Former Gator Chris Rainey Bringing "Old School" Mentality as High School Coach

Former Florida Gators star player Chris Rainey is finding his footing as a first-year assistant coach at Trinity Catholic (Ocala) under legendary head coach John Brantley III.

Trinity Catholic Assistant Coach Chris Rainey reacts after speaking with an official in the first half. The Eastside Rams hosted the Trinity Catholic Celtics at Citizens Field in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, September 12, 2024. Eastside lead 16-0 at the half. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner] / Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE Fla.-- After the Gainesville-based P.K. Yonge high football program suffered a difficult 37-0 loss to district rival Trinity Catholic (Ocala), it was a Celtics' assistant coach who joined P.K. Yonge's staff in addressing the young Blue Wave football team, who were visibly disappointed and frustrated during and after the loss.

That coach was former Florida Gators football star Chris Rainey.

"I saw it in their eyes. I had to talk to them. We know how hard it is to make it anywhere in life," Rainey explained in an interview Gators Illustrated on Friday. "Body language will tell you everything."

Rainey is in his first season with the Trinity Catholic football program as an assistant coach, a decision which he said was the obvious choice despite multiple offers to coach at other programs in the state.

"Since I moved here, I was like, 'What school am I going to be around full-time' because I want my kids to go to a good school, too," Rainey said. "I've known Trinity Catholic since high school, and I said that'd be the best fit for me."

There's also a massive personal tie that aided Rainey in his decision to ultimately join the staff.

Trinity Catholic's head coach is John Brantley III, a former UF football player himself and the father of John Brantley IV, Rainey's quarterback during his final two seasons with the Gators. Rainey described Brantley IV as one of his closest friends, and the opportunity to reunite with the family was too good to pass up.

"I've known Chris a long time. I'd come up to Gainesville every day for the Thursday practice, even when I was coaching, to be there for that day," the elder Brantley said. "'Til people get to being around Chris Rainey and understand where he came from and everything, you appreciate him more, and I'm so proud to have him on our staff."

November 20, 2010; Gainesville FL, USA; Florida Gators wide receiver Chris Rainey (3) scores a touchdown as he celebrates with quarterback John Brantley (12) during the first half of their game against the Appalachian State Mountaineers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The two are learning to rely on each other as both are teaching and learning from each other.

Rainey is bringing an "old school mentality" to the program but is learning how to coach in a new school era, which Brantley has already adapted to. On the other side, Rainey's joked that Brantley has gotten softer since becoming a grandfather, and his old-school style is needed.

"When older guys get grandkids, they get softer and softer. I be telling Coach, I even tell the wife, 'You getting soft on me. What's going on?'" Rainey joked. "But nowadays, you can't be soft because the world's different now. So discipline, character, all that kind of stuff, come into play, too, at the same time. But yeah, it's been fun."

This "old school mentality" is one Rainey learned as a player at Lakeland High School under legendary head coach Bill Castle and at the University of Florida under Urban Meyer.

"I mean, I had a bunch of great coaches, and I took little pieces from each one of them and everything," Rainey said. "And I'm old school, too. When you put all that together, it's dangerous."

Jan 8, 2009; Miami, FL, USA; Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer walks off the field holding the championship trophy after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 24-14 in the 2009 BCS Championship Game at Dolphin Stadium. Meyer coached Chris Rainey for four of Rainey's five years in college from 2007-2010 Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images / James Lang-Imagn Images

With that mentality, Rainey has also taken charge of discipline within the program, Brantley said. When a player needs discipline, he receives "Rainey Time."

"If you hear you got Rainey Time, that's nothing to be proud of, I'm telling you," Brantley said with a chuckle. "So when you tell them that, they're dreading it because Rainey doesn't let up. He's gonna let them know that they're gonna pay for whatever happened. But in the same thing, he's making them better and appreciate it."

While Rainey re-teaches Brantley old-school ways, Brantley is teaching Rainey the keys to being the head coach of a high school athletics program. Rainey was recently named the head coach of the Celtics' track-and-field program in addition to being a first-year football assistant coach at the school.

"He's going to get experience there of dealing with with everything that goes to being a head coach. People think we're out here just doing X's and O's. There's a lot more to it," Brantley said. "I got former players and stuff who are now head coaches and say, 'Now I know what you're talking about. There's so much more that goes with this job than just coming out here and what seeing what you do on Friday night.'

"So I take pride in that, and I live and breathe this every day to put the best product out there in the field, but also help these kids, make them better, better young men, and make them good husbands and good people, and be somebody that's going to get in our community in Ocala and be an asset."

Despite the impact of Rainey's addition, the season hasn't been easy for Rainey, Brantley, and the Celtics. An exodus of transfers and graduations, combined with a tough schedule, have left Trinity Catholic with one of its youngest teams in recent history and an overall record of 2-7 in 2024.

With the difficult season, Rainey is also mentoring the players on how to truly love the game and how to stand out as recruits. Due to Name, Image and Likeness as well as the NCAA Transfer Portal, college football, as a whole, is completely different from what it was in Rainey's time.

"It's taking away the game because the kids can't focus," he said. "It seems like kids are going to college just for money, like, they don't even care about the NFL anymore. They just going to college for money and for their parents and all the other stuff. I understand it, but it's messing up the game because nobody loves the game anymore."

Getting recruited as a high school athlete to a top-tier collegiate program is already difficult enough. Doing it from one of the smallest classifications in Florida makes it improbable, but not impossible.

"I'm trying to let these guys know, 'Hey, y'all trying to make it to the high level. It's hard. It's hard, and y'all in 1A. Y'all got to take advantage of this junk because 5A, 6A, 7A, that's a totally different kind of football,'" Rainey explained. "But every city is different, too, because not everyone has athletes everywhere. So you just got to take advantage of wherever you in."

Despite the record, the Celtics will head to the postseason after Friday's win over P.K. Yonge, the only other school in the FHSAA's1A-District 4. It continues an undefeated record in district play for the Celtics in Brantley's two tenures as the head coach.

"And I kind of put it on them to understand how important that is. And it's not about me, it's about them, I mean, but they're a part of that, and that's the history and the legacy you want to leave and everything," Brantley said. "They're a big part of that."

Trinity Catholic Celtic's head coach John Brantley after a second ice bath after the team s win over John Carroll at Trinity Catholic in Ocala, FL on Friday, December 2, 2022. [Cyndi Chambers/Ocala Star Banner] 2022 Florida High School Football Trinity Catholic Celtics Vs Fort Pierce John Carroll / Cyndi Chambers / USA TODAY NETWORK

Last season, the Celtics found themselves in a similar spot with a 3-7 regular season record. However, a strong postseason run saw Trinity Catholic finish as state runner-ups. The Celtics, which conclude its regular season this week against Newberry (Fla.), will look to recreate that magic in the postseason.