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Chamberlain Begins Coaching Search

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By NICK WILLIAMS

nwilliams@tampatrib.com

Published: March 7, 2009

Updated: 03/07/2009 12:44 am

TAMPA - Billy Turner outlasted 13 principals and 11 athletic directors during his 30 years as the head football coach at Chamberlain High.

Now, for the first time since 1978, the Chamberlain administration will have to find someone else to lead one of the top programs in Hillsborough County.

Not long after The Tampa Tribune reported Turner was planning to announce his retirement Friday morning, Chamberlain athletic director Richard Scionti received an application Thursday night for the coaching job. It is just one of dozens he's expected to receive.

"Obviously, there is no way to fill Billy Turner's shoes, but we're going to try and get somebody who can emulate what he's done here," Scionti said.

Offensive coordinator Brian Turner, who is Billy Turner's son, has handled the majority of the coaching duties the last two years due to Billy's declining health (he had to check into the hospital for heart problems in 2007 and had a pacemaker installed in 2008). Brian joined the staff in 2002. Although he said he will discuss the matter with his family during the weekend, Brian seemed pretty certain he will submit his application.

Scionti said he is in no hurry to fill the position.

"We're going to try and take our time and try to put a good person in place," he said. "We did that with baseball. We'll have two weeks of the advertisement for the job, then we'll do interviews and we'll see what that brings us."

The Chiefs have reached the Class 5A elite eight the last two years and are coming off an 11-2 season. They return two of the best defensive players in the county in rising senior Eric Hammond, a 6-foot-3, 310-pound defensive tackle rated by ESPN as one of the top 150 prospects in the Class of 2010; and rising junior James Wilder Jr., a 6-2, 220-pound defensive end who already has offers from Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina.

Offensively, the Chiefs must replace dual-threat quarterback Dontae Aycock (1,491 passing yards, 1,406 rushing yards, 46 total TDs), a four-star recruit who recently signed with Auburn; Troy-bound receiver Anthony Williams, who set a school record with 13 receiving touchdowns in a season, and running backs Kenny Allen (1,351 rushing yards, 11 TDs) and Lamond Scott (578 yards, 3 TDs).

Freshman Greg Windham, the starting quarterback at Middleton last year, transferred to Chamberlain in the spring as did Gaither junior running back Cary White.

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