Westminster Christian hires UM alum Earl Little as football coach

Earl Little wasn’t planning on coaching next season.

But an opportunity presented itself recently that he couldn’t pass up.

Little was hired this week to be the next football coach at Miami Westminster Christian, a program coming off three consecutive district championship seasons under former coach Sedrick Irvin.

"This is a great school both in academics and athletics and these are great kids," Little said. "This was too good an opportunity to pass up."

Little, a star safety at the University of Miami who played nine seasons in the NFL, coached the past two seasons at Miami Jackson.

Little, 43, guided the Generals to the playoffs in 2014 during which he led them to a 6-5 record that culminated with their first win in 12 seasons in the Soul Bowl rivalry game with Northwestern.

This past season, Jackson finished 3-6 in brutal District 16-5A, missing the playoffs but still managing to finish in third place behind Plantation American Heritage and Hallandale.

"Earl brings us the complete package of what we were looking for in our new coach," Westminster Christian athletic director Gene Baker said. "First, he is a strong Christian, which gives him great credibility in our community. His playing experience at UM and in the NFL lend experience at high levels to be able to mentor our top players, while his involvement with youth football allows a perspective that will benefit our middle school program that seeks to develop our student-athletes to varsity football readiness."

Little said the chance for his son, Earl, Jr., to attend and eventually play football at a great academic school played a part in his decision to accept Westminster’s offer. Little, Jr. will enter the eighth grade this fall and is a rising star on the youth league scene.

Prior to his stint at Jackson, Little was a defensive coordinator at Cypress Bay, Cooper City, Miami Central and Miami Dr. Krop.

"As far as the program, it’s a program that has already had success," Little said. "It’s a chance to coach some great kids and help them become better young men on and off the field."

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Westminster Christian hires UM alum Earl Little as football coach."