Former Baltimore and Carolina practice squader Hunter Cantwell turned down a chance to be the Jaguars’ third quarterback in favor of becoming an assistant coach at an NAIA college.
Cantwell’s going to work for his old high school coach Perry Thomas at Campbellsville (Ky.) University, quite a departure from the NFL level.
According to a league source, Cantwell surprised the Jaguars by declining their offer to go to camp with a chance to win their third job, and even paid for his own plane ticket home when he didn’t sign.
His decision was predicated by the fact they made no guarantees to keep a third on the 53-man roster behind Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne. After he turned down the chance to compete with Jordan Palmer for the third job, the Jags turned to former Mike Martz-favorite Nathan Enderle.
While that decision seems curious on its face, the lack of any kind of certainty could have prevented him from getting the coaching job, so he went with the sure thing. And for a player who was on the fringes of rosters for three years, apparently the start of a coaching career was worth taking that chance.