Eastern Michigan Athletics
Football
Peterson, Jay
vs
Louisiana
Sep 20 (Sat)
3:30 p.m.
Jay Peterson
- Title:
- Assistant Coach/Running backs
- Email:
- apeters4@emich.edu
- Phone:
- 734.487.2160
Jay Peterson, a former assistant coach at three NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools, is in his second tour as an assistant football coach at Eastern Michigan University in 2018. He serves as the team’s running backs coach.
A standout running back at Miami University, Peterson has 33 years of coaching experience at the professional, collegiate and high school levels. Peterson previously spent five years in Ypsilanti, when he served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2004-08, while also holding the title of assistant head coach during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
The running game racked up 14 touchdowns and a total of 1,560 yards in 2017. Junior running back Ian Eriksen ran for a career-high 810 yards to go along with eight scores. Behind a rebuild offensive line that gelled down the stretch, EMU racked up 815 yards on the ground with four 100-yard rushers during the final four games of the year.
EMU’s offense made a splash in 2016 en route to its first bowl appearance in 29 years, as the Eagles ranked 35th in the FBS in total offense at 455.2 yards per game. The team shattered the school record for total offense with 5,917 yards, breaking the previous record of 5,010. On the ground, Eriksen led the rushing attack with 771 yards on 184 carries and nine scores.
During the 2015 campaign, EMU finished the year with 39 touchdowns, a mark that tied for the fifth-most in a single-season during the squad’s 124-year history, while its 4,560 yards of total offense was also the fifth most. On the ground, EMU churned out the 14th-best single-season rushing total at 1,894 yards. Individually, Darius Jackson turned in one of the finest seasons in Eastern Michigan history in 2015, setting the school’s single-season record with 16 touchdowns. He also became the first EMU tailback since Bronson Hill in 2013 to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season and is just the 13th player in program history to do so.
Peterson completed a three-year stretch as an assistant coach at his alma mater. He served the final two seasons as the RedHawks’ defensive coordinator while also coaching the team’s linebackers.
Under his tutelage, six of Peterson’s defensive players earned All-MAC honors in his three seasons. That total includes three-time First Team All-MAC defensive back Dayonne Nunley, who finished this season with 88 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one interception and 13 pass break-ups.
Peterson joined the RedHawks after stops at Illinois State University and EMU.
In his first season with the Redbirds, Peterson helped turn around a defensive unit that only totaled three interceptions and 11 quarterback sacks in 2009 and posted a turnover margin (-1.36) that ranked No. 115 nationally out of 118 FBS teams. The 2009 Redbird defense totaled 14 interceptions, the most for an ISU team since 2006 when the Redbirds picked off 17 passes, and recorded 25 sacks on the season.
In five seasons, the Eastern Michigan defense improved dramatically, from a high of 469.6 yards allowed per game in 2004 to a drop of almost 100 yards in 2006, at 388.3 yards per game.
Under Peterson’s guidance, EMU linebacker Daniel Holtzclaw was named to the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list and the 2008 Rotary Lombardi Award preliminary watch list. Holtzclaw was also named a freshman All-American in 2005 and a First Team All-MAC selection in 2007.
Prior to joining the Eastern Michigan staff, Peterson spent five years at Big Ten Conference member Northwestern. While at Northwestern, Peterson served as the defensive line coach from 2002-03, after previously working with the Wildcat linebackers and special teams.
In 2001, Northwestern’s linebackers were rated among the best in the nation, with two players, Kevin Bentley and Billy Silva, both making the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list. He also coached Napoleon Harris, who was a first-round pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2002.
Prior to his Northwestern stint, Peterson was an assistant coach in charge of linebackers and helped with the special teams at Miami from 1991-98. During his career at Miami, Peterson coached several All-MAC linebackers, including two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year JoJuan Armour. Armour was named a third team All-American by the Associated Press. Another Peterson pupil, Dustin Cohen, was named third team All-America by The Football News, along with Armour.
He has also spent time coaching in the professional ranks, as he spent three summers in the NFL Minority Coaching Internship program, serving various roles with the Indianapolis Colts (1995), Detroit Lions (1997) and Chicago Bears (2001). He was also an assistant football coach at three high schools in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area: Cadiz (1985-87), Anderson (1988-89) and Withrow (1990) high schools.
Peterson was a standout running back for the then-Redskins, where he earned four varsity letters from 1980-83 at Miami. His career total of 2,874 rushing yards ranks fifth on MU’s all-time career rushing list. He was a co-captain as a senior and was a First Team All-MAC selection in 1982, a second team pick in 1983 and an honorable mention choice in 1981.
Peterson graduated from Miami in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
Peterson and his wife, Freda, have a daughter, Jada.
A standout running back at Miami University, Peterson has 33 years of coaching experience at the professional, collegiate and high school levels. Peterson previously spent five years in Ypsilanti, when he served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2004-08, while also holding the title of assistant head coach during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
The running game racked up 14 touchdowns and a total of 1,560 yards in 2017. Junior running back Ian Eriksen ran for a career-high 810 yards to go along with eight scores. Behind a rebuild offensive line that gelled down the stretch, EMU racked up 815 yards on the ground with four 100-yard rushers during the final four games of the year.
EMU’s offense made a splash in 2016 en route to its first bowl appearance in 29 years, as the Eagles ranked 35th in the FBS in total offense at 455.2 yards per game. The team shattered the school record for total offense with 5,917 yards, breaking the previous record of 5,010. On the ground, Eriksen led the rushing attack with 771 yards on 184 carries and nine scores.
During the 2015 campaign, EMU finished the year with 39 touchdowns, a mark that tied for the fifth-most in a single-season during the squad’s 124-year history, while its 4,560 yards of total offense was also the fifth most. On the ground, EMU churned out the 14th-best single-season rushing total at 1,894 yards. Individually, Darius Jackson turned in one of the finest seasons in Eastern Michigan history in 2015, setting the school’s single-season record with 16 touchdowns. He also became the first EMU tailback since Bronson Hill in 2013 to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season and is just the 13th player in program history to do so.
Peterson completed a three-year stretch as an assistant coach at his alma mater. He served the final two seasons as the RedHawks’ defensive coordinator while also coaching the team’s linebackers.
Under his tutelage, six of Peterson’s defensive players earned All-MAC honors in his three seasons. That total includes three-time First Team All-MAC defensive back Dayonne Nunley, who finished this season with 88 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one interception and 13 pass break-ups.
Peterson joined the RedHawks after stops at Illinois State University and EMU.
In his first season with the Redbirds, Peterson helped turn around a defensive unit that only totaled three interceptions and 11 quarterback sacks in 2009 and posted a turnover margin (-1.36) that ranked No. 115 nationally out of 118 FBS teams. The 2009 Redbird defense totaled 14 interceptions, the most for an ISU team since 2006 when the Redbirds picked off 17 passes, and recorded 25 sacks on the season.
In five seasons, the Eastern Michigan defense improved dramatically, from a high of 469.6 yards allowed per game in 2004 to a drop of almost 100 yards in 2006, at 388.3 yards per game.
Under Peterson’s guidance, EMU linebacker Daniel Holtzclaw was named to the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list and the 2008 Rotary Lombardi Award preliminary watch list. Holtzclaw was also named a freshman All-American in 2005 and a First Team All-MAC selection in 2007.
Prior to joining the Eastern Michigan staff, Peterson spent five years at Big Ten Conference member Northwestern. While at Northwestern, Peterson served as the defensive line coach from 2002-03, after previously working with the Wildcat linebackers and special teams.
In 2001, Northwestern’s linebackers were rated among the best in the nation, with two players, Kevin Bentley and Billy Silva, both making the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list. He also coached Napoleon Harris, who was a first-round pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2002.
Prior to his Northwestern stint, Peterson was an assistant coach in charge of linebackers and helped with the special teams at Miami from 1991-98. During his career at Miami, Peterson coached several All-MAC linebackers, including two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year JoJuan Armour. Armour was named a third team All-American by the Associated Press. Another Peterson pupil, Dustin Cohen, was named third team All-America by The Football News, along with Armour.
He has also spent time coaching in the professional ranks, as he spent three summers in the NFL Minority Coaching Internship program, serving various roles with the Indianapolis Colts (1995), Detroit Lions (1997) and Chicago Bears (2001). He was also an assistant football coach at three high schools in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area: Cadiz (1985-87), Anderson (1988-89) and Withrow (1990) high schools.
Peterson was a standout running back for the then-Redskins, where he earned four varsity letters from 1980-83 at Miami. His career total of 2,874 rushing yards ranks fifth on MU’s all-time career rushing list. He was a co-captain as a senior and was a First Team All-MAC selection in 1982, a second team pick in 1983 and an honorable mention choice in 1981.
Peterson graduated from Miami in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
Peterson and his wife, Freda, have a daughter, Jada.
The Jay Peterson File
Name: Adrian Jay Peterson
High School: Cadiz H.S. - Hopedale, Ohio
College: Miami University - Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education - 1985
Family: Wife-Freda; Children-Jada
Coaching Experience
Year School Position
2014-Pres. Eastern Michigan University Assistant Coach/Running Backs
2011-13 Miami University Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach
2009-10 Illinois State University Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers Coach
2007-08 Eastern Michigan University Asst. Head Coach/Linebackers Coach
2004-06 Eastern Michigan University Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach
2002-03 Northwestern University Defensive Line Coach
1999-2001 Northwestern University Linebackers & Special Teams Coach
Summer 2001 NFL-Chicago Bears NFL Minority Coaching Internship
1991-98 Miami University Linebackers & Special Teams Coach
Summer 1997 NFL-Detroit Lions NFL Minority Coaching Internship
Summer 1995 NFL-Indianapolis Colts NFL Minority Coaching Internship
1990 Withrow High School (Ohio) Linebackers & Special Teams Coach
1988-89 Anderson High School (Ohio) Linebackers & Special Teams Coach
1985-87 Cadiz High School (Ohio) Linebackers & Special Teams Coach
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