Turner Gill facts for kids
Gill in 2006
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| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Executive director of student-athlete and staff development |
| Team | Arkansas |
| Conference | SEC |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | August 13, 1962 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1980–1983 | Nebraska |
| 1984–1985 | Montreal Concordes |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1989 | Nebraska (GA) |
| 1990 | North Texas (GA) |
| 1991 | SMU (WR) |
| 1992–2002 | Nebraska (QB) |
| 2003 | Nebraska (AHC) |
| 2004 | Nebraska (WR) |
| 2006–2009 | Buffalo |
| 2010–2011 | Kansas |
| 2012–2018 | Liberty |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2005 | Green Bay Packers (dir. player development) |
| 2018–2019 | Liberty (EVP of diversity development & inclusion) |
| 2019–2020 | Arkansas (Dir. Student-Athlete and Staff Development) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 72–84 |
| Bowls | 0–1 |
| Tournaments | 1–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 MAC (2008) 2 MAC East Division (2007, 2008) 4 Big South co-champions (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016) |
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| Awards | |
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Turner Hillery Gill (born August 13, 1962) is an American college sports leader and a former football player and coach. He works as the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development at the University of Arkansas. He started this job in 2019.
Gill has been a head football coach at the University at Buffalo (2006–09), the University of Kansas (2010–11), and Liberty University (2012–18). His total coaching record in college football is 72 wins and 84 losses. When he was hired at Kansas, he was one of 11 Black head coaches in the top division of college football.
Playing Career Highlights
Turner Gill was a talented football player before he became a coach. He played as a Quarterback.
College Football Journey
Turner Gill went to Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas. He was a top quarterback there. Many colleges wanted him to play for them. He chose Nebraska because they would let him play both football and baseball. Also, the coach, Tom Osborne, made sure there were no worries about a Black quarterback playing for the team.
Gill started playing for Nebraska in 1980. He played a little during his first year. This was new because freshmen had only recently been allowed to play at the college level.
In 1981, Nebraska's season started slowly. Gill became the starting quarterback during the fourth game. With Gill leading, Nebraska won many games and won the Big 8 conference title. However, Gill got a leg injury that ended his 1981 season early. Even without him, Nebraska played well but lost a big game that could have led to a national championship.
Gill came back strong in 1982. He helped Nebraska win another Big 8 title. They finished with a 12–1 record, losing only one close game. During this season, he had one of his first concussions. These injuries would later affect his playing career.
In his final year, 1983, Gill led one of the best offenses in college football history. They scored a lot of points and gained many rushing yards. Gill finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, which his teammate Mike Rozier won. Nebraska almost won a national championship but lost by just one point in the 1984 Orange Bowl.
Overall, Gill had a great record as a starter, winning 28 games and losing only 2. He won three Big Eight championships in a row. Even though he didn't win a national title, he came very close each year.
Professional Football Experience
After college, Gill chose to play in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Montreal Concordes. He played for two seasons, showing good potential as a professional quarterback. However, he suffered three concussions, which are serious head injuries. Doctors told him that he could not play football anymore because of these injuries. His professional football career ended when he was just 23 years old.
Baseball Career
Since he couldn't play football, Turner Gill went back to baseball. He was a good shortstop and had been drafted by major league baseball teams twice before. He signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1986. He played for three years in their minor league system. After that, he decided to stop playing professional sports and start a new path as a football coach.
Coaching Career Journey
Turner Gill began his coaching career in 1989. He has coached at several colleges and even for a professional team.
Coaching at Nebraska
Gill started coaching at the University of Nebraska, his old college, in 1989. He was a graduate assistant coach for one year. After coaching at other schools for a short time, he returned to Nebraska. From 1992 to 2003, he coached quarterbacks. In 2004, he coached wide receivers. During his time as an assistant coach, Nebraska won three national championships. He also coached two players who won major awards, including Eric Crouch, who won the Heisman Trophy.
Working with the Green Bay Packers
In 2005, Gill joined the Green Bay Packers, a professional NFL team. He was the Director of Player Development. His job was to help new players get used to playing professional football. He also helped them find resources for community work, education, and managing their money.
Leading the Buffalo Bulls
In 2005, Turner Gill became the head football coach at the University at Buffalo. The team had not been very successful before he arrived. Under Gill, the Buffalo Bulls improved each year for his first three seasons. In 2008, they won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship.
2006 Season
In his first year, Buffalo won 2 games and lost 10. Even with this record, the team scored more points than they had in a long time. They also beat a team with a winning record for the first time since joining the MAC.
2007 Season
Gill's team finished with 5 wins and 7 losses overall. They had a winning record in their conference games (5 wins, 3 losses). This was the first time they had a winning conference record since 1999. They also had a winning record at home. Gill was named MAC Coach of the Year for his great work.
2008 Championship Season
The 2008 Buffalo team had a strong regular season, winning 7 games and losing 5. They won the MAC's East Division. In the MAC Championship Game, Buffalo played against a highly ranked team, Ball State, who had not lost a game all season. Buffalo won the game 42–24, winning their first MAC championship! After this big win, Buffalo played in their first-ever bowl game, the International Bowl.
This season was a big success for Buffalo football. Many players broke school records. Gill's success led to talks about him moving to a bigger program. He decided to stay at Buffalo and signed a new contract.
2009 Season
In 2009, Buffalo finished with 5 wins and 7 losses. This ended Gill's streak of improving the team's win total each year.
Coaching the Kansas Jayhawks
In December 2009, Gill became the new head coach for the University of Kansas football team. He was the first African American head football coach in Kansas history. He took over a team that had lost its last 7 games.
2010 Season
On September 4, 2010, Gill's Kansas team lost their first home game. However, the next week, they surprised the #15 ranked Georgia Tech team, winning 28–25. This upset was a highlight in a tough season where they finished with 3 wins and 9 losses. They had one conference win, a big comeback victory against Colorado.
2011 Season
The 2011 season started with 2 wins for the Jayhawks, but then they lost their next 10 games. Many of these losses were by a large number of points. The team struggled on offense and defense. After two seasons with a total record of 5 wins and 19 losses, Gill was no longer the head coach at Kansas.
Leading the Liberty Flames
In December 2011, Gill was announced as the new head coach at Liberty University.
His first team at Liberty lost their first four games but then won enough to finish with 6 wins and 5 losses. This was good enough to share the Big South championship. In 2013, his team had an even better season with 8 wins and 4 losses, again sharing the Big South title. The team continued to improve in 2014, finishing with 9 wins and 5 losses and making it to the second round of the FCS playoffs.
From 2015 to 2017, Gill's teams finished with 6 wins and 5 losses each season. In 2016, the team won another conference title, their fourth in five years. In 2017, the team had a big upset win against a highly favored team, Baylor University.
In 2018, Liberty became a top-tier FBS program. The team won their first game against Old Dominion. They finished the season with 6 wins and 6 losses. On December 3, Turner Gill announced he was retiring from coaching. He wanted to spend more time with his wife, Gayle, who had a heart condition.
