Gators Chalk Talk provides high school coaches with NFL expertise

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — More than 150 coaches attended this year’s Gators Chalk Talk in late March. It marked the largest turnout for Florida coach Billy Napier and his staff since bringing back the event three years ago.

UF went two years without a coaching clinic after the COVID-19 pandemic, but it returned in 2022 under Napier and Florida’s director of football logistics and NFL liason Ashour Peera, who has been responsible for putting together all three clinics.

“We really want this to be an elite event, one of the best in the country where not only high school coaches want to come back every year, but our speakers from NFL teams want to come back,” Peera said. “It also gives us an opportunity to learn from those guys as well.

“We want to provide coaches with an opportunity to develop professionally while being able to network and have access to NFL coaches. It’s super important for us to take care of our schools and promote football around the country.”

What makes Florida’s coaching clinic unique is the amount of NFL guests. This year’s event had a total of 14 speakers from the league, and not just coaches.

The group included Pittsburgh Steelers sports science coordinator Roderick Moore and Jacksonville Jaguars director of performance nutrition Mindy Black.

Matt Hendrick, the head coach at Bishop Moore Catholic High School, didn’t understand the emphasis on NFL expertise before attending his first Gators Chalk Talk.

Hendrick was back last month for the second year in a row.

“Originally, I thought having so many NFL coaches was maybe counterproductive to a high school coach,” Hendrick said. “But what I realized is the NFL guys are so fundamental and so specific about teaching basic concepts that they almost simplify the game more so than the college guys do it.

“So, for us as high school coaches, I almost see even more value in the NFL guys offering their wisdom and knowledge back to us. And so, I think it’s great. They cover everything from special teams to nutrition and strength and conditioning, but also every different position on offense and defense.”

Former Florida wide receiver Jacquez Green is the head coach at Manatee High School in Bradenton, Fla., and has coached at the high school level for 15 years.

He didn’t always attend Florida’s coaching clinics in the past but has been a regular for every Gators Chalk Talk under Napier.

“It’s become an annual thing for me since Coach Napier. I’ve been there the last three years,” Green said. “Billy grew up in football. His dad was a longtime high school coach in Georgia. He’s got two brothers who are high school coaches. So, he understands high school coaching and what we go through and what all that entails. It’s a big deal for us as far as these clinics. 

“This one is always a good clinic for me to go to. It’s a comfortable layout in the O’Dome. We weren’t all cramped up or crowded. Everybody can see the speakers and hear them well. When they had the sessions on Saturday, they had good size classrooms for each position. So, it was presented well and structured well. There were some professional speakers there.”

The keynote speakers this year were former Detroit Lions head coach and longtime NFL assistant Matt Patricia and Patrick Graham, currently the defensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders. Hearing from Graham was Green’s favorite part of the event.

“What I spoke about was really the emphasis on effort,” Graham said. “Effort, communication and discipline is something that we preach in our meeting rooms. You can’t be afraid to coach it and find new ways, whether old or new, to emphasize those points.”

“Patrick Graham is a guy I’ve heard about for a while and I finally got a chance to see him speak,” Green said. “I understand why he’ll be a head coach eventually in the NFL.”

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For Green and Hendrick, another highlight from Gators Chalk Talk was being able to watch the way Florida’s staff structures a football practice. Hendrick came away impressed with how efficient and well-run things are.

“I thought practice went well,” Green said. “I thought the guys were competing out there. The staff was installing some stuff with the players. There was a lot of teaching going on. They were introducing their scheme to the younger players and some of the new players.

“I like Coach Napier. I’m supportive of him. I think last year we had a couple of bad breaks. I didn’t think we were very good defensively last year. If we get the defense shored up and even just become a mid-tier defense, I think we’ll be a lot better as a total football team.”