Former New York Jets Center Nick Mangold takes up coaching role at New Jersey High School

Former celebrated NFL player Nick Mangold announces the next step in his career. He has taken up the role of offensive line coach at New Jersey's Delbarton Green Wave High School.

The inspiration to coach kids kicked off when Mangold attended a football program at his kid's school a decade ago. There, he met head coach Brian Bowers who ran that event. Years later, the idea resurfaced when Nick Mangold coached his son's basketball team, a sport he hadn't played professionally.

The final shove came from his wife Jennifer, who asked him to pursue it. Eventually, Nick contacted Bowers with the proposal, and that's how the former Jets player ended up at Green Wave. In an interview with Fox5 New York, Nick Mangold spoke about his decision.

"I like to give back. When you're in high school, you've got kids who are 13, 14 to 17, 18—that's a big transition for young men. I had great high school coaches who were instrumental in shaping my life, not just in the game of football but in life itself."

Even head coach Bowers expressed his delight on Nick being a part of Green Wave.

"Nick is incredibly able to probably coach a lot of things — kind of what we do with zone offense, gap scheme and the pass protection. These are things Nick could do at the high school level, college level or professional level."

"And I think the beauty of Nick is that he has the ability to really understand where our kids are developmentally and really stretch their abilities," he further added.

Having said that, Nick Mangold realises the difference between NFL and high school football and appreciates the high school football culture. In an interview with the New York Post, he spoke about the distinction.

“You get to mold boys into men and teach the game of football — but also teach them a little bit about life as you go along. Once you get to college, you start to become a little bit more business.

"And especially the NFL, it’s a straight business. There’s still some purity in high school football, and that’s what I really enjoy about it.”

Nick Mangold: The celebrated New York Jets legend.

NFL legend Nick Mangold is from Centerville, Ohio, and he played high school football for Archbishop Alter before moving on to play college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. His professional journey took off when the New York Jets selected him in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft. After playing center in 16 games for the Jets, he was named to the NFL All-Rookie team for the 2006 season. He ended up playing in seven Pro-Bowl's and earned the New York Jets Ring of Honor title.