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Eastern Illinois has a long history of developing student-athletes into NFL players and head coaches. Names like
Mike Shanahan,
Sean Payton,
Tony Romo and
Jimmy Garoppolo are household names with professional football fans.
While each of those alumni have gone to accomplish great feats on the gridiron, they have also developed into leaders off the field who continue to serve the communities in which they live.
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city of New Orleans in August 2005, the Saints were displaced for the entire 2005 season and finished with a 3-13 record which led to a coaching change.
Payton would take over as the head coach in 2006 and with the help of free agent quarterback Drew Brees, led the team to its first playoff appearance in six years, finishing 10-6 overall before eventually falling to the Chicago Bears in the NFL Champioinship Game. Payton would later be voted the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year. His leadership with the Saints team that season, which included an emotional return to the SuperDome on a Monday Night Football matchup in week three of the season, helped the city heal following the natural disaster.
He has also established
"Payton's Play It Forward Foundation" which has a mission is to improve the lives of families and children in the areas of health, education and social welfare. The foundation raises both funds and awareness for organizations fighting at the forefront for families and children in need, includin homelessness, education, and educational needs, health care for uninsured and disabled, victims of domestic violence, as well as other social welfare needs.
Payton's charity has raised millions of dollars since its formation.
Garoppolo, the newest of the famous quarterbacks to play at EIU, the FCS National Player of the Year in 2013, won a pair of Super Bowls (XLIX, LI) with the New England Patriots before
signing a contract with the San Francisco 49ers that at the time was the largest on a per-year basis in NFL history.
Photo courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers
This past May the spring Garoppolo participated in
SkillsUSA and Klein Tools first-ever National Signing Day at the Silicon Valley Career Technical Education in San Jose, California. The event, one of approximately 300 across the country, celebrated high school seniors signing "letters of intent" as they entered the workforce in a skilled trade. Garoppolo wanted to participate in the event in part due to the fact his father Tony had recently retired after a 40-year career as an union electrician.