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IZZY GOULDA successful program, shared off-field interests keep John Benedetto's assistants at his side.
LAND O'LAKES - The roots of Land O'Lakes football run deep into Hillsborough County and bury themselves below the famed silver onion domes at the University of Tampa.
That's where John Benedetto and Al Claggett continued a childhood passion for football, playing for the Spartans in the 1960s. Benedetto had a Hall of Fame career after Claggett was forced out after two injuries in two seasons.
They then began a grassroots effort to coach football at Sanders Elementary in 1971 and have been united ever since.
Claggett represents a solid core of assistants who have stuck with Benedetto through the decades at Land O'Lakes. The others - Bill Gebauer (1977), Tom Carter (1988), Rock Ridgeway (1992) - have found similar reasons to stick with their leader.
"If we were losing, believe me a lot of us wouldn't be together," Gebauer said. "That's the way it is. Coaching ain't very much fun when you lose."
Success can be measured for Land O'Lakes in wins (170), playoff appearances (13), district titles (10) and conference championships (four).
There are other reasons they have remained together.
Claggett, the Gators defensive coordinator, had at least two opportunities to coach at other schools, but stayed loyal to Benedetto. They worked with kids from Sanders Elementary to Land O'Lakes Junior High. Claggett was hired as an assistant alongside Benedetto in 1975 at the high school.
By Benedetto's second season as head coach, those kids from Sanders were part of the Gators' first district title in 1978.
Why didn't Claggett move on?
"The honest truth? I'm an English teacher and creative writing teacher," Claggett said. "That's where I make my living. I love it and work very hard at it. The coaching is probably my second passion. Literature would be my first."
Carter, who played for three of his peers, graduated from Land O'Lakes in 1984 after a solid career at linebacker took him to Troy State. He got roped back in with the Gators after a few off-the-cuff comments during a visit to practice.
"I was out here one day during practice and I was talking to coach Claggett from the defensive side," Carter said. "I said, 'The linebacker should do this. The lineman should do that.' He turned to me and said, 'You should just get into coaching.' "
Carter is eager to be a head coach, more so now after Tim Stevens - another longtime assistant - has moved on to rebuild River Ridge. Carter applied for jobs at Hudson, River Ridge, Pasco and Crystal River in recent years. He even phone interviewed with Ponte Vedra Beach Nease after Benedetto rejected an offer.
"It's something I always wanted to do," Carter said. "My goal has been since probably 1990 to be a head coach somewhere. ....I would ultimately like to be the head coach here if he retires."
If Benedetto ever retires, some of his assistant buddies could join him.
Gebauer has been with the group since Benedetto took over in 1977. Proximity to his home is one reason he has lasted.
"A lot of us live relatively close to the school," Gebauer said. "It's a lateral move when you go to another coaching position. You might have to move and resell your house. I never want to move."
There's also a tight bond between the coaches. They don't limit their time together to just the campus. There's golf outings, holiday parties, meals, college football games. There's also heated moments that always result in a pat-on-the-back.
Ridgeway felt the bond immediately when he joined the staff in 1992 after he was referred to Land O'Lakes by boys basketball coach Dave Puhalski.
"It's just a perfect setting for all of us," Ridgeway said. "(Benedetto's) the greatest. I don't know if I could work with somebody else."
This is the second in a series of stories previewing John Benedetto's 30th season at Land O'Lakes.