Jason Brooks received the call from his mother Justa last Saturday morning. His father, longtime Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Clarence Brooks, had passed away after a bout with esophageal cancer.
Jason Brooks, a tight ends coach at Florida International, happened to be coaching against his father’s alma mater, UMass, that day. There was only one thing he could do.
“One of my first thoughts was, 'I definitely want to coach today,’” Brooks told Sporting News. “I think it was important. It's what I wanted, and I think it's what my dad would've wanted as well.