Joe Jon Finley

Joe Jon "J. J." Finley (born January 30, 1985) is an American football coach and former tight end who is currently the associate head coach for offense and tight ends & h-backs coach at the University of Oklahoma. He played college football at Oklahoma before signing with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2008.

Joe Jon Finley
refer to caption
Finley in 2010
Oklahoma Sooners
Position:Associate head coach for offense / tight ends & h-backs coach
Personal information
Born: (1985-01-30) January 30, 1985
Arlington, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:251 lb (114 kg)
Career information
High school:Arlington (TX)
College:Oklahoma
Undrafted:2008
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
  • Los Fresnos HS (2011)
    Offensive line coach
  • Oklahoma (2012–2013)
    Graduate assistant
  • Los Fresnos HS (2014)
    Offensive line coach/strength & conditioning coordinator
  • Baylor (2015)
    Offensive quality control analyst
  • Missouri (2016–2018)
    Tight ends coach
  • Texas A&M (2019)
    Tight ends coach
  • Ole Miss (2020)
    Passing game coordinator/tight ends coach
  • Oklahoma (2021–present)
    Associate head coach for offense/tight ends & h-backs coach

Early life and high school

Finley grew up in Arlington, Texas and attended Arlington High School, where he played football and was a hurdler on the school's track team. Initially a tight end as a sophomore, Finley was moved to quarterback for his junior and senior years of high school, throwing for over 1,600 yards and rushing for nearly 900 yards in his senior season.[1] He committed to playing college football at Oklahoma.

College career
Finley in 2006.

Finley entered Oklahoma as a quarterback, but converted to tight end due to lack of playing time. His breakout season came in 2006 when offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson switched from offensive line coach to tight ends coach, where Finley recorded 19 receptions for 241 yards and three touchdowns. He was praised for his ability to block, run routes, and catch passes, something that Oklahoma's other tight ends Jermaine Gresham and Brody Eldridge were unable to do.[1]

As a redshirt senior, Finley was named team captain and improved on his numbers, catching 23 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns. He finished his career with 62 catches for 775 yards, which ranked in the top 10 among Oklahoma tight ends as of 2021.[2][1] Finley also earned honorable Big 12 mentions as a junior and senior and was an All-Academic Big 12.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers
Finley at 49ers training camp in 2010.

Finley signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He never made the active roster during his time in San Francisco, spending 2008 and 2009 on the practice squad before being cut before the start of the 2010 regular season.[3]

Detroit Lions

Finley signed with the Detroit Lions practice squad in 2010, where he spent the entire season on the practice squad.[4] Although he was waived in the final roster cuts in 2011, Finley was signed to the active roster in 2011 for the Lions' week 6 game against the 49ers before being released in late October.[5]

Carolina Panthers

Finley was signed by the Carolina Panthers on May 16, 2012.[6] He was released by the Panthers on August 31, 2012 in the final roster cuts before the start of the regular season.[7]

Coaching career

After getting cut by the Lions, Finley spent 2011 as the offensive line coach at Los Fresnos High School in Texas, where his brother Clint was the head coach.[2] He was later a graduate assistant at his alma mater Oklahoma from 2012 to 2013, taking a break to sign with the Carolina Panthers and returning after he was cut.[8] Finley returned to Los Fresnos in 2014 as their offensive line coach and strength & conditioning coordinator before departing to be an offensive quality control analyst at Baylor in 2015.[9][10]

Finley was named the tight ends coach at Missouri in 2016.[11] At Missouri, he coached a group that led the nation in touchdowns scored by tight ends with 15 in 2017, while developing Albert Okwuegbunam, who was an All-SEC second-teamer and finalist for the John Mackey Award in 2018. Finley left Missouri to coach tight ends at Texas A&M under Jimbo Fisher in 2019.[12] He spent only one season at Texas A&M as he joined the coaching staff at Ole Miss in 2020 as their passing game coordinator and tight ends coach.[13][14] The move was one of over 300 coaching changes stemming from the 2019 Egg Bowl game between Ole Miss and Mississippi State in which Ole Miss wide receiver Elijah Moore was penalized for his touchdown celebration in the final seconds, leading to a missed extra point and an Ole Miss loss.[15]

Finley was named the associate head coach for offense at his alma mater Oklahoma in 2021. In the same announcement, it was said that he would coach the Sooners' tight ends and h-backs, while also overseeing elements of their special teams unit.[16]

Personal life

Finley and his wife Caylee have four children; daughters Blakely, Scout, and Collier and son Knox. Finley's father Mickey was a longtime high school football coach and was Joe Jon's coach in high school.[17]

References
  1. "OU football: Joe Jon Finley, who teaches 'what it is to be an NFL tight end,' and his beard return to Sooners on a mission". OUDaily. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  2. "Joe Jon Finley returns to familiar setting with familiar goal - win championships". Tulsa World. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  3. "Road to the Roster: TE Joe Jon Finley". San Francisco 49ers. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  4. "Lions Sign Joe Jon Finley To Practice Squad". Pride of Detroit. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  5. "Detroit Lions Release Joe Jon Finley, Make Change To Practice Squad". Pride of Detroit. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  6. "Panthers sign TE Finley". Carolina Panthers. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  7. "Carolina Panthers Roster 2012: Latest News, Cuts, Preseason Predictions". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  8. "Joe Jon Finley always had an eye on Oklahoma: 'Once you're a Sooner, you're always a Sooner". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  9. "Football Announces Staff Changes, Dishman Added". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  10. "Former OU players Joe Jon Finley, Brodney Pool join Baylor staff". Tulsa World. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  11. "Joe Jon Finley Joins @MizzouFootball Coaching Staff". University of Missouri Athletics. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  12. "Texas A&M to add Missouri tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley to staff". TexAgs. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  13. "Texas A&M TE coach Joe Jon Finley leaves for Ole Miss". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  14. "Football Adds Three to Coaching Staff". Ole Miss Athletics. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  15. "The Egg Bowl Butterfly Effect: How two firings altered almost 300 coaching careers". The Athletic. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  16. "Riley Adds Joe Jon Finley to Coaching Staff". University of Oklahoma Athletics. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  17. "OU football: Joe Jon Finley savoring return to Sooners and learning from his players". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
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