If Jon Thompson knew he’d eventually be a head coach when he came to Florida, he may not have expected it to be so soon.
The Plant City High assistant coach accepted an offer from St. Petersburg-Gibbs High School and will be installed the morning of Monday, May 6. He will become the program’s fifth head coach since 2007 and hopes to lead the school to its first winning season since 2009.
“On the first day I talked to the guys, I told them we’d be the hardest-working team in Florida,” Thompson, 29, says. “The kids are eager to get after it and start working.”
Thompson is no stranger to jumping into new opportunities, a theme that’s defined his second career as a football coach.
MAKING MOVES
Thompson, a Greensboro, North Carolina native, played left guard at Grimsley High for four years, but shoulder and knee injuries prevented him from pursuing a spot on a collegiate team.
He graduated from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a business degree and looked to begin a career in banking. But Thompson soon learned that life in a cubicle was far less enjoyable than he had imagined and hoped for any opportunity that would allow him to shake things up.
Thompson decided to use his high school playing experience to try to break into the coaching field, and settled on Florida as his new home. He wanted to be close to people he knew — a good friend of his was enrolled at Florida State University at that time — and got an opportunity to join the staff at Tallahassee-Lincoln High.
“It was amazing,” he says. “I don’t think I realized at the time what an opportunity it was, but I quickly figured it out.”
He got there at the start of head coach Yusuf Shakir’s third season, in which the Trojans won the 2010 4A state championship, and worked on the offensive line with offensive coordinator Jacquez Green and line coach Brandon McCray. The next season, Lincoln went undefeated in the regular season before losing to Fleming Island in the state tournament. In Thompson’s final year, Lincoln again made the 4A state championship game, but lost to national powerhouse Ft. Lauderdale-St. Thomas Aquinas.
After the 2012 season, Thompson linked up with then-Plant City coach Wayne Ward and joined the Raider staff, again working with the offensive line.
“I was very blessed to inherit guys like Montel McBride, Evan Crowell, Lance Doenges, Quincy Robinson, all those guys,” Thompson says. “There are some absolute beasts in Plant City.”
Last year, Thompson was promoted to running game coordinator and helped guide Markese Hargrove to a 1,365-yard breakout season. This year, Thompson would have been promoted to both assistant head coach and JV head coach.
REBUILDING
By the time he got home from his first interview, Gibbs contacted him about a second one.
“It was quite the whirlwind,” Thompson says. “PCHS was incredibly supportive. They really made that experience go for me. I told them about it on a Monday, and I got hired that Thursday.”
As he did in Plant City, Thompson will also continue his role as an ESE teacher at Gibbs.
“I love being in the classroom,” he says. “It’s really not too different. You establish expectations, hold the kids accountable and everything goes well.”
Thompson looks to guide the football team to winning ways on the field and also plans to make the Gladiators a strong academic bunch. The new coach has already implemented study hall for all players and is also working on programs to help them with their SAT and ACT tests.
“Everything about this is exciting,” he says. “I’m looking forward to sending these seniors off on a high note.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
WHO ARE THOSE GUYS?
St. Petersburg-Gibbs High
Mascot: Gladiators
Class: 5A-District 8
2014 record: 5-5 (2-2 district)
Impact players: Marquez Walls (WR), D.J. Johnson (RB), Javon Morgan (OLB), Mike Smart (MLB)
Previous coach: Rick Kravitz (9-11 record over two seasons)
Last winning season: 2009 (6-5 record under coach Donnie Abraham)