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A Father-Son Relationship Guides Chamberlain

TBO.com photo by BILL WARD

Chamberlain head football coach Billy Turner (left) and his son, offensive coordinator Brian Turner.

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By NICK WILLIAMS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 3, 2008

TAMPA - As a toddler, Brian Turner would sit with his father, former Hillsborough High and current Chamberlain coach Billy Turner, and analyze football film on a small projector. It gave the younger Turner, one of eight siblings, a chance for some quality time.

Now 42, Brian stands beside his father under the Friday night lights as the offensive coordinator for Chamberlain. They still watch film together. It is still quality time.

Chamberlain (12-1) travels to Lakeland (13-0) on Friday for the Class 5A-Region 2 final.

Brian was a two-sport athlete at Chamberlain in the early 1980s. He played three seasons as a receiver under his dad, and he was a standout on the basketball court. He turned down a football scholarship from Valdosta State to play basketball at Georgia Southwestern, then an NAIA program. Brian always pictured himself as a basketball coach, but after he watched his father guide Chamberlain to the Class 5A state championship game in 2001, he decided he wanted to coach football.

And what better mentor than his father, a 49-year coaching veteran and the winningest active coach in Hillsborough County with 254 victories.

"It's been very special," Brian said. "One, I get to spend a lot of time with my dad. I get to see him every day. The other part is, I get to coach with, I think, the best coach in Hillsborough County. To learn from him and to watch how he deals with kids, it makes it special two ways."

Brian's first coaching duty was working with the offensive line. Billy said Brian's enthusiasm reminds him of himself.

"When I was younger, I was probably more like him," he said. "When you coach 49 years, you get mellow."

"I'm happy they had a chance to work together," said Lucy Turner, Billy's wife and Brian's mother. "Their personalities are different, but they have the same hearts. They have more respect as man to man."

Last season, Billy turned over the offensive play-calling to his son. It is only the second time in his career he has done so.

"He gets better all the time," Billy said. "He has fallen in love with this triple-option offense."

Brian has done more than assist as a coach. The past two years, Billy has battled respiratory and heart problems. Brian has managed the team's practice schedule, pregame meals, equipment and other head-coaching duties to take some pressure off of his father.

"That's what I came out here for," Brian said. "So he could keep coaching."

If the Chiefs lose Friday, it could be Billy's last game. Turner, 71, said it is a strong possibility he will retire after the season.

If it is his last game, Lucy will be happy knowing Billy had his son by his side.

"It's very emotional for me to think it'll be his last year," Lucy said. "He got through the games easier knowing Brian was there."

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 259-7851

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