Zordich excited to be with YSU

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Michael Zordich

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Benyard Jones

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YSU head coach Jon Heacock

By Pete Mollica

The former Chaney High, Penn State and NFL standout will coach the Penguins’ safeties.

YOUNGSTOWN — Michael Zordich grew up on the city’s west side, was a standout athlete at Chaney High School, had four outstanding seasons at Penn State University and then spent 12 seasons in the National Football League.

But for Zordich his most recent position just might be the most exciting he’s had for a long time.

For the past several weeks Zordich has been working as the new defensive backfield coach at Youngstown State University where he’ll be in charge of the Penguins’ safeties, a position Zordich knows something about.

Since his retirement from professional football in 1998, Zordich has spent some time coaching on the high school level at Chaney and at Cardinal Mooney and he has also worked in private business.

He became familiar with Youngstown State while working several of the Penguins football camps over the summers.

“This is something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Zordich said. “I knew that I wanted to get back into the game and I knew this was the place I wanted to do it at.”

When YSU’s defensive backfield coach Jeff Mills left the team, Zordich called Heacock.

“The next thing I knew, here I am,” he said.

Zordich’s oldest son Michael will be a sophomore linebacker at Penn State next fall, while his other son Alex plays quarterback for Cardinal Mooney and his daughter Aidan is on Mooney’s track team.

“This is not a part-time job that I’ve accepted,” Zordich said. “You want to do a good job you have to spend the time.

“That’s why when this opportunity came up I knew it would involve some tough decisions.”

He said his first commitment is to coaching.

“If the opportunity comes up to get to see the kids play I’ll be there, whether it’s at Penn State or at Cardinal Mooney,” he said.

Zordich says that he loves this community.

“That’s the reason while I was still playing professional ball we moved back here because of the city, the people and the schools,” he said. “I want to teach kids to play defense here and it’s a great bonus for me to have a head coach who loves the defensive side of the ball.

“Defense is definitely an attitude, but to have that attitude you have to know what you’re doing and that’s where my job comes in.”

Penguins head coach Jon Heacock is pleased to have Zordich aboard.

“He’s a Youngstown guy and he cares about this town, about the schools and about the people here,” Heacock said.

Zordich was an all-state performer at Chaney, an All-American at Penn State and in 12 seasons in the NFL he played in 185 games, making 125 starts and finished his career with nearly 600 tackles, 20 interceptions and four touchdowns, three coming on interceptions and one a fumble recovery. Twice he was named to the All-Madden Team.

Zordich, his wife Cynthia and the kids live in Canfield.

Benyard Jones will take over as the Penguins’ defensive line coach. Jones spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Division II Arkansas Tech.

Jones was a standout defensive tackle at Indiana where he was a three-year letterwinner and played for the Hoosiers during the one season that Heacock was the defensive coordinator there.

“This was a tremendous opportunity for me,” Jones said. “I’m a team guy and everyone has to be supportive to make this team grow.”