WINCHESTER, Va. -- Several years after retiring as one of the best players in the history of the Washington Redskins franchise and dabbling in radio and television, Joe Jacoby sold his 49 car dealerships and decided to volunteer to coach the Division III Shenandoah University football team.
The former offensive lineman helped pave the way for three Super Bowl championships, was frequently voted to the Pro Bowl and, in 1984, became the franchise's first offensive lineman to score a touchdown.
Except for a one-year stint at Liberty High School in 1996, Jacoby has no coaching experience. But Jacoby's family situation has changed his outlook on life. His wife, Irene, is in remission from kidney cancer, and his 20-year-old daughter, Lauren, a swimmer at the University of Miami, has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
Now, Jacoby wants to help mold offensive linemen the way his old coach with the Redskins, Joe Bugel, helped mold him.
At last year's NFL combine, Jacoby handed out resumes and networked. He doesn't know if he will stay at Shenandoah University -- there's a part of him that wants to return to the NFL -- but Shenandoah head coach Paul Barnes is sure he wants Jacoby back.
