NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — After being named head football coach of Central Connecticut State University, you could say Jeff McInerney has come full circle.

He graduated from South Windsor High School in Connecticut, but McInerney knows where it all started: Slippery Rock University.

As a marginal player for two years before suffering a knee injury, McInerney's first coaching stint was as an undergraduate in 1981, then as a graduate assistant the following year.

"I learned from Bob DiSpirito and Fred Goldsmith," said McInerney. "I was an average football player and my first year was under DiSpirito, then he had a heart attack and Fred Goldsmith was the coach. He got me to Troy State, where I was for five years.

"I've had 14 jobs in 25 years and it all started at Slippery Rock," he added.

A few factors came into play when McInerney came to Slippery Rock.

"The name and the tradition of education, and I wanted to be a coach," said McInerney. "They had one of the best physical education departments and it proved to be well worth it. I even student taught at Butler High School.

"The people at SRU were great. It was one of the best times I've had," he added.

McInerney received his master's degree from Troy State in 1984 while under the tutelage of football coach Chan Gailey.

That was just the beginning of assistant coaching jobs that took him to the University of Southern California, Georgia Southern, Oregon State, UNLV and Tulsa, among others.

It was at Southern Cal and UNLV that McInerney coached under John Robinson. He coached under Mike Riley at Oregon State.

"I've worked under three coaches who coached in the NFL: Gailey (with the Dallas Cowboys as well as an offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers), Robinson (Los Angeles Rams) and Riley (San Diego Chargers).

"I was going that route, to the NFL," McInerney added.

But with his daughter Amy, 16, in high school, McInerney wanted to provide a little stability for his family's life.

"I thought I'd settle down," said McInerney, who still has aspirations of an NFL job someday. "There are only 122 Division I-A jobs and 119 Division I-AA jobs. When you're an assistant coach, you're a gun for hire. You're going to get fired.

"There are a lot of bank jobs, but there are only about 240 Division I jobs," he added.

McInerney and his wife, Leslie, also have a son, Ryan, 20, who attends Pittsburg (Kan.) State.

McInerney spent the past two years as the defensive coordinator at the University of Rhode Island. He was hired by Central Connecticut in February to replace Tom Masella, who resigned in December to become the head coach at Fordham.

McInerney's coaching philosophy is simple, yet effective.

"What I try to do is enjoy coaching and help young people," said McInerney. "You take it one day at a time and be the best person you can be and, hopefully, everything falls into place."

Masella had guided the Blue Devils to a share of the Northeast Conference title in his only two seasons at the helm. McInerney is not overwhelmed at the prospect of having to do the same right off the bat.

"There's always pressure to be the best you can be," said McInerney. "People have asked me since I've been here, but I put more pressure on myself.

"As long as you do right. The key is to do it right. There's no quick fix. Not one person can do it. It starts with the (school) president, then the administration, the coaches, the fans," he added.

By joining CCSU over the winter, that didn't leave McInerney with a lot of recruiting time, but he's pleased with how things turned out.

"I think we did well," said McInerney. "We signed 21 kids and feel really good about it.

"It's a success when you come in, you enjoy playing football and getting an education."

<i><b>This is the first in a series of articles on Slippery Rock University graduates who have moved on to athletic careers elsewhere.</b></i>