GLASSBORO, NJ – While the action on the field will take center stage when the Rowan University football team plays at The College of New Jersey on Friday, November 9 at 7 p.m, there will be a family reunion taking place on the sidelines.
Rowan quarterbacks coach, James Donoghue, will be pitted against his son, Jay, who is the TCNJ quarterbacks coach, in what is sure to be an interesting day for the Donoghue household.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Jay Donoghue. “My dad coached me since I was a little kid, so a lot of the stuff I coach I learned from him.”
However, because both of them coach the same position, there won’t necessarily be a chess match going on between the two.
“We both coach on the offensive side of the ball so we aren’t competing against each other but more so against ourselves,” said James Donoghue. “His job is to get his offense to do as good a job as possible and that’s against our defense just as I will be doing against their defense.”
Both of the Donoghue’s are in their first year of coaching at their schools and both are responsible for coaching two of the more efficient quarterbacks in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). James isn’t surprised by his son’s early success.
“I think he’s going to be an outstanding coach,” said James Donoghue. “He was a very knowledgeable football player, so he understands the fine points in the game.”
Before joining the Rowan coaching staff, James came out of retirement in 2009 to be the quarterbacks coach at The College of New Jersey. His son, who was the team’s starting quarterback at the time, played an integral part in convincing him to accept the offer.
“We’ve always had a very good relationship with regard to football. I’ve always been his coach, so to speak,” said James Donoghue. “It really was his initiative that I went up there because I had retired and I didn’t have any definite plans so when I was offered the opportunity I spoke with him and he was the one who really pushed me to do it. It was a rewarding couple of years.”
His son earned NJAC All-Conference honorable mention in 2011. He was selected the Division III Player of the Year by the Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club of South Jersey. Jay also left TCNJ as the single-season record holder for most completions in a season (175) and in a game (28).
Through all of his son’s achievements at The College of New Jersey, James never put being a coach over being a father for Jay.
“I think you never separate the fact that you’re the father. That’s your kid and your eyes are going to go on your kid no matter what happens,” said James Donoghue. “I think you can be objective and if someone’s better than him than someone’s better and you can see that. But you never separate the fact that he’s your child and that comes first.”
If not for his father always having his eye on him, Jay may never have become the player he was. While James always kept an objective attitude when coaching his son’s teams, Jay knew his father pushed him a little more than he did other players.
“He was a little harder on me,” said Jay Donoghue. “But that’s just because he wanted to get the most out of me. I knew he was just doing it to make me the best player I could possibly be and he was able to yell at me a little more because I was his kid.”
While his son certainly made a name for himself with the Lions, James was a starting quarterback in Division I from 1974-75. At Syracuse University, James competed against some of the best talent in the nation. He played against Penn State during its 12-0 season in 1973 behind Heisman running back John Cappelletti and University of Pittsburgh halfback Tony Dorsett, who went on to win a Heisman trophy and a Super Bowl ring with the Dallas Cowboys.
“It was a very memorable situation,” said James Donoghue. “We played all of the best teams around. From week to week, it was just a great atmosphere. It was a privilege, and when you look back on it, it was probably more important than I thought it was as a kid.”
As both Donoghue’s succeeded during their playing days, James believes they approached the quarterback position differently because of their characteristics.
“He was taller, longer and his arm strength might have been better,” said James Donoghue. “I was more of a runner and I think the style of play was much different back then. In some regards, we were both highly accurate players, but I was quicker and stronger. I would like to think I was more accurate but that was forty years ago.”
While there’s no exact way to conclude which Donoghue was the better quarterback, figuring out which of the two is the smarter coach could be determined on Friday night. Despite the two coaching on the same side of the ball, both would love nothing more than to bring home a victory for their respective school.
“Of course,” said Jay Donoghue regarding whether or not there are bragging rights on the line. “It would be nice to get another victory against Rowan, but we know they’re a good team so we can’t take them lightly.”
“I think deep down you want your team to win, so either way we’ll both be a little bit happy and we’ll both probably be a little bit sad,” said James Donoghue.
