Terry Matthews had been conducting interviews for the head football coaching position at Hudson Catholic High School when he received an interesting phone call.
The athletic secretary told Matthews that he had a call from Leonard Marshall – yes, the same Leonard Marshall who was part of two New York Giants Super Bowl victories.
“I really thought it was a friend of mine calling me to bust my chops,” said Matthews, who has added the title of Athletic director to his already burgeoning resume that includes being the school’s dean of student activities. “I thought it was a joke. I was surprised when it was really him.”
Marshall, who lived in Jersey City for three years (from 1983 through 1985) while he played for the Giants, was calling Matthews to express his interest in the coaching position.
“I needed to do something else and I was looking for a while for a coaching job,” said Marshall, who played for the Giants for 10 seasons as a standout defensive end and also played one year with the Jets as well. “I knew that this is where I wanted to be. It made sense for me to be back in Jersey City. I had a great life here and met a lot of good people during my time here. I knew I wanted to be back in the area.”
Marshall still had a local base, working at Seton Hall University as an adjunct professor in the school’s sports and business management program.
But Marshall, who had helped to build a youth football academy in Florida and had served as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Miami and Southern Louisiana, wanted to get back into coaching.
“I wanted to make an adjustment in my life,” said Marshall, now 48 years old. “I want to be able to make a difference. I wanted to teach and mentor young people. I looked for a while and found this opportunity.”
Marshall’s girlfriend, Lisa Nazario, is in charge of the Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action program at New Jersey City University. She was the one who told Marshall about the opening and insisted that he call and inquire about it.
So Matthews then weeded through the 14 different applicants who wanted to replace former Coach Chris Demarest. Demarest had come from Rutgers University and become the school’s head coach and athletic director, but in all honesty, was like a fish out of water from the minute he walked into the McGinley Square school.
And the more Matthews went through the list of possible coaches, the more he kept coming back to the guy who has two Super Bowl rings.
“I first asked Leonard why he would be interested in coaching at Hudson Catholic,” said Matthews, who introduced Marshall as the school’s new football coach at a press conference last Monday.
“He said that he remembered his time in Jersey City, how Jersey City embraced him with open arms,” Matthews said. “He wanted to get back into coaching and wanted to coach at the high school level. I was really impressed with his emphasis on education. I wanted to get someone who could relate well with the kids. He has always been involved with football and with his business background, I thought he was a perfect fit. He’s been a leader in life. He can manage people.”
Matthews knew that the school would gain instant credibility if Marshall was given the job.
“I think that’s obvious,” Matthews said. “I would be lying if I didn’t say it was appealing to us that he was who he is. But we didn’t give him the job because he was a good NFL player. He showed up for the interview process as a guy looking for a coaching job. He didn’t show up saying, ‘I’m Leonard Marshall, hire me.’ He had a vision of what he wanted to do with the program. He made a great presentation of how he expects to run things. He does give us an instant dose of credibility. It was a long process to find a new football coach, but Leonard represented what was truly best for Hudson Catholic. He definitely was the right fit.”
Marshall has never been a head coach on any level. He understands that there is a challenge taking over a program that won only two games last fall and doesn’t have a host of talented players returning.
“I’m thinking positively as I come in,” Marshall said. “It’s a new opportunity for me, a new challenge, a new time. I’m going to take it as it comes. I’ll work with who I have and go forward from there. I think we’ll all grow from the experience. It’s not the best situation to inherit, but it’s far from the worst either.”
Marshall knows that he can be a good head coach.
“I want to make a difference in their lives,” Marshall said. “I have the presence and the wherewithal to take them to the next level. I want to be able to direct these kids, much like the people who mentored me over the years. I want them to have the chance to achieve the dream that I achieved, but I want them to be a good student/athlete first.”
Marshall is not the only former NFL player to join the Hudson Catholic coaching staff. The school’s most prominent football alumnus ever, Dwayne Sabb, who played in the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, has also agreed to return home and join Marshall’s coaching staff.
“Dwayne talked to me about two months ago and expressed interest in coming back to Hudson Catholic in some capacity,” Matthews said. “Dwayne’s a class individual and having both guys on board is going to be a big boost for us.”
It’s definitely the first time a Hudson County high school coaching staff has been comprised of two guys who played in the Super Bowl.
“They’re both definitely role models of success,” Matthews said. “They both took athletics and used it to better themselves.”
“I think it’s going to help me a lot to have Dwayne around,” Marshall said. “It’s also going to help having a good coach like Ryan O’Flaherty back. But it’s great to have Dwayne back where it all began for him.”
It’s a huge gamble for the school, giving a head coaching job to someone who has never been a head coach before. But at least they’ve given themselves an instant shot of credibility with a guy who has been a proven winner, a Super Bowl winner, a popular player with the Big Blue Wrecking Crew in the Meadowlands.
For a school that almost closed two years ago, Leonard Marshall may become a savior, especially if kids want to come to the school and play for a guy with two Super Bowl rings.
“I hope that those two pieces of jewelry can go a long way,” Marshall said. “I want the kids and their parents to expect that excellence. It’s the biggest reason why I took the job.”
Now, Marshall gets his chance to make that kind of difference he so richly craved and desired.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.