Jordan David Kovacs (born June 12, 1990) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who is currently an assistant linebackers coach for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2013. 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 ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He was a walk-on who earned 2009 CollegeFootballNews.com Freshman All-America second team recognition and 2009 ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' Freshman All-Big Ten honors for the 2009 Wolverines while being the second-leading

tackler A tackler was a supervisor in a textile factory responsible for the working of a number of power looms and the weavers who operated them. The title derived from the job, which was to "tackle" any mechanical problems encountered with the looms in ...

on the team. Granted a scholarship by the 2010 team for his second year, he was the second-leading tackler in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

and was selected as a 2010 All-Conference honorable mention. He was also a 2011 All-Big Ten honorable mention for the 2011 team. He served the 2012 team as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and was also a 2012 All-Big Ten second team selection and a 2012 Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

Background

Kovacs, a

Hungarian American Hungarian Americans ( Hungarian: ''amerikai magyarok'') are Americans of Hungarian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that there are approximately 1.396 million Americans of Hungarian descent as of 2018. The total number of people wit ...

, attended Clay High School, which is the rival high school of former Wolverine teammate Kevin Koger. In high school, he earned

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

s in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

as a sophomore and junior. He also earned All-City recognition in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

three times (first team as a senior, second team as a junior and honorable mention as a sophomore) and was a four-year letterman. He qualified for the Ohio State championships in the 4x400 meter relay. He was a three-year letterman in football, where he earned All-Ohio academic honors and All-district honors as both a wide receiver and

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 ...

. He was not recruited by any Division I schools as a

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

player, but he was recruited by some Division II schools. Kovacs only had two campus visits: Division II Hillsdale and Toledo (a school 13 miles from his high school). By the time he completed his college applications, even Hillsdale had lost interest in him. His father placed a call to Michigan Director of Football Operations Brad Labadie after Jordan was wait listed and got him to agree to review a homemade highlight reel. As his graduation neared, Kovacs shook hands with Andy Boyd, a Toledo coach, on a preferred walk-on spot. That same afternoon in June 2008, Labadie called to confirm that Kovacs had been admitted from the wait list. The admission came without an athletic scholarship. Labadie encouraged Jordan to attend walk-on tryouts.

College career

Redshirt (2008)

Kovacs initially passed the walk-on tryouts, but he had to pass the physical with Paul "Schmidty" Schmidt, who had been a trainer since Jordan's father Lou had played and been on the coaching staff at Michigan. He had had surgery to repair

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...

damage in high school, but that did not alleviate his problems. When Jordan responded yes to a question about whether he had had any surgeries in the prior 12 months, it triggered a line of questioning about his senior season

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...

surgery. He did not make the 2008 Wolverines due to a knee problem, but was advised to try out again after his knee healed. After discovering a torn meniscus, he had a second knee surgery, which was successful. He attended every game that season in his family's season ticket section.

Freshman (2009)

In 2009, he was one of the most highly regarded walk-ons in the nation, and emerged from a group of Michigan football players who referred to themselves as "The Walk-On Nation". His debut on September 5 against the

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

was on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. The following week, he registered 31 plays against Notre Dame after starting safety Michael Williams suffered leg cramps. He made his first start on September 26 against

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. On October 3 of that season, he had 17 tackles against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in the annual

Paul Bunyan Trophy Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

. He posted ten tackles and made his first career

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

on November 14 against

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. That season, he played

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

before being switched to

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

. He started one game at free safety and seven at strong safety over the course of the season. He finished the season as the second leading tackler for the 2009 Wolverines. He earned 2009 CollegeFootballNews.com Freshman All-America second team recognition and 2009 ''

'' Freshman All-Big Ten honors. He was also a

Rudy Award The Rudy Awards were two awards given annually by the Rudy Foundation of Henderson, Nevada to the high school and Division I college football players who demonstrate exemplary character, courage, contribution and commitment as members of their tea ...

candidate.

Sophomore (2010)

Kovacs earned a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

at the beginning of the

2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 2, 2010, and ended on ...

