Clinton Portis is one of the best backs in Washington football history, but now he’s got a new gig: he’s helping develop that next generation as the running backs coach at Delaware State, where fellow former Redskin DeSean Jackson was recently named the new head coach.
“This happened so quick. I was calling (Jackson) about our youth organization down in Charlotte where we try to help kids get into college, and I was calling to talk about the kids we had available if he needed, and it turned into a conversation of football,” Portis told Grant & Danny Thursday. “Next thing you know, I’m flying to Delaware, and I kind of got an offer on the spot. Once I stepped on campus, the realization was like, this could help a lot of kids, and the excitement to help them turn the program around…this staff has so many guys who want to turn this program around right away, and I was like, what could be a better opportunity? A lot of times, you see jobs and wonder where you can make an impact, and I think this is one of those opportunities that gives me a chance to make an impact. I'm appreciative of Delaware State and D-Jax for allowing me to join.”
Portis has been coaching his sons’ teams ‘forever,’ and his son reminding him that ‘you think all coaching staffs suck, why don’t you go do it?’ finally resonated.
“That probably happened a few nights before I got on the phone with D-Jax, and after he said it, it was like, maybe it’s me and I do need to coach,” Portis said. “As my kids would say, the coaches are never good enough, so therefore, I’m involved, and what I try to tell them is my main thing is development: I like to see where you are and what you can become, and that’s more of just encouraging kids and showing them you believe in them.”
He’s going to take a lot of lessons he learned from Joe Gibbs with him,
“Coach Gibbs had a team ready to run through a brick wall, but it was all from belief, not because of scheme or staff,” Portis said. “Everybody believed, and I think once you show these kids you believe in them and help them tap into their potential, it's something special there.”
Jackson (and Portis) are part of a growing segment of recent former players who are taking to the collegiate ranks – like Michael Vick, who is the head coach now at MEAC rival Norfolk State – and they owe a lot of it to the doors Deion Sanders and some others have kicked down.
“I think for so long, these doors and opportunities have been closed to us, and if you look at a lot of coaches who are getting those opportunities, it's kind of been buddy-buddy forever; it’s not former players or guys who played the game at a high level, it’s guys who were connected to the right guys at the right time,” Portis said. “When you look at guys like Antonio Pearce and Aaron Glenn, those guys got opportunities to highlight that we’re actually talented and can coach; we played this game at a high level and we can develop players. With Coach Prime, you’re seeing that you don't have to go to a major college to be a standout, we can help you tap into that potential, and now with guys like Vick and D-Jax getting that opportunity, it's gonna be the same thing at HBCUs to just come in and change the culture. I think in doing that, it opens the doors for a lot more, but I know it's definitely gonna help the kids out a lot, and that was part of the reason I joined. This is that opportunity, and I can’t turn this down. I know I'm gonna give everything I can to these kids, while I have the opportunity, and try to direct them, lead them and guide them to where they want to be.”
Listen to Portis’ entire visit above, as he goes a little more in-depth on the current college football landscape, how him and Jackson can help some of the under-recruited talents shine and use the transfer portal effectively, and much more!