Aubrey Hill: ‘The Boss Man’ had a unique way of inspiring players and he will be missed
They called him “The Boss Man.”
Aubrey Hill, who had been FIU’s wide receivers coach from his hiring by Butch Davis in March of 2017 until his death at age 48 on Sunday, had a unique way of talking to his players.
“He changed my life,” said former FIU wide receiver Austin Maloney, who graduated this past December. “He believed in me. He saw something in me.
“We called him ‘The Boss Man’ because he used that term a lot,” Maloney said. “He would say, ‘Listen, boss …’”
Hill, who had battled cancer for the past year and is survived by his wife and two children, coaxed impressive performances out of his receivers, including Thomas Owens, who caught 59 passes for 887 yards and six touchdowns in 2017. In 2018, C.J. Worton caught 37 passes for 627 yards and six TDs, Maloney had 30 for 610 and five TDs; and Maurice Alexander had 40 for 474 and five scores.
Finally, this past year, three more FIU wide receivers had solid years: Shermar Thornton (51 for 668 and five TDs), Tony Gaiter Jr. (50 for 647 and four TDs) and Maloney (33 for 639 and two scores).
“He pushed us to our highest points,” Maloney said. “He was 100-percent real. He made sure you realized what you did wrong. He would tell you those things whether you wanted to hear it or not, but it was all out of love. He just wanted perfection on the field.”
Off the field, Hill would host occasional cookouts for his receivers and also bring them cookies baked by his wife.
“I’m most thinking about his young son, A.J., who is about five or six years old,” ex-FIU wide receiver Darius Scott said. “He’s so young, and he lost his dad, and that really hurts me.”
In a football sense, Maloney said Hill had two points of emphasis with his players: They needed to go full speed, and they needed to produce.
“He said football was a performance-based industry, and if we didn’t perform, he would find guys who would,” Maloney said. “That motivated us, made us hungry. [Hill] wanted ballers.
“[Hill] had this incredible energy that lifted everyone, not just the receivers.”
Former FIU defensive tackle Teair Tart, who is now with the Tennessee Titans, was one of those guys not in Hill’s position group.
But, every now and then, Hill had some words for Tart, too.
“He was a really good man,” Tart said. “He gave me great life advice. He told me about things in his past and how I could learn from his experiences. We had a couple of really deep conversations.
“It’s just crazy that he’s gone.”
Hill was a football lifer. As a player, he went from Miami Carol City High’s run-heavy offense to coach Steve Spurrier’s “Fun ‘n’ Gun” pass-intensive system at the University of Florida. He helped the Gators win three SEC titles, posting a 43-10-1 record while earning captain status as a senior. His career stats include 86 catches, including 18 for TDs.
In his first season as a graduate assistant coach, he helped the Gators win their first national championship (1996).
Hill, who earned Bachelor’s and Masters degrees from Florida, went on to serve as assistant coach at several universities, including Miami, Duke and Pitt.
Before coming to FIU, Hill was also the head coach of his alma mater, Carol City, for four years, compiling a 30-16 record that included a 2016 state title. One of those 30 wins was over North Miami Beach, 35-0, and it didn’t please NMB coach Jeff Bertani.
“I’ve known Aubrey for 20 years, since he was at Duke,” Bertani said. “That game that he beat us 35-0, I thought he ran up the score on us. The next day, he called me to explain his side, which he didn’t have to do. But that was Aubrey.
“When he got sick, we talked, and he told me, ‘Whatever happens, it will be God’s will.’ I was trying to make him feel better. But, here he was, telling me it was going to be OK.
“He always knew how to put a positive spin on everything.”
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 6:48 PM.