. In the second game of the season on September 11 against Notre Dame in the Michigan – Notre Dame football rivalry game, Kovacs recorded his first interception of the season and second of his career as part of a 10-tackle effort. On October 16 he recorded 2.5 tackles for a loss against

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. After eight games in the 2010 season he ranked second in the

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 ...

. On November 18, he was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, which was a newly created award for the most outstanding player to have begun his career as a walk on. On November 20, he posted his first career

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

during a season-high twelve tackle performance against

. With one week remaining on the conference schedule, the performance tied Kovacs for third-overall in the Big Ten, gave Kovacs a wide lead among Big Ten

underclassman ''Underclassman'' is a 2005 American action comedy film directed by Marcos Siega and starring Nick Cannon, Shawn Ashmore, Roselyn Sánchez, Kelly Hu, Hugh Bonneville, and Cheech Marin. It was released on September 2, 2005, had been originally ...

(8.64 vs. 7.55 per game over the next highest performer) and extended his lead among Big Ten defensive backs (8.64 vs 8.27). In the final game of the regular season on November 27 against

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

in the annual

Michigan – Ohio State football rivalry Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

game, Kovacs recorded his second interception of the season and third of his career as part of a 17-tackle effort. He collected a career-best 41

return yards Return yards is a gridiron football statistical measure that takes several forms. In American and Canadian football, progress is measured by advancing the football towards the opposing team's goal line. Progress can be made during play by the o ...

following the interception. In The Game, Kovacs tied a career-high with 17 total tackles including a new career-high 9 solo tackles. Kovacs ended the

2010 Big Ten Conference football season The 2010 Big Ten Conference football season was the 115th season for the Big Ten. The conference started its season on Thursday, September 2, as conference member Minnesota traveled to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to face Middle Tennessee, and Ohio Sta ...

ranked second in the conference to teammate

Jonas Mouton Jonas Mouton (born March 17, 1988) is a former American football linebacker. He played his college football for the Michigan Wolverines football team. He started at weakside linebacker and was previously a highly rated safety for Venice High Sc ...

in total tackles. However, he led the team in solo tackles. Following the Big Ten Conference season, he was selected as an honorable mention All-Conference selection by the media.

Junior (2011)

When

Brady Hoke Brady Patrick Hoke (; born November 3, 1958) is an American football coach in his second stint as the head coach at San Diego State University. He was previously the head coach at the University of Michigan from 2011 to 2014. Hoke grew up in O ...

took over as Michigan head coach for the

2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 1, 2011 and ended on D ...

, Kovacs impressed him quickly. Kovacs was one of the first five players named as a starter for the 2011 team. In the September 3, 2011 season opener against

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third largest stadium in the world, and the ...

, Kovacs forced a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

that was recovered and advanced for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

. Although the game was ended by mutual agreement in the third quarter due to inclement weather, Kovacs recorded 10 tackles, including two sacks. He was named the

Lott Trophy The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize th ...

impact player of the week. At first, the stats for the game were considered official by the Big Ten Conference and the University of Michigan, but the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

has vacated the statistics for this game because three quarters were not completed. However, at the conclusion of the regular season, the NCAA reversed course and ruled that since the game is counting for win–loss record, the statistics will be counted by the NCAA. On September 10, against Notre Dame, during the first night game ever played at

, he tallied an interception, and eight tackles. When it became evident that the defense had improved markedly from the prior season, he and fellow safety Thomas Gordon were credited as being the "leaders of the defense". On October 8, against Northwestern, Kovacs posted two solo tackles for a loss, both on fourth down. Kovacs suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the October 29 game against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. Kovacs had been one of twenty quarterfinalists for the Lott impact player of the year. Kovacs was named as one of 10 semifinalists for the 2011 Burlsworth Trophy on November 22. Following the 2011 Big Ten Conference football season, he earned All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention recognition from the media and was selected as the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient for the Michigan program. Kovacs earned 2011 Fall Academic All-Big Ten recognition along with 10 teammates. In the January 3,

2012 Sugar Bowl The 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl was the 78th edition of the annual postseason college football bowl game known as the Sugar Bowl. It featured the Michigan Wolverines and the Virginia Tech Hokies on Tuesday, January 3, 2012, at the Mercedes-Benz S ...

