Fisher grad Palmer eager to coach his alma mater

FISHER — Jeff Palmer knows a thing or two about Fisher’s football program.

He played for the Bunnies under coach Gil Downey before graduating in 1986, helping lay the groundwork for three straight Class 1A playoff appearances in the years that followed.

Later, he assisted his son, Jake, when the younger Palmer was the Bunnies’ head coach from 2016-2021. And he’s set to lead a staff of his own for the first time when Fisher opens the season against Heyworth on Aug. 30.

“For me, it was a thing where I know our kids, I grew up here, I played here,” Jeff Palmer said. “And I just wanted to see if we could stop the turnstile.”

That Fisher is among the smallest 11-man football programs in the state isn’t a bother for Palmer, who hopes to lead the Bunnies to their first varsity win since 2021 and build the program back to prominence.

“For really any program, but really with small school program programs, you’ve got to really lay a foundation of what the expectations are,” Jeff Palmer said.

“Because I think a lot of times kids come from junior high school, whether they’re playing and youth football or not, they come into high school, and it’s just a different animal.”

It wasn’t long ago that the Bunnies were a team to be reckoned with in the Heart of Illinois Conference.

Matt Leng led Fisher to nine Class 1A playoff appearances as the program’s coach from 2002-2015, including five straight trips in his first five seasons. But after Jake Palmer guided the Bunnies to three consecutive postseason trips from 2017-19, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the program’s momentum.

Fisher didn’t field a varsity team in 2022 and Jeff Palmer will be the program’s fourth coach in as many seasons.

“I told them, I said I’ll be here, we’ll get some stability in the program,” Jeff Palmer said. “I was able to put together a really, really great staff who care about the kids, care about the football program. So we’ve got a good base there.”

Encouraging signs are returning to the program, however, which boasts a strong senior class and currently has about 30 players signed up for the fall. Palmer hopes there are even more players to come.

“The big thing for me is that we play a (full) JV schedule,” Jeff Palmer said. “It’s just really hurt us developmentally, because we’re playing young kids and they’re getting their teeth kicked in and then they’re like, ‘I don’t know if that’s for me.’”

Palmer will manage the Bunnies’ fortunes while balancing his job as a driver for UPS, something he’s used to managing alongside coaching.

He’s got his route down to a science by now.

“I actually have really good support from my management team at UPS,” Jeff Palmer said. “They’re supportive and they work with me. And I’m one of the top seniority guys there, so I have one of the better areas to run. I know my area, so I can kind of blast through it.”

Palmer’s staff includes Fisher alum Ryan Gream as defensive coordinator and Bloomington graduate Austin Black as the team’s offensive line coach.

Landen Stalter, Tim Booth, Tanner Cornell and Jon Todd round out the Bunnies’ coaching staff.

“Those guys can be here and get things going in the weight room (if I’m late from UPS),” Jeff Palmer said. “And then I’m here by the time we get practice going.”

Jake hasn’t ventured too far from the program. But as the principal at Fisher Grade School, his role with dad’s team is limited more to consulting than directing traffic at practice.

That’s just fine for both father and son.

“I’ve been pretty transparent with him that I am a consultant,” Jake Palmer said with a laugh. “I’ve met with some of his coaches and talked with him about stuff schematically. ... He’s got a really nice staff that he’s assembled and he’s got some experienced guys and some less experienced guys that are eager to learn.”

Chief among the Bunnies’ strengths this fall will be a strong senior class.

Palmer points out that it comprises about a third of the roster, which in turn comprises about a sixth of the small Champaign County school.

“I really challenged them when I got hired to either be the class that we got through, or the class that decided to change what our thought process was,” Jeff Palmer said. “And that group of eight or 10 seniors has done a really, really good job of just lifting hard in the weight room.”

Fisher endured a 1-7 record during Palmer’s freshman year in 1982 before improving marginally in each of the next three seasons. Contemporary, Fisher is in a similar spot for Palmer’s debut coaching campaign.

“You have the ebbs and flows of small school football, you’re kind of up and down,” Jeff Palmer said. “So hopefully we can swing it back up.”