Jordan Lynch

Jordan Lynch
refer to caption
Lynch at Bears training camp in 2014
Mount Carmel High School
Position:Head coach
Personal information
Born: (1990-10-03) October 3, 1990 (age 34)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Career information
High school:Mount Carmel (Chicago)
College:Northern Illinois (2009–2013)
Undrafted:2014
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Jordan Lynch (born October 3, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Northern Illinois Huskies, earning first-team All-American honors as an all-purpose player and finishing as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 2013.[1] After going undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft, Lynch had a stint with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) before playing with Edmonton in the CFL.

Lynch is currently the head football coach of Mount Carmel High School in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. He succeeded Frank Lenti, who was the coach of the program for 34 years.

Early life

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After graduating from St. Christina Elementary School in the Mt. Greenwood area of Chicago, Lynch attended Chicago (IL) Mount Carmel and graduated in 2009. He played varsity for three years under coach Frank Lenti. He started two of those three years.

College career

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At the beginning of his college career at NIU in DeKalb, IL Lynch was redshirted in 2009. He was the backup quarterback to Chandler Harnish in 2010 and 2011. During those two years he completed 19 of 26 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 608 yards on 76 carries with six touchdowns.

In 2012, he became NIU's starting quarterback.[2] During the 2012 marathon MAC Championship Game, Lynch increased his rushing stats to 1,771 yards on 271 carries, breaking the previous NCAA record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback set by Denard Robinson.[3] He finished the season with 1,815 yards. Lynch finished 7th in Heisman Voting at the end of 2012,[4] and won the Vern Smith Leadership Award, which is awarded to the best player in the Mid-American Conference.

On October 19, 2013, Lynch broke the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in one game, finishing with 316 yards and three touchdowns, en route to winning the Walter Camp National Player of the Week.[5] On October 26 against Eastern Michigan, Lynch was responsible for six total touchdowns, throwing four, running for one, and catching a touchdown, gaining 339 total yards. On November 26, 2013, in Dekalb, Illinois, Lynch broke the single-game quarterback rushing yards record again, rushing for 321 yards versus the Western Michigan University Broncos. On December 9, 2013, Lynch was announced as a finalist for the 2013 Heisman Trophy.[6] He finished third in the voting that was announced on December 14, 2013. On December 17, Lynch was named a first-team All-American as an all-purpose player.[7] He finished the season with 1,920 rushing yards, which broke his record from the previous season.

College statistics

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Season Team Passing Rushing
Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int Att Yds Avg TD
2010 Northern Illinois 4 6 66.7 13 1 0 31 362 11.7 3
2011 Northern Illinois 15 20 75.0 166 1 0 45 246 5.5 3
2012 Northern Illinois 237 394 60.2 3,138 25 6 294 1,815 6.2 19
2013 Northern Illinois 253 404 62.6 2,892 24 8 292 1,920 6.6 23
Totals 509 824 61.3 6,209 51 14 662 4,343 6.6 48

NCAA records

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  • Most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season: 1,920 (2013)
  • Most 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback in a season: 12 (2012)
  • Second most rushing yards per game by a quarterback in a season: 137.1 (2013)

Professional career

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Chicago Bears

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Lynch was eligible for the 2014 NFL draft, but was not drafted. The Chicago Bears signed him to a contract as a running back shortly after the draft concluded.[8] The Bears released Lynch on August 29, 2014.[9]

Edmonton Eskimos

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On January 14, 2015, Lynch signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.[10]

Lynch scored his first CFL touchdown against the Ottawa RedBlacks on Thursday, July 9. Lynch was part of the Eskimos team that won the 2015 Grey Cup, and scored the game-winning touchdown with 3:22 remaining in the game for the Eskimos.[11]

On March 8, 2017, Lynch announced his retirement from professional football.[12] The same day, the Northern Illinois University Athletic Department announced that Lynch had been hired as a running backs coach for the Huskies football program.[13]

Coaching career

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Northern Illinois University

