Robbie Gould to coach Illinois high school football program: Report
Former All-NFL kicker Robbie Gould is the new head football coach of the Rolling Meadows High School football program in Northeast Chicago, the Chicago Sun Times reported Friday morning.
Gould, who retired from the NFL in December, played 17 years in the league with his longest stint coming as a Chicago Bear from 2005-15. Gould finished his career with the San Francisco 49ers as their kicker from 2017 to 2022. Gould's former 49ers teammate, Jimmy Garoppolo, was a star athlete at Rolling Meadows High School.
Gould replaces Sam Baker, who led the Mustangs for four seasons over which they went 13-21. The program is in the IHSA Class 7A Mid-Suburban League and is coming off of a 2-7 season.
Gould is the latest former NFL player to join the high school coaching ranks. Former NFL QB Teddy Bridgewater, who was a first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, took over as the head football coach at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern, in early February.
Gould is well known in the Chicago area as the most accurate kicker in league history and was perfect on attempts in the postseason across his entire career.
The Bears named Gould — the franchise scoring leader and longest-tenured player — among the 100 best players in franchise history.
Former San Francisco 49ers place kicker Robbie Gould (9) watches a field goal attempt during a wild card game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium in 2023.
Photo by Cary Edmondson, USA TODAY Sports
Gould, 41, is originally from Pennsylvania. He was a four-sport star at Central Mountain High School, and comes from athletic lineage — his father, Robert Gould, won a Division II national soccer championship at Lock Haven University (Pennsylvania).
Gould was asked about his high school football tenure on Feb. 6 on the Jim Rome Show. Watch the full clip below:
"I was 150 pounds soaking wet, I walked onto Penn State, undrafted in the NFL. Everything I've ever done in my career was about hard work and earning it. And I'm a competitor. I knew that if I played a bunch of sports growing up that if I would just go, work hard enough and compete that I was mentally tough enough to beat anybody.
And I think the big thing for me is I had an awesome opportunity to go learn from Adam Vinatieri, who was one of the best kickers of all time, in New England. ... if I wasn't there, I don't know if the trajectory of my career — I was there for five months. I went from a three-step kicker to a two-step kicker. Had I never made that change, I don't think my career would have been what it was."
-- Robbie Gould, All-NFL kicker (Illinois)
-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveil
