Jeff Thorne is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player. He was the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

in 2022. Thorne served as the head football coach at

North Central College North Central College is a private college in Naperville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has 73 undergraduate majors of study, 17 minors, 25 graduate programs, and 4 certificate programs offered by four undergradu ...

from 2015 to 2021. He succeeded his father, John Thorne, and led the 2019 team to an NCAA Division III national title. Thorne played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradual ...

, starting at

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

in the early 1990s. His son, Payton, is currently a quarterback for the

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, as of

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Playing career

Thorne attended Wheaton Central High School in Wheaton, Illinois where he played under his father, head coach John Thorne. He set the state record for career touchdown passes with 57. He started as a sophomore and threw for over 1,000 yards. His senior season, he led the team to a 5A state semifinal appearance and was named all-state. He played in the Illinois High School All-Star game and was named MVP. He also played baseball and was an all-conference selection in basketball. Thorne then enrolled at

and was a four year starter. He was selected all-Gateway Conference honorable mention after his junior season in 1992 after throwing for 1944 yards and 10 touchdowns. His senior season he earned 2nd team all-conference honors. He holds the school record for most interceptions thrown in a game with seven in a 7-49 loss to McNeese State. He ranks in the top ten in school history in season pass efficiency, touchdown passes, and interceptions. Thorne ranks fourth in career total offense, passing yardage, passing attempts, and completions categories behind

Jimmy Garoppolo James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed "Jimmy G", is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panther ...

Sean Payton Patrick Sean Payton (born December 29, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the Ne ...

, and

Tony Romo Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Pan ...

Coaching career

Assistant coaching

After graduation, Thorne became an assistant coach at his former high school under his father coaching during three state championship seasons. Thorne became offensive coordinator for Division III North Central College in 2002, the same year his father became head coach. He was a finalist for coordinator of the year in 2013 after his offense average over 45 points per game on route to a National Championship appearance.

North Central

After his father's retirement, Thorne was named head coach for the 2015 season. After the 2016 season, Thorne was named College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin coach of the year and AFCA Region Coach of the Year. He was named D3football.com Coach of the Year after his 2019 National Championship. Thorne coached the 2019 Gagliardi Trophy winner Broc Rutter.

Western Michigan

On February 1, 2022, Thorne was named the offensive coordinator for

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

under head coach Tim Lester. Under Thorne, the offense averaged 301.9 yards per game during the 2022 season, last in the

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

. Western Michigan finished the year 5-7, including 4-4 in conference, good for third place in the MAC West. Thorne, along with most of the coaching staff, was let go when Lester was fired on November 28.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Western Michigan profile

North Central (IL) profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Jeff Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American football quarterbacks Eastern Illinois Panthers football players North Central Cardinals football coaches Western Michigan Broncos football coaches High school football coaches in Illinois Players of American football from Wheaton, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois