured Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals) and Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings).

Other former NFL head coaches to lead the Polynesian Bowl include Dick Vermeil (Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs) in 2018, Jim Zorn (Washington) in 2019, Steve Spurrier (Washington) in 2020, and Romeo Crennel (Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans) in 2023.

The game has also featured former NFL players, such as Doug Williams, who was MVP of Super Bowl XXII. Williams has served as an executive with the Washington Commanders/Redskins since 2014 and, prior to joining Washington's front office, coached at both the collegiate and high school levels.

The 2026 Polynesian Bowl will be broadcast live and in primetime on NFL Network on Friday, January 16, 2026, at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (4:00 PM Hawaii Time).

Tags

  • Coaching
  • NFL Players and Legends