Football: Ex-Irish QB Jackson heads to Edmonton

Jarious Jackson is moving up the coaching ladder — fast.

A year after the former Notre Dame quarterback made his football coaching debut as the QBs coach with the Canadian Football League’s British Columbia Lions, Jackson was hired away by the Edmonton Eskimos.

Tuesday he was introduced as the team’s quarterbacks coach, passing game coordinator and director of player development.

“He’s an ultimate team guy,” Edmonton head coach Chris Jones told Global News’ Slav Kornik. “I watched him throughout his career continually be the No. 2 guy, and I don’t think there was ever a time, when called upon, when he wasn’t prepared.”

Jackson, 36, was Notre Dame’s starting quarterback in 1998 and ’99 under head coach Bob Davie. He played eight seasons in the CFL before walking away from the game several months after winning the Grey Cup with Toronto in 2012. He was a member of two other Grey Cup championship teams while playing for B.C.

All but his final season in the CFL were spent with the B.C. Lions. Jackson spent three seasons with the NFL’s Denver Broncos (2000, 2002-03) and one with the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe (2001).