Jim Covert James Paul " Jimbo " Covert ( born March 22 , 1960 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League ( NFL ) for eight seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s . Covert played college football for the University of Pittsburgh , and was recognized as an All - American . He was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft , and played professionally for the NFL ' s Chicago Bears . He is currently the president and chief executive officer of The Institute for Transfusion Medicine . Early years . Covert was born in Conway , Pennsylvania . He excelled in both football and wrestling at Freedom Area High School in Beaver County , west of Pittsburgh . In football , Covert led the 1977 Freedom Bulldogs , with an undefeated 11 - 0 record , to the Midwestern Athletic Conference ( MAC ) Championship . The Bulldogs eventually lost to Laurel High School in the second round of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League ( WPIAL ) playoffs . Covert earned UPI First - Team All - State honors his senior year and became a highly recruited player . College career . Covert entered the University of Pittsburgh as a defensive lineman . He played in every game his freshman season , primarily in short - yardage and goal - line situations . Covert received a medical red - shirt in 1979 due to a persistent shoulder injury that required surgery . In the spring of 1980 , Covert was switched to offensive left tackle where he started for the next three seasons . Coached by legendary offensive line coach Joe Moore , the 1980 Panthers offensive line featured Covert , Rob Fada , and Paul Dunn sharing the left guard duties ; Russ Grimm at center ; Emil Boures at right guard ; and Mark May at right tackle . The Panthers finished the 1980 season with a record of 10 - 1 and ended the season with a Gator Bowl victory over South Carolina . The 1980 Pitt Panthers also featured four future College Football Hall of Fame inductees : Covert , Dan Marino , Hugh Green , and May . The following year , 1981 Pitt Panthers finished 10 - 1 again and beat Georgia in a last - minute victory in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans . In both 1980 and 1981 the Panthers finished the season ranked number 2 in the national polls . In 1982 , Pitt finished a disappointing 9 - 2 despite being ranked number 1 in the preseason . The Panthers eventually lost to Southern Methodist University in the Cotton Bowl 7 - 3 . An Outland Trophy candidate in 1982 , Covert earned first team All - America honors in both his junior and senior campaigns , achieving consensus All - America as a senior . Covert played in both the Hula Bowl and Senior Bowl , which capped his college career . Covert was named to the University of Pittsburgh All - Time Team . He was also elected to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame , Class of 2003 . NFL career . Covert was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the sixth selection of the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft . He became an immediate starter at the critical left tackle position and anchored the Bears offensive line throughout the 1980s . The Bears went from 26th in total offense in 1982 to sixth in the league in 1983 . Covert ’ s addition to the Bears starting lineup began a string of record - setting rushing titles — the Chicago Bears led the league in rushing a record - setting four consecutive seasons , from 1983 – 1986 , which tied the all - time mark , set by the 1939 - 42 Chicago Bears . The Bears finished second in rushing twice , 1989 and 1990 , and third once , 1988 , during Covert ’ s career . In Covert ’ s second year in the league , he was elected by his teammates to be the Bears offensive captain , along with running back Walter Payton . That year , he was named All - Pro by Sports Illustrated and was ranked by many as one of the best tackles in professional football . In Covert ’ s third year , he was named consensus All - Pro , made first - team All - NFL , was selected to the Pro Bowl , and was named 1985 National Football League Players Association ( NFLPA ) NFC Offensive Lineman of the Year . The 1985 Chicago Bears also won Super Bowl XX . During Covert ’ s career , he was named to an All - Pro team four straight years ( 1984 – 1987 ) , a first - or second - team All - NFC selection four times ( 1985 – 1987 , 1990 ) , and a first - or second - team All - NFL selection three times . Covert was a consensus All - NFL and All - Pro pick in 1985 and 1986 . He was selected to two Pro Bowls , in 1985 and 1986 . In 1986 , he was selected as the Miller Lite NFL Offensive Lineman of the Year . In 1990 , the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors selected Covert to the NFL All - Decade Team . With Covert on the team , the Bears won six NFL Central Division titles and played in three NFC Championship games , along with the Super Bowl win . Covert ’ s last season was 1990 . In 1991 , he was placed on injured reserve for the entire season following back surgery , and he announced his retirement from the NFL soon after . Life after football . Covert is married to Penny Covert ; they have three children , Casey , Scott and Jessica Covert . His career after retiring from the NFL has been focused on healthcare sales , marketing and acquisition initiatives . Covert ' s healthcare career began at Baxter International in their Physical Therapy Division , where he served as Director of Sales and Development . In November 1992 , Baxter spun out the alternate site business called Caremark into an independent publicly traded company , and Covert served as Vice President of Development for Caremark Physical Therapy from 1992 – 1995 . Covert expanded Caremark ’ s Physical Therapy presence from 50 to 127 sites in 14 states increasing revenue to more than $ 120 million . Caremark Physical Therapy was acquired by HealthSouth Corporation in 1995 . Covert was Senior Vice President of Development for Horizon / CMS Healthcare Corporation from 1995 – 1998 . In that position , he was responsible for the merger and acquisition effort as well as all sales and marketing related initiatives . Covert led the growth effort for the Physical Therapy Division as they rapidly grew from 20 to more than 200 sites in a 16 - month time frame . Horizon / CMS was ultimately sold to HealthSouth in February 1997 . In 2000 , Covert started Keystone Strategies , LLC , a healthcare consulting group focused on assisting emerging healthcare companies with their sales and marketing strategies . In June 2004 , Covert joined the turnaround team at HealthSouth Corporation at its corporate headquarters in Birmingham , Alabama . As Senior Vice President of Sales , Marketing , and Development , Covert had responsibility for all sales , marketing , public relations , sports sponsorship , sports medicine , and acquisition initiatives for the outpatient therapy division . HealthSouth ’ s Outpatient Division was acquired by Select Medical Corporation in April 2007 . In May 2007 , Covert was named President and Chief Executive Officer of The Institute for Transfusion Medicine , one of the nation ’ s foremost non - profit organizations specializing in transfusion medicine and related services , and the leader in transfusion medicine in both the Pittsburgh and Chicago regions . Its two blood centers , Central Blood Bank in Pittsburgh and LifeSource in Chicago , provide nearly a million units of lifesaving blood products annually . ITxM Diagnostics is a leading source of therapeutic and coagulation reference testing services while ITxM Clinical Services focuses on the pre - transfusion testing and delivery of vital blood products to patients . In 2012 , Covert was among the nominees for the 2013 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame .