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RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Jackson Jeffcoat went from being an elite pass rusher with more than 30,000 fans cheering him on to being unemployed and sleeping in a spare bedroom at his sister\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old, who now works as a cost estimator for a national general contracting company in Austin, Texas, has become an open book on Instagram about the challenges of life after professional football.<\/p>\n
In the blink of an eye, Jeffcoat went from being an elite pass rusher with more than 30,000 fans cheering him on to being unemployed and sleeping in a spare bedroom at his sister\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt got really low when I started accruing some debt. That was something that I never really had,\u201d said Jeffcoat in a recent interview with the Free Press.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt really stuck with financial problems, I was starting to become a little more emotional because I\u2019m frustrated with what\u2019s going on, and I\u2019m living with my twin sister so we\u2019re butting heads.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after I retired, I actually had a breakup and had to figure out my new life all in one. It was a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffcoat had a plan when he hung up his shoulder pads and cleats for good in 2024 \u2014 which is what made his situation all the more frustrating. He had obtained his real estate licence and thought he had positioned himself to land commercial real estate work. But despite meeting with several companies, no one was offering the two-time Grey Cup champion a job.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people believe in God, some people believe in earth, in the energies \u2014 but whatever you believe in, they\u2019re laughing at you, or it\u2019s laughing at you,\u201d said Jeffcoat. \u201cYou go and make these plans and it\u2019s like, \u2018Nah, that\u2019s not what life is gonna give you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
While all of this was going on, Jeffcoat also had to come to grips with the fact he didn\u2019t get a fairytale ending to his playing career. He starred at the University of Texas before appearing in nine NFL games with Washington between 2014 and 2015, recording one sack and one interception. He then took his talents north to the CFL, where he spent the next six seasons in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
Jeffcoat was hoping for a seventh in blue and gold, but the Bombers made little effort to re-sign him following the 2023 campaign. He barely heard from the club that off-season.<\/p>\n
The former CFL all-star \u2014 who recorded 38 quarterback sacks in 78 regular-season games to rank eighth in franchise history \u2014 tested the open market and drew interest from a handful of teams, but the offers weren\u2019t particularly appealing.<\/p>\n
Not wanting to put his body through the wringer at a heavily discounted rate, he decided to move on.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust to be completely transparent and vulnerable, there\u2019s a huge mourning process. And I hated the Bombers for a bit. Like I did not want anything to do with them. I mean, me and (head coach Mike) O\u2019Shea had a conversation. I had called him many times and he finally called me back, and I really didn\u2019t even want to talk to him, but I told him what was on my mind. I told him how we preach family, how we do this, and how we do that \u2014 so, I wasn\u2019t happy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom where I\u2019m sitting now, I\u2019m happy that they did that. They had to get me out of there because I wasn\u2019t gonna get into what I\u2019m doing now. I mean, football was beating up my body. I love it, I love it to death, but I don\u2019t miss it. If I missed it, I\u2019d probably be trying to get trips up to Winnipeg to watch games.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have more purpose than playing ball, and that\u2019s what I started to realize.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffcoat is back on his feet after a friend encouraged him to reach out to Cerris Builders, the company he now works for. It wasn\u2019t the line of work he expected to get into, but he\u2019s grateful for where he ended up.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t NATHAN DENETTE \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Jackson Jeffcoat won two Grey Cups with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time I feel like I get smarter and learn more, there\u2019s a thousand and one more things that come my way that I need to get better at. It\u2019s been cool,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n With the help of meditation and therapy, Jeffcoat has also developed a more positive outlook on the final chapter of his football journey and his departure from the Bombers.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to go through all the emotions. Because I did that, now I\u2019m good. I don\u2019t have any hate for the Bombers anymore. If they\u2019re on, I\u2019ll watch them and I\u2019ll cheer for them. And those are the guys that I like,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI like coach O\u2019Shea, I never had any problems with any teammates. I mean, I like Kyle Walters. I don\u2019t have any problems with those guys. Are they gonna call me up on a weekday or whatever? No. But does that bother me? It doesn\u2019t bother me a bit. We\u2019re all just trying to work and do what\u2019s best for us. They thought that was best for them. Who knows if it was or not, right?\u201d<\/p>\n By sharing his post-football highs and lows online, Jeffcoat hopes he can help others navigating similar struggles.<\/p>\n He is in the process of launching a support group aimed at helping former athletes rebuild their daily discipline and discover a new sense of purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been a couple guys that I played with in the NFL that want to join in on my group and help coach people up that are going through it. I know it\u2019s going to be a long ramp-up process and this will be like a second job for me, but I\u2019m fine with that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI look back and think, \u2018What would I have needed? What did I want? Who would\u2019ve been helpful to me?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI hope it can turn into a business where I can help the NFL, help the CFL, help collegiate football because the transition is so hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Considering four of his former teammates \u2014 linebacker Adam Bighill, receivers Drew Wolitarsky and Rasheed Bailey, and quarterback Chris Streveler \u2014 retired this off-season, perhaps the timing couldn\u2019t be better.<\/p>\n \u201cI really want to make an impact and help people, and being vulnerable is kind of the way to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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