13 Facts About Don Jonas

Donald Walter Jonas was born on December 3,1938 and is an American former football player and coach.

Don Jonas was the first head coach of the UCF Knights.

Don Jonas caught six passes, completed 3 of 7 passes, intercepted three opponent passes and returned seven punts.

Don Jonas played in only one game in the 1962 season.

Don Jonas turned to minor league football after his brief stint in the NFL; in the 1960s, the days before big player salaries, this was a viable option for a football player.

In 1967, the American Football League's Denver Broncos, under Lou Saban, offered him a contract, but Don Jonas declined the opportunity; Orlando, then paying quite high salaries for a minor league team, offered Don Jonas a virtual guarantee of playing time with a winning franchise, something he could not be assured as a backup on the only team in the AFL that up to that point had been a perennial loser.

At age 30, with no NFL experience, Don Jonas determined that the Canadian Football League offered him the best opportunity to continue his football career.

Don Jonas's 12,291 passing yards is fifth best for a franchise that has many great quarterbacks.

Don Jonas continued on in football as the voluntary, then permanent head coach of the new football program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida.

At the time Don Jonas coached, the Knights competed at the NCAA Division III level.

Don Jonas is semi-retired, working part-time at an auto-glass replacement shop and playing golf.

Don Jonas has done radio broadcasts of Central Florida football games and had a radio sports talk show for three years.

Don Jonas officiated high-school football games in the Orlando area, and was honored in 2009 for his achievements.