Winning championships has become the standard for the Caravan football program, but this latest honor places head football coach Jordan Lynch ’09 among the nation’s best.
In just the last week, Coach Lynch has been named the Navy All-American Bowl Coach of the Year, a national award that recognizes the best high school coach in the country, and was also selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, becoming only the third player in NIU history to be inducted. He was elected in his first year of eligibility. These honors highlight Coach Lynch’s impact on the field and on the sidelines and the continued success of the Mount Carmel football program on a national level.
The Navy All-American Bowl Coach of the Year award is presented annually to a coach whose program demonstrates consistent achievement and player development. Coach Lynch has built one of the most dominant programs in Illinois high school football, leading the Caravan to five state championships in eight years, including four consecutive. Before returning to MC as the head coach, he quarterbacked the NIU Huskies, finishing third in Heisman Trophy voting in 2013 and led NIU to the first major BCS bowl in school history. He later spent time with the Chicago Bears and scored the winning touchdown for Edmonton in the 2015 Grey Cup in the Canadian Football League.
“It was a great honor and accomplishment,” said Coach Lynch about the Coach of the Year award. “It was exciting, all the hard work throughout the years. It’s not only on myself, but for Mount Carmel, all the hard work, sacrifice, and all the coaches around me. It is a great honor for all of us.”
For Coach Lynch, the recognition extends beyond personal achievement and reflects the tradition of the program itself.
“It’s national exposure for the program,” Coach Lynch said. “It’s just to show that Mount Carmel has always been one of the top programs in the nation. It goes years back, way before myself, and we’re still here.”
Coach Lynch emphasized that the award belongs to more than just him. “I know it get most of the credit, but I couldn’t do it alone. It’s my name on the award, but it’s all of our award, it’s Mount Carmel’s award.”
Only five days after finding out he was named coach of the year, Coach Lynch found out he was getting an even bigger honor–his name in the College Football Hall of Fame.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” he said in a statement. “To know that of all the players in the history of college football that just over 1,000 have been selected to the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, and to be just the second NIU player named, it’s obviously a great honor. To have all the hard work, sacrifice and dedication, the time, the commitment, by not just me but my parents, family, loved ones, teammates, coaches, and everyone at NIU recognized is awesome.”
Mount Carmel’s Athletic Director, Mr. Phil Segroves, said the recognition is well-deserved and not surprising to those who have watched Coach Lynch’s work ethic over the year.
“It’s just so special as the AD to see those accolades come for someone who’s worked so hard,” said Mr. Segroves, who has been at MC for almost 30 years. “I always say that Coach Lynch is one of the top three hardest workers I’ve ever coached. I probably coached well over 1000 young men at Mount Carmel, and [Coach Lynch] was an extremely hard worker.”
That work ethic was evident even when Coach Lynch was a student-athlete at MC. “After a workout and having a full practice, Coach Lynch would be at the gym getting a second workout in every single night,” Mr. Segroves said. “He was working to get bigger, faster, and stronger.”
While wins and championships remain the goal, Coach Lynch said his focus goes beyond the scoreboard and beyond himself. “Wins and losses are great, but where I get the most satisfaction is just watching the kids come in freshman year, and how they change when they’re seniors,” said Coach Lynch. “Being a good person, being a good teammate, being a good student is the main goal here.”
As the Caravan program continues its success, Coach Lynch said the formula remains simple. “We talk about the process and take it one day at a time,” he said. “That’s when the overall wins add up, and the state championships add up.”
