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A Conversation With Billy Turner

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By NICK WILLIAMS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

TAMPA - Chamberlain football coach Billy Turner, 70, will begin his 49th season as a coach and his 29th as Chamberlain's head coach on Friday. As a head coach he has earned 244 victories, making him the all-time winningest active coach in Hillsborough County. He has a 244-149 overall record and a 199-118 record at Chamberlain.

Because of his success, The National Football Foundation decided to name Hillsborough County's football Coach of the Year award after him. The school also plans to name the field at Chamberlain for him, but the Hillsborough County School Board said Tuesday that the honor must wait until Turner is retired.

While at Chamberlain, Turner coached current NFL players Brodrick Bunkley (Eagles), Greg Lee (Cardinals) and Brian Clark (Bucs). In 2001, he made his first and only state championship appearance.

Just days from the start of the 2008 season, Turner answered a few questions for The Tampa Tribune.

How has the game of football changed, in your opinion?

I think offenses are more versatile. People spread out, people used to not spread out. Everybody ran the I-formation with a tight end, a flanker and a split end, that was Bobby Bowden's philosophy. People did pass, but teams felt like you couldn't win if you didn't run the ball. There were exceptions.

Which is the better high school football state, Texas or Florida?

It'd be hard for me to say Florida, because I know. I watch "Friday Night Lights." I would say in Texas, they're more fanatical about football than in Florida. It's like, the head coach, in those days, would make $60,000, $70,000 or $80,000 a year, in those days! When I was athletic director at the University of Tampa, we hired a guy to be the offensive coordinator who came from Texas Tech University and he said there were high school coaches in Texas making $40,000 a year. My head coach wasn't making but about $30,000. Texas high schools pay so much. The players individually probably aren't any better than they are in Florida, but I think they put more emphasis on the sport.

Nowadays in Hillsborough County, and not just football, there is a lot of turnover with head coaches, but you've been at one school for almost 30 years.

I think coaches get discouraged. One, I think they look at how little they are making, and two, you have more problems today than you did back then. Academics seems to be a big issue, kids with special needs is an issue, and to me that's why a lot of coaches can only make it in five or six years. If they can make it eight or 10 years, they stay. Sometimes, you have to marry right. You have to have a wife that wants you to do it.

You've been to the state championship just once in your coaching career 2001. What does a team need to make it that far and win the whole thing?

You don't have to have a team full of college players, you just need a bunch of great kids that stick together.

What's your pet peeve with high school football players?

When they don't do the minimal amount of work it takes to get their academics done. That just kills my soul. It takes a minimal amount of work, academically, to be able to play. When they don't want to do enough in the classroom to just get by, that tells me they're just sitting there twiddling their thumbs. My pet peeve is kids not taking responsibility.

Will you retire soon?

My biggest fear is that we will have a good football team this year and the headline would be Billy Turner, and I don't think that's fair to my team, so I cannot announce ahead of time. I am so close. I've told some people. I've discussed it with my wife. I haven't discussed it with my principal or athletic director. I talked to son and offensive coordinator Brian Turner a little bit. A lot depends on my health this year. (After dealing with heart problems in 2007, Turner had a pacemaker installed this summer.)

If I feel like I don't have the energy to coach like I feel I should coach, I shouldn't keep coaching. You know, I would walk around with my retirement speech in my wallet about 11 to 12 years ago, because I was burned out. You get burned out, but then I got rejuvenated. I changed the uniforms from Green Bay Packers to look more like Notre Dame. I've been rejuvenated ever since. I got a little sick last year (with respiratory problems), which took all the fun out of it, but I can quit coaching and be happy. I've got 20 grandkids who are all starting to play little league football and I can do something with them every afternoon. Plus, I want to play golf more often.

When you see me on the sideline wearing a coat and tie, because that's what I wore my first game, you'll know it's my last game.

Nick Williams

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