Longtime WVU Assistant Dies
April 23, 2010 05:29 PM | General
April 23, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Mike Jacobs, the man who coordinated West Virginia’s offenses during the school’s only undefeated regular seasons in 1988 and 1993, has died in a Pittsburgh hospital, West Virginia Metro News reported earlier today.
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| Mike Jacobs was former coach Don Nehlen's offensive coordinator for seven years from 1987-94.
WVU Sports Communications photo |
“Jake was a great guy,” said West Virginia University tight ends coach Dave McMichael, who worked the tackles and tight ends alongside Jacobs on Don Nehlen’s staff. “It’s a shame to lose him.”
Jacobs was a member of Nehlen’s original WVU staff in 1980, coaching the Mountaineer centers and guards before taking on the added role of offensive coordinator in 1987. During his seven seasons running the WVU offense from 1987-94, the school made appearances in the 1989 Fiesta, 1989 Gator, 1994 Sugar and 1994 Carquest bowls.
A great deal of West Virginia’s reputation for toughness emanated from the offensive lines Jacobs coached that featured such players as Brian Jozwiak, Kevin Koken, John Stroia, Mike Compton and Rich Braham.
“He was a man’s man,” said Dale Wolfley, a Jacobs player now working on the Mountaineer staff. “He didn’t have to yell, he didn’t have to scream; just his presence on the field was good enough.”
Defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich worked closely with Jacobs when the two units came together for drills.
“His kids came to play every day and it started with one-on-ones with us,” Kirelawich said. “He was so competitive and his kids were the same. Basically, what you try and do is create a game-type intensity on the practice field so when the kids get to the game it is old hat for them. He did that.
“He created that intensity and he kept that hard edge that the kids had,” Kirelawich added. “Mike was an awful, awful good coach. To me, he epitomized what a line coach should be and the kids just loved him. They respected him; he was tough with them, but at the same time he was their guy.”
Longtime WVU assistant Donnie Young recalled Jacobs getting the most out of his players.
“He had an understanding of what I called developmental recruiting,” said Young. “He could see a kid two years from now rather than when has was recruited. A lot of kids he recruited were not really heavily recruited, but they were great football players two years later.”
Jacobs was also a tremendous developmental coach who once took walk-on tight end Scott Barrows and helped transform him into an NFL-caliber offensive guard. The coaches remaining at the Puskar Center still talk about that one.
“Before we moved Scott Barrows to guard when he was on the scout team, I didn’t think he was worth a damn that whole year,” said Kirelawich. “But by spring ball he was a different guy after Mike got him. It’s that mentality that Jake had that the kids assumed, and it showed on the field.”
Kirelawich also remembered a Pitt game several years ago when Jacobs orchestrated a long scoring drive that wound up securing a key victory for the Mountaineers.
“I can’t recall specifically what game it was, but all I know was the game was tight and I didn’t want the defense to go back onto the field and they put together a 6, 6 ½ minute drive that basically ate up the whole clock in the fourth quarter,” Kirelawich recalled. “We scored and it was just a matter of finishing it off.”
Steve Dunlap, West Virginia’s defensive coordinator for a good portion of Jacobs’ 15 years at WVU, was impressed with the great offensive balance Jacobs created in 1988. That team finished second in the country in scoring offense (42.9 ppg.), fifth in total offense (482.7 ypg.) and sixth in scoring offense (242.9 ypg.).
“We had so many weapons,” Dunlap said. “We had a fullback that could run with it, we had tailbacks, we had a tight end that could catch, we had two good receivers and then we had Major Harris. It was never just a one-man show, even though Major was such a great player. We were just totally balanced and it was impossible to defend us. Mike was the one who orchestrated a lot of that. He knew how to use every weapon we had.”
A persistent image for anyone involved with the Mountaineer program in the 1980s and early 1990s is Mike Jacobs walking out onto the practice field in 15-degree weather wearing shorts and a t-shirt rolled up over his thick biceps. Well into his 40s, Jacobs continued to lift weights.
“He was such a powerful guy,” said McMichael. “He was a former offensive lineman and he always lifted and he had tremendous strength, even as a coach.”
Dunlap recalled times when the coaches would plead with him to close the windows in the coaches’ booth in the press box because it was too cold outside.
“Jake would be all fired up and he would have his sleeves rolled up and it would be 20 degrees outside and he didn’t want to shut the windows,” Dunlap laughed. “The rest of us would be complaining that it was too cold, ‘C’mon Jake, close the windows!’ Our knees would be knocking together because he didn’t want to shut the window. Eventually he would say, ‘OK shut your half.’ He would leave his half open so it didn’t matter.”
Kirelawich and Jacobs had children the same age and owned boats. The two would spend afternoons together with their families out on Cheat Lake.
“We did a lot of things together,” said Kirelawich. “He had a great appetite, too. I loved to cook and he loved to eat, so you’re talking about two perfect personalities there. I just loved to cook and then just watch that guy devour whatever I put in front of him. It was wonderful to see.”
Following the 1994 season, the Wittenburg (Ohio) graduate joined John Cooper’s staff at Ohio State, where he eventually became the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator. Jacobs also coached one year at Oklahoma State and two seasons at Mesa (Ariz.) Community College.
“He was the head coach at Mesa for a while,” said Wolfley. “When he was at Ohio State he would have me come down and offer instruction to his kids. Jake and I, one way or another, have stayed together for a long time.”
More recently, Jacobs returned to the area to coach with his son, Mike Jr., on the California (Pa.) staff until failing health forced him to retire after last season. Jacobs’ position as offensive coordinator was eventually filled by former Pitt and Stanford head coach Walt Harris.
“He was a helluva Mountaineer,” said Kirelawich. “Even when he was at Ohio State, he missed West Virginia badly.”
“I’ve known Jake since 1975 when we were graduate assistants together for Coach Nehlen at Bowling Green,” said McMichael. “He was a wonderful person and I loved the guy. I am really saddened that this happened.”
Jacobs, 61, is survived by two children – Michael and Cody.
