Edgar James Fitzgerald (born April 30, 1965) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) in 1987. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

Early life and education

Fitzgerald was born on April 30, 1965, in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

. He attended

Gonzaga Preparatory School Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington, is a private, Catholic high school in the Inland Northwest. As a Jesuit institution, "G-Prep" has been recognized for its college preparation education and community service. History Gonzaga Hig ...

there, and was a member of their State AAA championship team. He later played

for the Division I-AA

Idaho State Bengals The Idaho State Bengals are the varsity intercollegiate athletic teams representing Idaho State University, located in Pocatello, Idaho. The university sponsors thirteen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, tennis, and tra ...

for two seasons. In his two seasons, Fitzgerald played as a

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

, and was described as a leader of the team's defense. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

in 1985, he led the team in

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

with 92 total, returned five interceptions, a team sophomore record, led Idaho State with 9.3 yards per punt return, and made 372 punt return yards, a mark which was 5th all-time in team history as of 2010. Fitzgerald was named to the Second-team All-

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

. In a game against

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...

, he returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown as the Bengals won 44–17. Fitzgerald left the team prior to the 1986 season, after getting into a dispute with coach

Jim Koetter Jim J. Koetter (born c. 1938) is a former American football coach. He served as the head coach of the Idaho State Bengals football team from 1983 to 1987. Biography A native of McCook, Nebraska, Koetter played college football at McCook Junior C ...

Professional career

In , after being out of the sport for a year, Fitzgerald was signed by the

of the

(NFL) during the NFLPA strike. He wore number 29, and appeared in two games as a substitute before being released at the end of the strike. The Vikings managed to make the playoffs that season, and Fitzgerald and the other replacement players received a bonus despite losing the games they played. He was invited back to the team in training camp in 1988 and 1989, being given contracts each year, but never made the final roster. In 1991, Fitzgerald was selected by

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in the fifth round with the 42nd pick of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

draft, but did not play for the team.

Later life

After his retirement from football, Fitzgerald was a defensive coordinator at Lake City High School in

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an stitching awl, Awl ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolita ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Jamie 1965 births Living people American football defensive backs Minnesota Vikings players Idaho State Bengals football players Players of American football from Spokane, Washington