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On March 8, 2017, NIU hired Lynch as the teams quarterbacks coach. Lynch served under his former head coach Rod Carey, who was hired as NIU's head coach after Lynch's junior season.[14]

Mount Carmel High School

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In December 2017, Mount Carmel High School in Chicago announced that Lynch would be returning to the school as the team's head coach.[15] He replaced Frank Lenti, who has been the head coach of the program for 34 years and won 12 state championships, in a move that received some shock and criticism from local media and fans.[16]
In November 2019, Lynch led the Caravan to their 13th IHSA Football State Championship, defeating J.J. McCarthy and Nazareth Academy 37-13.[17] Lynch's younger brother Justin, the Caravan's quarterback, rushed for all five Mount Carmel touchdowns in the victory.[18][19]
In November 2022, Lynch led the Caravan to their 14th IHSA Football State Championship, and 26th overall, over Batavia, the Caravan's second straight year eliminating the Bulldogs from the playoffs.[20][21]

In November 2023, Lynch led the Caravan to their 15th IHSA Football Championship. They beat Downers Grove North High School, 35-10. This was Jordan Lynch's 3rd coaching Championship.

In November 2024, Lynch led the Caravan to their 16th IHSA Football Championship. They beat Batavia High School, 55-34. This was Jordan Lynch's 4th coaching Championship.

References

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  1. ^ "Northern Illinois QB Jordan Lynch among six finalists for Heisman Trophy". Peoria JournalStar. December 11, 2013. Lynch was one of six finalists invited...
  2. ^ Steve Nitz (August 30, 2012). "The Jordan Lynch era is off and running at NIU". www.suntimes.com. Sun-Times Media, LLC. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  3. ^ "NIU PREVAILS IN DOUBLE OVERTIME FOR SECOND STRAIGHT MAC TITLE". niuhuskies.com. Northern Illinois University. November 30, 2012. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  4. ^ "Heisman Trophy 2012: Voting results". www.sportingnews.com. SportingNews.com. December 8, 2012. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  5. ^ "Northern Illinois' Jordan Lynch and Florida State's Lamarcus Joyner are Walter Camp Players of the Week". www.waltercamp.org. Walter Camp Foundation. October 20, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  6. ^ Tom Fornelli (December 9, 2013). "Six finalists announced for 2013 Heisman Trophy". www.cbssport.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  7. ^ "Three repeat as AP All-Americans". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. December 17, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  8. ^ Adam J. Jahns (May 11, 2014). "Bears sign 9 undrafted rookie free agents, including RB Jordan Lynch, LB Christian Jones". www.suntimes.com. Sun-Times Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  9. ^ "Bears release Lynch, four others". Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  10. ^ Jordan Lynch signs with CFL's Edmonton Eskimos
  11. ^ "Former NIU QB Lynch leads Eskimos to Grey Cup". November 30, 2015.
  12. ^ "Esks sign national Cory Greenwood". www.cfl.ca. CFL. March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  13. ^ "Esks Huskie Great Jordan Lynch Returns to NIU". NIUHuskies.com. Northern Illinois Athletics. March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  14. ^ "Huskie Great Jordan Lynch Returns to NIU". Northern Illinois Huskies. March 8, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  15. ^ "Lenti out as Mount Carmel head coach; Jordan Lynch will replace". WGN-TV. December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  16. ^ "After 34 seasons, Frank Lenti out as Mount Carmel's football coach; Jordan Lynch in". Chicago Tribune. December 29, 2017.
  17. ^ "O'Brien: Ousting Frank Lenti for Jordan Lynch was the right move for Mount Carmel". December 2019.
  18. ^ "Former Huskies quarterback Jordan Lynch claims first state title as head coach". December 2, 2019.
  19. ^ https://www.ihsa.org/data/fb/7AFinal.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  20. ^ "IHSA".
  21. ^ "2021 IHSA Class 7A state football playoff scores and pairings". October 24, 2021.
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