Trading Places: Jacobs Has Transformed Into a Florida Man

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- He played for Pat Dye and blocked for Bo Jackson. As a graduate assistant, he coached Auburn's tight ends, including one named Frank Edward Thomas, the future baseball Hall of Famer. As an athletic director, he hired Gus Malzahn and Bruce Pearl as head coaches.

For more than 35 years on the rolling plains of Dixie, Jay Jacobs served as the prototype Auburn man, the sort of disciple famed Auburn professor George Petrie had in mind when he brought football to the school in the late 19th Century.

On Thursday afternoon, about 48 hours until kickoff between Malzahn's No. 7-ranked Auburn team and the 10th-ranked Gators, Jacobs sat inside his office at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with the grin of a man who appreciates his good fortune and the wonderment of his life's latest chapter.

"It's new territory for me because I spent my entire playing career and professional career at Auburn,'' Jacobs said. "It's different. I'll always love it."

Jacobs spent Friday morning across the street from campus at a meeting. As he walked back to his office, he noticed a flashing sign promoting Saturday's game: Auburn vs. Florida, 3:30 p.m.

He did a double-take.

"There it is, right there,'' he thought. "We're playing Auburn."

Those last three words are important. We're playing Auburn.

Jacobs has a new home, one he never imagined less than two years ago.

71423 — Former Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs, now an executive associate athletic director at UF, greets Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn after a game during their time together with the Tigers. (Photo: Courtesy of USA Today Sports)

As scrutiny increased near the end of his 13th full year as Auburn's athletic director in late 2017 – he officially took over the role in January 2005 – Jacobs made a difficult career decision considering his War Eagle passion. He announced his retirement and disappeared to enjoy life with his wife Angie.

They traveled and took time to do things they didn't have time for during his administrative career. In the spring of 2018, UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin, a longtime friend and close confidant, called Jacobs to gauge his thoughts on some potential candidates he had in mind to replace Mike Hill, the current athletic director at Charlotte who served for more than 20 years on former Gators AD Jeremy Foley's staff.

Jacobs, who turns 59 on Monday, said he would be glad to help in any way. He and Stricklin's professional relationship dates back to the 1990s at Auburn when Jacobs oversaw the Tigers' baseball program and Stricklin served as its media relations director.

Soon after their initial discussions, Stricklin called again. Jacobs and Angie were at their Auburn home on an idle Thursday afternoon. Stricklin eased toward his reason for calling this time. In fact, he had an entirely different question for Jacobs. Would he be interested in joining Florida's administrative staff?

"It hit me like a cold pale of water because I just hadn't thought about that,'' Jacobs said. "My mind was spinning a little bit."

By the end of the following week, Jacobs had driven to UF to meet with Stricklin and was eager for a new opportunity. Stricklin announced in June 2018 that Jacobs had joined his staff as executive associate athletic director.

"His character, vision, experience and ability to connect with people will be tremendous assets to our department,'' Stricklin said.

"We have a high level of trust for each other and respect for one another," Jacobs said. "I think we're both sort of out of the same fabric. We believe in doing what's right. We have always supported each other."

Sixteen months later, Jacobs is preparing for his first Florida-Auburn game as a member of the Gators.

What a trip.

"A lot of different emotions,'' Jacobs said. "The thing that I've told all my buddies and my family feels the same way, we hope Auburn goes 11-1 and we hope the Gators go undefeated. Just as I've always done, I'll continue to pull for Auburn except on Saturday."

Jacobs has spent much of the week working with fellow staff members on creating the best home-field advantage possible for Saturday's top-10 matchup, the first at "The Swamp" since 2012.

He has first-hand knowledge of how difficult it can be to play at Florida Field as an opponent. As a junior offensive lineman for the Tigers in 1982, Florida beat Auburn 19-17 on Jim Gainey's 42-yard field goal with one second remaining.

"I remember sitting on the bench between series and a high school buddy came and tapped me on the shoulder,'' Jacobs said. "That's how close the students were. The benches were back against the wall at the time. It was just a really tough place to play and it will be that way here on Saturday."

A native of Lafayette, Ala., Jacobs moved to Jacksonville in high school when his family relocated for his father's job. He played at Wolfson High and had a pair of teammates – running back Derald Williams and offensive lineman Mark Dent – sign with the Gators.

However, Florida, Auburn nor any other school had interest in signing the undersized Jacobs. He attended junior college in Jacksonville for a while and later returned to Alabama to help his grandparents run their funeral home. Finally, Jacobs enrolled at Auburn and joined the Tigers football program as a walk-on, earning the respect of Dye.

71395 — Jay Jacobs, Auburn's No. 71, is out for the coin toss at Florida Field prior to the 1982 Florida-Auburn game. (File photo)

By the time he was a senior, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Jacobs was Auburn's starting left tackle, trying to open holes for the Tigers' talented running tandem of future Heisman winner Jackson and Lionel "Little Train" James.

In the storied history of the Florida-Auburn rivalry, the first time the schools met in a top-10 matchup was in 1983 during Jacobs' senior season. The fifth-ranked Gators traveled to face the No. 4 Tigers with visions of winning the program's first Southeastern Conference title. Instead, they fell behind 21-7 in the third quarter.

UF running back Neal Anderson appeared to cut into the lead on an 8-yard touchdown run. However, while one official signaled touchdown, another ruled that he fumbled before crossing the goal line. The ball squirted out of the end zone for a touchback. Auburn took over at its 20.

On the next play, Auburn called "57 Toss."

"I was the smallest guy on the line, but I had Bo as a right halfback," Jacobs said. "All I had to do was get out of his way."

Jackson went 80 yards for a touchdown. Auburn won 28-21. Jacobs considers it one of his most memorable moments as a player.

He experienced many more over the years during his career at Auburn, such as the Tigers' 2010 national championship and their run to the national championship game in 2013 in Malzahn's first season. With the recent departure of UF administrator Laird Veatch to become athletic director at Memphis, Jacobs is once again the lead administrator overseeing daily operations in football.

Unlike Stricklin, who worked with Gators head coach Dan Mullen at Mississippi State, Jacobs didn't have a previous relationship with Mullen prior to Florida. He quickly became a fan after watching Mullen turn the program around in his first season and for the way he dealt with various issues that head coaches encounter on a daily basis.

"There is a lot of value in having a guy who has been head coach in this league that is also back at a place he has been before,'' Jacobs said. "It really cuts the learning curve down. I'm very impressed with his ability to relate to and communicate with his players.

"He's a great offensive coach. He knows what his strengths are. It's been a lot of fun getting back involved in football. I just want to do what I can to help them win and take any obstacles out of the way other than for coaching and recruiting. This is the kind of game you live for."

Meanwhile, Jacobs expects to encounter old friends and former colleagues on Saturday when the Tigers step onto the field. Most prominently, Malzahn, who has the Tigers on the prowl once again behind a formidable defense and true freshman quarterback Bo Nix.

As Jacobs searched for a replacement for Gene Chizik following the 2012 season, he turned to Malzahn, Auburn's offensive coordinator when they won the national title two years earlier.

It was one of the best moves of Jacobs' Auburn career.

"When we started looking at other candidates and talking to other candidates, it was clear that Gus was the best choice for us. He set the bar really high [in the interview process],'' Jacobs said. "He's going to treat the student-athletes like I would want somebody to treat my children. He is going to represent the Auburn family the right way and he always has. You are never going to question his morals or ethics.

"I'm glad he is doing so well. I hope I get to tell him on Saturday night, 'Good luck the rest of year. Maybe you'll win the rest of them and we'll see you in Atlanta.' "

Spoken like a true Florida man.

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