Former Oregon, NFL player Troy Hill hired as high school head football coach

Veteran NFL cornerback and Oregon alum Troy Hill has reportedly been hired to be the head football coach at his high school alma mater, St. Bonaventure High in Ventura, California, according to Ventura County Star reporter Joe Curley.

“This is where it all started for me,” Hill said, according to Curley. “St. Bonaventure gave me the discipline, support, and faith to believe in something bigger than myself. I’m excited to give back by helping shape the next generation-not just as athletes, but as young men of character.”

Hill, who was on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster last season, is a 10-year NFL veteran who played 121 career games for the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns, and Carolina Panthers. Hill, a 2010 graduate of St. Bonaventure High, went undrafted out of Oregon in 2015.

“We’re thrilled to welcome him home and look forward to the leadership and inspiration he will bring to our student-athletes,” St. Bonaventure principal Christina Castro told Curley.

The 33-year-old Hill was signed to the Buccaneers practice squad in late October of last year and was promoted to the active roster in mid-November before being placed on injured reserve over the final month of the 2024 season with foot and knee injuries.

Hill’s best season came in 2020 with the Rams, when he finished with the NFL lead for most defensive touchdowns with three scores that season. The 5-foot-10 Hill started all 16 games in 2020, racking up a career-high 77 total tackles, 10 pass deflections, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

Hill finished his NFL career with 414 tackles, including 301 solo, 41 pass deflections, nine interceptions, including three returned for touchdowns, three sacks, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

Hill played both receiver and cornerback at St. Bonaventure High and helped lead the Seraphs to an 11-2 record as a senior, though all those wins were later forfeited after it was discovered Hill was ineligible. Hill signed with Oregon as a three-star prospect in the 2010 recruiting cylcle.