Love ’em or hate ’em, Jacksonville is best represented at the Super Bowl by the Patriots. Two players and one coach, all with ties to one local high school.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — While the Jaguars may not have made the Super Bowl this year, Jacksonville is well-represented on the national stage with the New England Patriots.
It’s a bit like a high school reunion – with three team members having either played or coached for the Mandarin High School Mustangs.
The Patriots’ Running Back Terrell Jennings and Wide Receiver DeMario “Pop” Douglas both won a state championship with Mandarin in 2018, alongside future Miami Hurricanes Quarterback Carson Beck.
Although a hamstring injury ended Jennings’ Super Bowl run, he’ll be cheering Douglas and the rest of the team on.
Jennings has spent the last two seasons with his former high school teammate, a man he simply calls his brother. In an interview with First Coast News Sports Director Chris Porter, Jennings said Douglas has been instrumental as he continues to earn more playing time with the Patriots, helping him adjust to the speed, detail, and mental grind of the NFL.
“Pop’s been through it,” Jennings said. “Having someone you trust, someone who knows you, it makes everything easier.”
Joining them in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday is Zak Kuhr, the team’s inside linebackers coach. He began his coaching career at home in the 2000s as an assistant coach at Mandarin High and an offensive coordinator at Westside High School. His first swing at college football was with Edward Waters College from 2009 to 2019 as the special teams coordinator.
Kuhr joined the team in 2025, and ended up taking on far more responsibility than initially planned. When defensive coordinator Terrell Williams was diagnosed with prostate cancer before the season began, Kuhr was the de facto replacement, at least temporarily.
Williams, who traveled to the Bay Area for the Super Bowl after being declared cancer-free, said he knew Kuhr would thrive, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
“Sometimes, when you coach in this league, you’ve got coaches who are pulling in different directions,” Williams said. “Everybody has a motive. The only motive for us was to improve. Not to win, but to improve. We figured that the improvement would come. But Zak has done an unbelievable job. I’m proud of him, and I’m looking forward to him calling this game on Sunday.”