By Matthew Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

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While recruiting talented players and assembling game plans made Jerry Moore a championship coach, his selfless personality made him a championship person.

nAs football fans, we frequently hear athletes and coaches compare being on a football team to being in a family. Obviously, it is no wonder that football draws such comparisons. The physical nature of the sport itself induces feelings of brotherhood, camaraderie and family from any of its participants.

nFor any family, or in this case a football team, to be successful, however, there must be a strong father figure to lead the way and offer his guidance.

nAt Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, that metaphorical father figure for the football family over the past 24 years has been Jerry Moore.

nSunday morning, to the surprise of many people in the football community, Moore announced that he is retiring as head coach of the Mountaineers, leaving behind one of the most prolonged runs of dominance in FCS history.

nMoorexe2x80x99s numbers in Boone speak for themself: 215 wins (most in SoCon history), 10 conference championships, just one losing season and three national titles in his 24 years in control.

nFor the people who know Coach Moore best, though, the records and statistics pale in comparison to the impact that he had on peoplexe2x80x99s lives while in charge of the program.

nxe2x80x9cIf you could talk to anyone xe2x80x93 from me, before me, after me xe2x80x93 theyxe2x80x99d tell you that Coach Moore left a legacy where it wasnxe2x80x99t all about football; it was about life,xe2x80x9d Appalachian Statexe2x80x99s 2008 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year Jacque Roman commented. xe2x80x9cThose steps that you took playing for his football team led you to be a better man throughout life.xe2x80x9d

nCertainly, Coach Moore was an excellent schematic coach, but his most powerful character trait was his ability to relate to his players and coaches, positively impacting the course of their lives during the process. His players didnxe2x80x99t just listen to his message while enrolled at Appalachian State; they carried his lessons with them long past graduation and well into their lives as family men.

nxe2x80x9cWe’ve got guys now that come back with families, and they just speak so much highly of him and how he has impacted their lives,xe2x80x9d said interim head coach Scott Satterfield. xe2x80x9cWe just can’t say enough about what he has done for not only this university, but for the individual lives that he has touched. He will never realize the kind of impact he really made, I don’t think.”

nThe core of Moorexe2x80x99s successful philosophy was the belief that you should always put others before yourself. In his eyes, the success of the team or an individual player was exponentially more important than any personal gratification which may come his way.

nIt was a belief that he would stick to all the way up through his last day as the Mountaineersxe2x80x99 head coach.

nDespite deciding that the 2012 season would be his final season as a head coach almost a full year ago, Moore opted not to make his impending retirement public, as he did not want to be the focus of the attention.

nWhile recruiting talented players and assembling complex game plans made Moore a championship coach on the field, it was his selfless, caring personality which made him a championship person in life.

nHis genuine and passionate concern for those around him earned Moore the reputation of being a father figure for the entire Appalachian State program.

nxe2x80x9cYou want a coach who makes a team feel like a family, and Coach Moore was a smart guy on the football field, but he was also the most caring and warm-hearted guy off the football field. Those things carry over,xe2x80x9d Roman added. xe2x80x9cIt feels good to have a coach you can go talk to, and itxe2x80x99s not always about football. Coach Moore builds a relationship with every single player.xe2x80x9d

nCurrent Appalachian State quarterback Jamal Jackson echoed Romanxe2x80x99s sentiments.

nxe2x80x9cMan, he’s been everything [to me]; that father figure,” Jackson said of Coach Moorexe2x80x99s impact on his life. “He’s been that coach – since my true freshman year I’ve had to do a lot of growing up – and he’s played a major part in that role of me being in college and just maturing as a young man. He’s definitely done things to help me succeed and get to the point where I’m at now.”

nCoaches such as Nick Saban, Les Miles and Urban Meyer get the majority of the media attention in the coaching world, but it is people like Jerry Moore who epitomize what being a collegiate coach should be about.

nThough most experts will choose to focus on the legacy he left behind on the gridiron, Moorexe2x80x99s greatest legacy is the one that will continue to live on through the lives he has affected.

nxe2x80x9cCoach Moore should be the proudest guy in the world right now, because he left something behind that nobody else could even think about touching,xe2x80x9d Roman remarked on his former coachxe2x80x99s legacy. xe2x80x9cHe had a very big heart. You would wonder how he could care about every individual on the team, but he cared about every person who ever played for Appalachian.xe2x80x9d

nNow 73 years old, Moore leaves behind the Appalachian State program he helped build, focusing instead on the next chapter in his life.

nAs anybody who knows Moore personally will tell you, though, it will not be the final chapter in his life story. As Appalachian Statexe2x80x99s patriarch, Moorexe2x80x99s legacy will continue to live on for generations to come.
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