Chris Ferguson, left, and Saquan Hampton are assistant coaches with the Portland High football team. Ferguson was a three-year starter at quarterback for the University of Maine, while Hampton was a safety with the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

It’s not unusual for Cordell Jones to get a text message from Sean Green, his football coach at Portland High. The message he got last offseason though, made Jones even more excited about the upcoming season, and this is a kid who was already excited about the upcoming season.

We have a new assistant coach, Green told Jones. His name is Saquan Hampton, and he played safety in the NFL. Your position.

It’s been everything Jones, a junior, hoped it could be.

“As a free safety, you can learn a lot from that guy. I mean, he played it in the NFL. He played it in college, he played it at a really high level. He’s just a great mentor,” Jones said before Monday’s practice. “Every last little detail, everything matters. He’s been tremendously hard on me. He’s been a great coach. He’s all I could ask for. If he wasn’t hard on me, he wouldn’t be coaching me.”

Hampton played with the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets before joining the Edmonton Elks in the Canadian Football League. If he were the only coach on Green’s staff who played at a high level, it would be an incredible get for the Bulldogs. But there’s also Chris Ferguson, a three-year starting quarterback at the University of Maine who was under center when the Black Bears made their heralded run to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals in 2018.

The Bulldogs are a talented team coached up by guys who have been on the field for a lot of big-time football. It’s no wonder Portland is back in the Class A championship game, where it will face Thornton Academy at 11 a.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium. It is a rematch of last season’s title game.

Saquan Hampton gives instruction to junior free safety Cordell Jones during Portland football practice on Tuesday. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Maine is many wonderful things. A hotbed of NFL and Division I football alumni is not one of them. The Bulldogs know what they are experiencing is rare. Green knows it, too, and when he explains to his team that they’re doing the same drills players in college and the pros do, it adds a certain gravitas.

“It just makes the kids trust the process, trust the scheme, that much more,” Green said.

Ferguson started at Maine from 2017 through 2019, before transferring to Liberty and then Towson to finish his college career. He and his wife, Kelsey, settled in Portland, her hometown. He met Green in 2020, and they hit it off immediately. Ferguson coached with Green at Cape Elizabeth in 2022, then migrated to Portland when Green became head coach of the Bulldogs last season. Together, they run Red Zone Football Academy, a quarterback coaching service.

Hampton, who played his college football at Rutgers before he was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 draft by the Saints, came to Maine to be with his girlfriend, Kaylee Pao, a Portland native who is completing her nursing degree. Pao suggested Hampton give coaching a try. He connected with Green, and knew working with him would be the right fit.

“We saw eye to eye immediately, as far as what he believes in for a program and what I had experienced in my career. It’s awesome to be able to coach with a guy like Coach Green,” Hampton said. “The biggest thing for me was, not only helping out these kids on the field, but helping them become better men. That’s one of the things that excited me about coaching, helping these kids become better men in the classroom and better players on the field. When your mentality and your mindset’s good in the classroom, you’re going to bring that on to the field.”

Jones and Aidan McGowan, a senior corner back and co-captain, said working with Hampton has made them focus on the little things. It’s taking care of those tiny details on the field that can lead to success. Making sure your presnap stance is right. Backpedaling in coverage well. Reading an offense. It all matters, and McGowan and Jones said they’re better football players since working with Hampton.

“I am way better than I was last year, that’s all I can say,” said McGowan, who has 49 tackles and a sack.

Working with Ferguson on everything from his quarterbacking mechanics to the mental side of the game has made Portland quarterback Louis Thurston better. Thurston enters Saturday’s state championship game having completed 63% of this throws, for 1,309 yards and 18 touchdowns. He’s also run for 908 yards and six touchdowns.

Portland assistant coach Chris Ferguson works with senior quarterback Louis Thurston on Tuesday night in Portland. Ferguson was a three-year starting quarterback at University of Maine. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Like Hampton does with the defensive backs, Ferguson focuses on the little details. Starting a two-minute drill with a good play. Standing with the correct stance in the shotgun formation. Using your eyes to maneuver a defender and create an open receiver. It all matters.

“He really teaches me how to run the show. More important than that, he teaches me how to be a better person,” Thurston said. “A lot of details I learned from him I don’t think I would’ve learned from anyone else.”

Ferguson’s first offensive coordinator at Maine was Liam Coen, who is now offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He remembers what it was like to be coached well, and he wants to share that experience.

“Louis is what you want as a coach. He does everything right,” Ferguson said. “Being able to take what I’ve learned and give back is unbelievable. I take it as a responsibility, and not lightly.”

Portland defeated Thornton in the regular season 14-7 on Oct. 19. It’s tough to beat a strong opponent once in a season, never mind again when the Gold Ball is on the table off behind the sideline. The outcome of the Class A championship is up in the air. Portland’s prep, though, is a given.