USF football coach Alex Golesh had familiarity with most of the men and women he hired for his staff.
One person stands out.
"Look at this,'' said new USF director of player development Jeff Jones as he pulled out a two-decade-old newspaper clipping from his desk drawer.
Splashed across the front page of the Dublin (Ohio) Villager, there was a color photograph of a jubilant 17-year-old Golesh, then an offensive lineman, jumping into the arms of Jones, then an offensive coordinator, as Dublin Scioto High School celebrated a conference championship.
"Even back then, you knew that Alex was special,'' Jones said. "Really, really smart. Very astute. Exceptional hard worker. He stood out. You knew he was destined for something great.''
And all these years later, Jones gets to be part of it.
Jones, a career coach and school administrator, said he knew Golesh would ultimately become a college football head coach. When that day finally arrived, Golesh always told Jones there would be a staff position waiting for his old coach.
Sometimes, Jones dreamed about it. Wow! How fun would that be?
Now it's real.
Jones — a former science and biology teacher, high-school football coach and public-school principal known for his innovative approach to building organizational processes and communication systems — is creating a new role for himself.
"We obviously have a football staff that handles on-field, a strength and conditioning staff that helps to prepare their bodies and a recruiting department that constantly works at the acquisition of new players,'' Jones said. "Everything else falls in this office. And I think that's pretty cool. The most successful of programs always have someone doing these things, maybe not with this specific title.
"I have the administrative background to work with the players on where they are coming from in high school, their study habits, organizing their time, being efficient, prioritizing things in their life. I have a coaching background, so I speak the language of football. We're going to develop a curriculum for all of this — there's the administrative part of me coming out — and I can get to know all of these players in a unique way. Getting them ready for school, getting them ready for life, helping with their relationships … all of that. It's going to be incredibly exciting and invigorating.''
Jones said a big part of his job — especially in the initial phases — is listening and learning. He wants to be a resource (maybe even a confessor) for USF players.
"We're living in times when it can be tough to be a young person,'' Jones said. "Sometimes, it's hard for them to push aside their ego and ask for help. I can't read their mind. But I want them to feel this is a safe space to come in and solve problems. We want to provide resources, remove obstacles and prepare them to play their best football.
"My folks taught me that we have two ears and one mouth. So, we should listen twice as much as we talk. As far as doing that for young people, which I am passionate about, I feel that's our responsibility. People did that for me. Why not pay it forward?''
Even though Jones, 53, has primarily worked as an administrator for the past 14 years, he still gets a special joy when someone addresses him as "Coach.''
That's still how Golesh sees it. Jones was — and still is — Golesh's coach.
Back in Dublin, a thriving community outside of Columbus and possibly best known as the birthplace of Wendy's restaurants, Golesh's family lived in Jones' neighborhood, about five houses apart. Jones remembers the birth of his son, Jordan, and Golesh was one of the first people in the neighborhood to knock on the door and meet the baby.
"Sometimes, Alex would catch a ride with me to weightlifting,'' Jones said. "They were pretty routine rides, I thought. I'm not sure I remember much of what we talked about. But it's amazing that Alex still remembers some things that were said, some things we kicked around, and concepts he has never forgotten.
"We ran the type of offense where we wanted athletic guys (on the offensive line) who could come down and seal the linebacker. Alex just knew what to do. But the thing is, he knew what everybody else needed to do as well. He could help the other players and teach them. He had empathy toward them. Just smart, intuitive, hard-working … a coach, even back then.''
Jones has avidly followed Golesh's career and taken pride in it. Now he's involved on a daily basis — and he's already excited by the progress.
"I'm at an age and station in life where I'm very humbled to learn about the impressions and impacts I've made on others,'' Jones said. "When it's that visible, when someone like Alex says, 'Hey, this is what you've done for me,' I wish that feeling on everybody. It's uplifting and humbling at the same time.
"I knew being with Alex was a possibility, but it's not like I was counting the days or obsessing about it. When he and USF went down the tracks and the conversations got more real, my heart started pounding. The people who Alex has hired are problem-solvers, not problem-celebrators. They are real. They're willing to ask questions and be vulnerable. It's amazing to be part of this as we start to build up USF football.''
While Jones said the specifics of his job somewhat resemble "flying the airplane as it's being built,'' he has no doubt about the end result.
"The bottom line for all our players, and all of us, is controlling what you can control,'' Jones said. "We can't control the score. But we can control the process of how we eat, how we sleep, how we go to class, how we come to the weight room, how we practice and how we treat each other.
"I think we're going to have a great formula. I know we're going to be successful because Alex and his staff have a vision, they know how to communicate and no job is too small or too big. I'm so stinking proud of him. And the fact that he asked me to come help, to come do it with him, I'm humbled beyond belief. The kid I once coached has grown into quite a man.''
– Go Bulls –
