Jose Jefferson makes history as FIU’s first football general manager

Jose Jefferson admits he wasn’t a great football player.

He made it to the NFL and to the Arena League … but as a practice player at wide receiver/kick returner.

“I was a guy who made others better,” Jefferson said.

Fast-forward a couple of decades, and Jefferson is in a similar role.

Jefferson, 54, is the first general manager in the history of FIU’s football program. And, just as in his playing days, Jefferson’s job is to make others better, namely FIU coach Willie Simmons and the rest of his coaching staff.

“I think, with his experience, Jose is perfect for this new, evolving role as general manager,” Simmons said. “He’s well connected, and he understands the NIL landscape and roster management. He’s invaluable to me and this program.”

The ultimate decisions as to which players to sign are up to Simmons. Jefferson is not a recruiter but rather an evaluator.

“In a nutshell, my job is to make sure we have the right guys on the roster,” Jefferson said. “I evaluate guys in three areas: character, intelligence and athletic ability, in that order.”

So, who is Jose Jefferson?

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Jefferson said he is a “Bro-Rican” because his father, John Jefferson, is Black; and his mother, Cookie Barker, is Puerto Rican.

At 5-9 and 175 pounds, Jefferson, a wide receiver, said he didn’t fit in as a football player in the Nebraska prep ranks.

“In Nebraska,” Jefferson said, “you have to be either a lineman or a running back to get attention.”

Given that, Jefferson left the state and became an NCAA Division II All-American in track and field at the University of South Dakota, competing in the long jump, triple jump, high jump, 55 meters and 100 meters.

After earning his Bachelor’s degree from South Dakota – majoring in Business while minoring in History and Spanish – Jefferson tried his luck at pro football.

Thanks to his 43-inch vertical and his 4.29 speed in the 40, Jefferson had some NFL teams intrigued. Both the Cardinals and Chiefs had him on their training camp rosters, but that didn’t last long.

The same was true in the Arena League, where Jefferson was a practice player for the Arizona Rattlers and the Iowa Barnstormers. In fact, Jefferson’s claim to fame from those days was the fact that, in Iowa, he was a teammate of quarterback Kurt Warner, who went on to become a Super Bowl champ and a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player.

“I was surprised I got anywhere as a football player,” Jefferson said. “I was more of a track guy.

“But I had some traits. I had the speed to blow the doors off a defense. I was tough enough to take the hits, and I was smart enough to learn a playbook.”

Still, by age 27, Jefferson was done as a player. After that, he made a lot of stops as a coach and personnel guy.

Jefferson posted an 85-48 record as a coach in indoor football, including a stint with the 2005 Sioux City Bandits. That was noteworthy because it was where Jefferson coached Fred Jackson and … Simmons.

Jackson that season rushed for 1,770 yards and scored 53 touchdowns, and that ultimately led him to a highly successful NFL run with the Buffalo Bills.

Simmons was a key utility player as the Bandits went 15-3 last year.

“Willie was a heck of an athlete,” Jefferson said. “He was the only guy in the league that year to pass for a TD, run for a TD, catch a pass for a TD and score on a kick return.”

Jefferson said the Bandits lost in that league’s championship game that year, falling 42-40, missing a field goal at the buzzer.

On the positive side, Jefferson and Simmons – as well as others on that team – formed a life-long bond.

Jefferson went on to serve as Director of Team Operations for the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL and the Director of Player Personnel for the Sioux Falls Storm of the Indoor Football League.

He also created the College Gridiron Showcase, one of college football’s largest all-star games.

Jefferson, who has been the executive director of the CGS since 2014, said he had 212 players who played in his game in the NFL last season, either on the regular roster or a practice squad.

“We focus on guys who are regarded as fourth-round picks and on down to undrafted free agents,” Jefferson said. “For every NFL star who signs a big contract, teams need a dozen guys who will make the minimum, and that’s where we come in.

“We had 175 scouts at our game last year (in January in Fort Worth, Texas).”

Because of his work as a player, coach, personnel director and owner of a college all-star game, Jefferson is indeed well connected.

That’s why Jefferson got the following call from Simmons: “I need you to be my general manager. Say yes.”

Simmons confirmed that story.

“It wasn’t an option,” Simmons said with a laugh. “I wasn’t offering it to him so he could turn it down.”

And that’s how Jefferson became FIU’s first-ever GM.

Previously, he was the first Black head coach at Lincoln (Nebraska) High. He was also the first Black coach in the history of the Arena League’s Lincoln Lightning.

“My life has been built on firsts,” Jefferson said. “Not everyone wants to be the first. The first one through the wall gets bloodied.”

Jefferson doesn’t plan to get bloodied at FIU, however.

He believes the Panthers are a “sleeping giant” because of all the high school football talent in the area.

Jefferson, who arrives at FIU at 5 a.m. and doesn’t leave until at least 9 p.m., said the Panthers under Simmons have put a major focus on South Florida recruits.

“There are seven-million people living in the three-county area,” Jefferson said. “I don’t think there’s a better place in the country to recruit.”

This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 11:00 AM.