23–20

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

victory against

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, he led the team with 11 tackles. Kovacs finished among the conference leaders in several statistics: sacks/game (.33, 17th), tackles/game (6.2, 30th) and fumbles forced/game (.17, t-9th).

Senior (2012)

Kovacs was elected team

. He was selected to the preseason watchlist for the

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

(best defensive player). At a ceremony on November 10, Kovacs' jersey number was changed from 32 to the previously retired number 11 which was recirculated as a "Michigan Football Legend" jersey in honor of Francis ("Whitey),

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

and

Alvin Wistert Alvin Lawrence "Moose" Wistert (June 26, 1916 – October 3, 2005) was an American football player. A native of Chicago, Illinois, he played college football at the tackle position for Boston University in 1946 and at the University of Mich ...

. He was interviewed as part of a 13-minute segment that appeared on the edition of November 18 of ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' about the business of

. Kovacs was a second team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and an honorable mention selection by the media. On November 27, he was named a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy. At the December 3 team banquet, Kovacs earned team MVP for the season. He earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in 2012. Following the season, he participated in the February 2, 2013 Texas vs. the Nation All-Star Bowl.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles

Kovacs signed an undrafted free agent contract with the

following the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. Kovacs was assigned to the Dolphins' practice squad to start the 2013 NFL season. Kovacs was promoted to the 53-man roster in week 5 of 2013. Kovacs had a tackle in his debut against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

on October 6. He was released at the end of training camp in 2014. He was signed to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

practice squad on October 6. On November 4, he was signed off the Eagles practice squad by the Dolphins, and was placed on the active 53 man roster. He had seven tackles over the course of the season, including 5 in December 28 week 17 contest against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. On October 18, 2015, Kovacs recorded his first sack against

Zach Mettenberger Zachary Rich Mettenberger (born July 16, 1991) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, primarily with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football at LSU and was selected ...

of the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. Towards the end of the season he was expected to be released by the Miami Dolphins with the expectation that he would be placed on the practice squad once he cleared waivers.

Kansas City Chiefs

Following the 2015 season, he was signed to a futures contract by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. On May 10, 2016, he was released.

Los Angeles Rams

On August 5, 2016, Kovacs signed with the Los Angeles Rams. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Rams as part of final roster cuts.

Coaching career

In 2017, Kovacs joined the Michigan Wolverines staff in a role assisting the team's defensive and special teams coaches. On February 28, 2019, he joined the

staff as the defensive quality control assistant. He assumed Al Golden's linebackers coaching duties for the team's week 10 game in 2020 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

due to Golden missing the game for

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

protocols. In week 11 of the 2020 season against the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

, he assumed safeties coach duties after Robert Livingston missed the game for COVID-19 protocols.

Personal life

His father Louis, who was a walk-on for Michigan coach

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...

, lettered for the 1982 Michigan Wolverines football team. He subsequently served two seasons as a graduate assistant for Schembechler. Lou is married to Susan Kovacs. Jordan wears #32, the reverse of his father's #23. Kovacs has three siblings, Aaron, Kayla, and Morgan. His older brother Aaron played his freshman season for the 2007 Toledo Rockets. His family regularly brought him to watch Michigan home games when he was growing up. The family regularly sat in Section 27 of

, on the north side of the press box. Today the family sits underneath the scoreboard, since they have a son on the team. utdated reference? Son, Jordan, is no longer on the team The first Michigan game Kovacs watched was

Lloyd Carr Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. (born July 30, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolverines compiled a record ...

's first game as coach of

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

for the 1995 Wolverines, which was a memorable 18-point comeback against

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Notes

External links

Official bio at MichiganKovacs
at

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

Kovacs
at

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

Kovacs
at

Kovacs archive
at ''

AnnArbor.com ''AnnArbor.com'' was an online newspaper that covered local news of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the surrounding Washtenaw County. In 2013 ''AnnArbor.com'' was transitioned to MLive.com along with Advance Publications other Michigan newspapers an ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacs, Jordan 1990 births Living people American football safeties American people of Hungarian descent Miami Dolphins players Michigan Wolverines football players People from Ottawa County, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Kansas City Chiefs players Cincinnati Bengals coaches