South Pittsburg native Chris Jones won the Super Bowl of the Canadian Football League last fall.
He captured the Grey Cup as the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos. And Friday, the former UTC player brought the Grey Cup to his hometown for a little show and tell at the Richard Hardy School.
Bringing the 103 year-old Grey Cup back to your elementary school, that was a pretty cool feeling for Chris Jones.
Said Jones-“My mother has taught here for 30 years. I grew up just a mile from here. To come back and be able to bring something of this significance for people to see. It’s meaningful.”
So how does a guy from South Pittsburg Tennessee get into the Canadian Football League?
Said Jones-“I wanted to be a professional football coach. There weren’t any opportunities in the NFL to crack in as an intern. So I interned in Canada. Paul Jones, a buddy of mine, was the personnel director at the time at Edmonton. He gave me an opportunity. I got to go up and just put the wheels in motion.”
Jones success in the CFL might rival Bill Belichick’s success in the NFL.
Said Jones-“I’ve been up there 14 years. We’ve won the division ten times. Been to seven Grey Cups. Won four.”
Jones won 3 Grey Cups as a defensive coordinator and his last came as a head coach. And he admits he has to educate Americans about the Grey Cup.
Said Jones-“They don’t really know quite honestly exactly what it is until you tell them what this big trophy is, they really have no idea. It’s more of a people’s trophy. People can have it in their cars. I’ve had the good fortune of having it four times. It has been in the trunk of my car. It has been in my trucks. It has been everywhere you know.”
(WDEF-TV)
2 comments:
Love the fact he is wearing a Rider shirt. That must make Eskimo fans happy!
Since when can players and coaches take the Grey Cup back to their homes?
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