Turner Hillery Gill was born on August 13,1962 and is an American college athletic administrator and former gridiron football player and coach.
23 Facts About Turner Gill
2.
Turner Gill is the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development at the University of Arkansas, a position he assumed in 2019.
3.
Turner Gill was one of 11 black head coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time of his hiring at Kansas.
4.
Turner Gill graduated from Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was an all-state, all-county and all-district quarterback for Coach Merlin Priddy.
5.
Turner Gill arrived on campus in 1980 and saw limited action in mop-up duty as a freshman, which at the time was still relatively unusual, as freshmen had only been recently allowed under NCAA rules to participate at the varsity level.
6.
Turner Gill had found himself third on the depth chart prior to the Huskers season opener, behind Mark Mauer and Nate Mason.
7.
Turner Gill finished fourth in the voting for the 1983 Heisman Trophy, which was won by teammate Mike Rozier.
8.
Turner Gill bypassed the NFL and instead signed a lucrative contract with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Concordes.
9.
In two seasons with the Concordes, Turner Gill had 727 pass attempts with 411 completions for 4,928 yards and 23 touchdowns to 24 interceptions.
10.
Turner Gill had 826 rushing yards on 173 carries and seven touchdowns.
11.
At the time Turner Gill had one year plus an option remaining on a three-year contract reportedly worth CAN$1.2 million.
12.
Turner Gill was signed by the Cleveland Indians in May 1986 and spent three years in their organization before deciding to quit professional sports as a player and return to football as a coach.
13.
In 1989, Turner Gill began his coaching career at the University of Nebraska, his alma mater, serving one year as a graduate assistant coach.
14.
Turner Gill served as position coach for two first team All-Americans, Tommie Frazier and Eric Crouch, with Crouch earning the Heisman Trophy under Turner Gill's tutelage.
15.
In 2005, Turner Gill was hired by the Green Bay Packers as Director of Player Development to help players become acclimated to playing professional football in Green Bay and to direct players to resources concerning community involvement, continuing education, financial management, and retirement planning.
16.
Turner Gill served as an assistant wide receivers coach and an offensive assistant coach through December 2005.
17.
Turner Gill agreed to a five-year contract to become the 23rd head football coach at the University at Buffalo on December 16,2005.
18.
Turner Gill interviewed at Syracuse University, but was passed over for Doug Marrone, later the head coach for the NFL's Buffalo Bills.
19.
On December 13,2009, Turner Gill was announced as the new head coach of the University of Kansas football team, replacing Mark Mangino, who resigned amid rumors and an investigation of questionable coaching practices.
20.
Turner Gill was the first African American head football coach in KU history.
21.
Turner Gill inherited a team that had lost its final 7 games under Mangino.
22.
On December 15,2011, Turner Gill was announced as the new head coach at Liberty University as the replacement for departed head coach Danny Rocco.
23.
On December 3, Turner Gill announced his retirement from coaching to spend more time with his wife Gayle, who was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2016.