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By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Mike Jacobs is used to pressure and maintaining composure, having prepared throughout his career for one by establishing the other.

So standing in front of 100 or so of his newest friends and talking about himself shouldn’t have been all that tough.

But the new Mercer head football coach lasted barely two minutes into his talk on the University Center concourse before having to pause, after thanking his wife, the mother of their two young children. He barely got her name out.

“She’s,” he said, stopping, his voice cracking. “She’s really the rock of our family. She’s given up so much so I can chase my dreams, and she’s brilliant in what she does in her own right.

“She’s probably a better guidance counselor than I am a football coach.”

Jacobs will bring some changes to the offense, but keep similar priorities. He can't wait until spring, but checking out Macon until then will be fun.

Video: Michael A. Lough/The Central Georgia Sports Report

A few more times was Jacobs similarly halted, when talking about late father, a football coach, and about coaches he’s worked with, and his time at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Other than that, he gave some history and laid out his philosophies and plans as Mercer’s third head football coach since reinstatement.

He took over a program at Notre Dame in Ohio that was a women’s college for about 80 years before admitting men and then starting football. He took over four years in.

“I believe (they) had only had one winning season,” he said. “We had an opportunity to go 42 and 8, but we didn't have nearly the resources that we had in my other two stops.”

He joined Drew Cronic’s staff at Lenoir-Rhyne, and took over when Cronic came to Mercer.

“What those kid did at L-R during our time there, dealing with COVID, then the death of a player unfortunately, to push through, to persevere …” he said. “To stay on it and then come out as a champion in the national semifinals, those guys are the reason I’m here, period.”

He credited the late Joe Tiller of Purdue for steering him in the right direction.

“(Tiller) said the way to build programs is through talent acquisition, and having a keen eye for guys that can develop and grow,” he said. “The thing that he taught me most was really just about how important the relationships are with the players.

“I learned more in those three years at Purdue than I probably have in my entire career.”

Athletics director Jim Cole said the school received about 100 inquiries on the job, from FBS head coaches on down. He said the school operated under four criteria regarding candidates: be a current head coach, a winner, a focus on academics, and a character builder.

The new top Bear talked about plans, goals, how good a fit Mercer is, who is behind his success, and what's next.

Video: Michael A. Lough/The Central Georgia Sports Report

There were 12 Zoom interviews, and it was narrowed down to four finalists. The question then was simple:

“ ‘You're here today to tell us how we're going to win in football, so no semantics,’ ” Cole explained. “ ‘We want to hear how you going to build a team, how you’re going to build your staff, what offense you're going to run. …’ We needed to know what it took to win the conference.”

Jacobs’ 74-17 record, titles, and his plan sealed the deal.

“Coach summed it up when he made his closing remarks,” Cole said. “He said, ‘I'm not here to rebuild, I'm here to win. I'm here to get us through the Dakotas and Montanas.’”

Jacobs had a comfort zone in Hickory, N.C., and had feelings of familiarity during the interview process.

He said he’s already started sampling the dining scene in Macon, and said afterward that the milkshakes at The Rookery were quite the hit with his sons. Now, he counts down the days until spring practice starts.

“Amelia Barr is an English novelist,” he said, starting to smile. “You didn’t think that would come out of my mouth. She said, ‘It’s always the simple that produces the marvelous.’”

He then reeled off the simple ways to winning: run to the football, move people against their will, and tackle.

“Those three things, that’s it,” he said. “And you must do them at a high level. Simple stuff, I know, but again, it’s the simple that produces the marvelous.”