Royal Oak High Hires Milford's Jeff Hill as New Head Football Coach

Royal Oak native and Dondero High alumnus Jeff Hill has been named the new head football coach for . The hire of the Milford coach was confirmed by Royal Oak Athletic Director Brian Gordon and Hill on Sunday.

Hill, 37, who lives in Royal Oak with his wife and daughter, will be introduced to the public Tuesday at Royal Oak High’s cafeteria at 7:30 p.m. He will officially begin his duties at the school Wednesday.

Hill replaces Dave Potter, who was head football coach for the past three seasons and had an 0-27 record. Potter was relieved of head coaching duties, but will continue teaching in the district. Coaches and teachers have separate contracts.

Hill will be looking to hire new assistant coaches for the varsity, freshman and junior varsity positions. Hill has begun contacting the current coaching staff and coaches outside of ROHS.

Hill comes to ROHS from Milford High School, where he led the Mavericks to a 15-12 overall record the past three seasons. The Mavericks made the playoffs in Hill’s first year with the team.

As a linebacker, Hill took his tackling skills to Adrian College, then finished his education at Wayne State University in Detroit, where he earned a bachelor's degree in special education.

“In the back of your head you always have thoughts of returning home and coaching in the community you grew up in,” Hill said. “With my wife and daughter, we have no desire to move elsewhere.”

Hill has two items atop his to-do list.

“My two biggest concerns are getting players into the weight room to develop off-season strength and putting together a staff of good coaches as quickly as I can,” Hill said. Hill will be hiring staff for varsity, freshman and junior varsity teams. He has already begun contacting coaches about their availability.

Gordon, in his first year as Royal Oak High School's athletic director, understands the importance of a successful football team and sought out the best coach available – one similar in his own coaching style.

“At Royal Oak High School we are excited about having Jeff Hill come in as our football coach,” Gordon said. “He’s a fantastic leader, he’s a proven leader coming from Milford High School where he sustained a successful program.

"We welcome him with open arms to bring his beliefs and his enthusiasm to our program.”

Hill commutes to Milford and looks forward to spending less time on the highway and more time with his family - wife, Natalie, and daughter, Macy, a kindergartner at – and team.  “My commute goes from 38 miles to only 2.8 miles,” he said.

However, Hill will continue teaching in Milford through the end of the school year. He works in special education, teaching physics, U.S. history and world history. He will work to secure a position with the Royal Oak school district for the next school year.

Hill's coaching philosophies will be to run a 4-4 defense – or a “G” defense – that brings a lot of pressure to the opposing offense.

“We’re going to play multiple coverages and bring different types of pressure at people and create situations where we eliminate the offense’s best run plays and passing plays,” he said. “We’re going to force the offense to do things they’re not comfortable with. We’re going to bring pressure and the illusion of pressure.”

On the offensive side, Hill plans to spread the field with a spread option offense.

“I want to get a look at what our kids are able to do and what kind of kids we have,” he said.

Although there were several qualified applicants for the football coach position, Hill’s Royal Oak connection helped him come out on top.

“Being in touch with our community is something we really believe in,” Gordon said. “Making it where Friday night is definitely an event that everyone can participate in.”