J.J. Watt: ‘I want to coach high school football’

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt might be years from retirement, but he’s already thinking about his post-NFL plans.

Watt spoke to Houston’s Mad Radio 610 earlier this month and said he could see himself as a high school football coach after he retires from the league. If that means he has to teach gym class or have some other role at the school, he’s prepared to do that.

Here is Watt’s full response when asked what he would be doing if he wasn’t playing football:

“I think I’d be coaching high school football and, in some capacity, if that requires being a high school gym teacher, whatever it may be, however I can do that, because I feel like, I just want to have that impact. And that is what I want to do when I’m done. I want to coach high school football, and that’s always what I’ve wanted to do.

“Maybe my life takes me a different path with movies and things like that but right now, at some point in my life, I’d coach high school football just because the impact you can have on kids and the wisdom you help give them and teach them. I think they’re so impressionable, and I was impressionable, and my high school coach did such a great job helping me, so I want to do that for other kids.”

Watt has earned a reputation for his selflessness, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he would want to give back to high school football players. As a bonus, he’s been a proponent of multi-sport participation and responsible behavior on social media, so he’d be a fantastic example for high school athletes everywhere.