Six months after walking away from coaching, Turner Gill is back in college football.
Arkansas on Thursday announced it has hired Gill to serve as the program's executive director of student-athlete and staff development. His new role will charge him with "direct oversight for football student-athlete programming designed to foster leadership, personal accountability, social development, academic direction, self-identity and awareness along with emotional intelligence. He will also provide guidance and development to the coaching and support staffs while engaging the Arkansas community and Razorbacks football alumni."
“Adding someone with Turner’s experience and knowledge to our staff is going to provide a tremendous boost for our student-athletes and our staff,” head Hog Chad Morris said. “From his time as a player at Nebraska to working in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers to serving as a head coach, he has so much to offer our athletes, coaches and staff. We’re excited for him to be a Razorback and have him help build our culture.”
Gill served as Liberty's head coach for the past eight seasons, going 47-35 while guiding the Flames from FCS to FBS. Liberty went 6-6 in 2018, its first season as an FBS independent.
On Dec. 3, Gill stepped down as Liberty's head coach to tend to his wife, Gayle, who was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2016.
“I am thrilled to become a part of the Razorback family,” Gill said. “When I retired from head coaching, I knew that I still wanted to be involved in athletics in some way. This job could not have been more perfect for what I believe I was called to do. It is a blessing to be able to work with student-athletes to prepare them for success both on and off the field, for the rest of their lives.”
Hopefully Thursday's announcement is a sign of a positive prognosis on Gayle Gill's health.
A former All-American quarterback at Nebraska, Gill also spent a combined six seasons as the head coach at Buffalo and Kansas.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.