DeSean Jackson Reveals Andy Reid Put “His Career and Name on the Line” to Help His Former WR Land the Delaware State HC Job

In 2009, Andy Reid was nearing the end of his time with the Philadelphia Eagles. While his final few years in Philly were tough, he still made some solid draft moves during that stretch. One of those was selecting wideout DeSean Jackson in the second round in 2009. Jackson became a cult hero in Philadelphia thanks to his knack for breaking off big plays, both as a receiver and a punt returner, powered by his 4.3 speed.

Jackson played his first five years with Reid as his coach, and the season after Reid left, in 2013, Jackson had a career year. Still, in 2014, he was cut by the Eagles, which he believed to be orchestrated by Reid’s successor, Chip Kelly. Jackson got back at his old team by signing with a division rival in Washington. The L.A. native spent nine more years bouncing around the league, playing his last season in 2022 and retiring in late 2023.

He didn’t waste any time starting on his next chapter: coaching. After a year in the high school ranks, Jackson was announced as the head football coach at Delaware State University this past December. And the three-time Pro Bowler revealed it was an old friend with a walrus mustache that was among those who helped him land the gig.

“[Andy Reid]’s been very influential; he helped me in the process of getting this job. He put his career and name on the line for me to get this job. It just shows you how much Coach Reid helped,” said Jackson via Up & Adams.

“Going through the process, the president, the athletic director, they asked about some guys in reference, and coach Reid was one of those names that I dropped. Sean McVay was another one I dropped, obviously Deion Sanders, my old offensive coordinator as well,” he added.

Jackson admitted he didn’t know exactly what his references told the people at Delaware State, but it must have been good, because the school president and athletic director were both very impressed with the 38-year-old.

“I don’t know exactly what the conversation was, but from what I got back from the president of Delaware State and the athletic director, they said some great things about me. They said how good of a leader I was, how I can command a room. Just my insight, my IQ on football. So I definitely think it helped me get the job.”

This will be the second stop of Jackson’s young coaching career.

Jackson might have tried to kickstart his coaching career at his high school alma mater, Long Beach Polytechnic, but the pressure and history of that school could have made it somewhat intimidating. Jackson isn’t even the most famous alumnus.

Snoop Dogg and Cameron Diaz attended the school, MLB legends like Tony Gwynn and Chase Utley went to LBP, and fellow NFL Pro Bowlers like Juju Smith-Schuster, Jurrell Casey, Marcedes Lewis, and Willie McGinest also walked those halls. No, better for Jackson to take a job as the offensive coordinator at nearby Woodrow Wilson Classical to dip his toes in the coaching waters before diving into something like Long Beach Polytechnic.

After going 4-6 and putting up 297 points in 2023 in California’s Moore League, Jackson’s arrival propelled WWC to a massive improvement. They went 9-5 in 2024 and scored a ton more points, with 411. They also reached the finals of the 2024 CIF Southern Section Football Championships (California), losing out to Highland.

Jackson now graduates to the college level, where he will look to steer the Delaware State Hornets back to relevance. Members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in the FCS (the second level of college football, below FBS), the Hornets have been doormats for quite some time.

They won five conference titles in the late 1980s, and they went 10-2 in 2007, but other than that, it’s been ugly for the last half century. They have gone 2-21 in the last two years, and their best record since 2013 was a 2-3 run during the 2020 COVID season.

DeSean Jackson sure has his work cut out for him.