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Ex-ENMU Star and NFLer Enjoys Coaching Preps
By Kevin Hendricks/Albuquerque Journal
Conrad Hamilton (BS 06) was named one of New Mexico’s 50 Greatest Sports Figures by Sports Illustrated in 1999. He had made a name for himself at ENMU before embarking on a six-year career in the NFL.
Now he is in the next phase of his career, taking over one of the top prep football programs in Arizona. On April 23, Hamilton was named the head coach at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Ariz. He had been defensive coordinator for the Firebirds beginning in 2008 and won state championships in 2009 and 2010.
Hamilton was brought into the Chaparral community by Charlie Ragle (BS 98), his former teammate at ENMU who became Chaparral’s head coach in 2007.
“The thing about Conrad is, going back to college, he’s just a naturally smart guy,” Ragle said. “He’s just a football savant, and he has a passion for learning the game from an Xs and Os standpoint, inside and out.”
Hamilton coached under Ragle from then until he got his first head coaching job in 2011 at North Canyon High in Phoenix. Hamilton returned to Chaparral in 2012 after a 6-5 season. And now, after spending two seasons as defensive coordinator under David Huffine, Hamilton is once again a head coach.
Even before his NFL playing career came to an end, Hamilton planned on getting into coaching and he plans to stay with this program for the foreseeable future.
“Right now I really have no aspirations to coach at the collegiate or professional level. I just feel like the biggest impact I can make is where I’m at,” Hamilton said. “I’m coaching at a great high school in a great community. I think a lot of guys get caught up in coaching in the NFL or the collegiate level so they can show their stars on their chest and it makes them feel elite. I was blessed. I played in the National Football League, I was an All-American in college and I’m secure with what I’m doing here.”
