BALTIMORE — Former Ravens wide receiver/returner Jacoby Jones passed away over the weekend at his home in New Orleans. He was 40 years old.
"It still hasn’t really hit me yet," said Josh Ward on Monday.
Ward is the head football coach at Calvert Hall College High School. He considered Jones a friend.
Jones was on Ward’s staff in 2020 as a wide receivers coach.
"I was supposed to see him actually during the AFC Championship game. We talked briefly and actually said, ‘Hey next time’. It wasn’t able to be done. ‘Hey next time when you’re in town we’ll see each other’. Now, unfortunately there is no next time."
Jones' family said in a statement Sunday he died peacefully.
Jones played three seasons in Baltimore from 2012-2014 and was instrumental in the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII title. His ‘Mile High Miracle’ touchdown reception is one of the best plays in franchise history. He also had a pair of TD’s in the Super Bowl.
He stayed in football after his playing days were over. Most recently he was the offensive coordinator and head coach of American Indoor Football’s Beaumont Renegades. Before that he spent two years as wide receivers coach at Alabama State and one year as tight ends coach at Morgan State. That was following the year with Ward at Calvert Hall.
"It was short and brief, as his time here, but he was a great impact to our guys," said Ward.
That impact will be felt for years to come.
"He was just energetic and fun," said Ward. "He was out there running routes with the guys and just being himself and still coaching and being around the game he loves that he has known all his life. So, he was just a great guy."
And an all-time Raven.
"He bled black and purple. He was a Baltimore Raven through and through."
Jones loved Baltimore and he loved the Ravens. He was just at team headquarters in Owings Mills last month for an alumni reunion. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in a statement: "My favorite Jacoby personal moment was every time I saw his smiling face full of joy."
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