Don Jonas Donald Walter Jonas ( born December 3 , 1938 ) is a former American football player and coach . Jonas played in the American minor leagues ( semi - pro ) and the Canadian Football League . He was also the first head coach of the UCF Knights ( 1979 – 1981 ) . Playing career . College football . Jonas played college football at Penn State University . His first season was 1958 , and he did not play ( was red - shirted ) in 1959 . In 1960 , as a running back , he ran 49 times for 238 yards ( 4 . 9 yard average ) and two touchdowns . He also caught six passes , completed 3 of 7 passes , intercepted three opponent passes and returned seven punts . In 1961 he gained 149 yards in 31 attempts ( 4 . 8 average ) and caught five passes , scoring two touchdowns . He also returned punts and kickoffs . Proving to be a versatile player , he was drafted by the NFL ' s Philadelphia Eagles in the 13th round ( 182nd overall ) of the 1961 NFL Draft . His time with the Eagles was very short . He played in only one game in the 1962 season . Coincidentally , his Penn State quarterback Peter Liske would also go on to star in the CFL , playing against Jonas and himself winning the CFL ' s Most Outstanding Player Award in 1967 . Semi - pro football . Jonas turned to minor league football after his brief stint in the NFL ; in the 1960s , the days before big player salaries , this was a viable option for a football player . Both semi - pro teams and the CFL offered Jonas playing time and competitive money . His career minor league stats were 1032 completions in 2085 attempts for 17 , 183 yards and 171 TDs and 130 interceptions , with 4 MVP awards . His only weakness was his somewhat low completion percentage . In 1967 , the NFL ’ s Denver Broncos offered him a contract , but it most certainly paid him less than his MVP Orlando salary . And , by the time the Continental Football League folded , Jonas was the over the age of 30 , so Canada was his best option . Canadian Football League . Jonas ’ first season in the Canadian Football League , 1970 , was with the Toronto Argonauts , where he was teamed up with Tom Wilkinson . His 124 completions , 256 passes for 2041 yards ( and 17 TDs versus 25 ints ) did not help the 8 - 6 team win the Grey Cup as the Argos lost to the eventual Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes 16 - 7 in the divisional semi - final . Moving to the Western Division with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1971 , he hit 253 of 485 passes for a stunning 4036 yards with 27 TDs and 31 interceptions . Jonas won the CFL ' s Most Outstanding Player Award . He would play two more full seasons for the Bombers before being traded midway through the 1974 season to the Hamilton Tiger - Cats for their quarterback , Chuck Ealey . His 12 , 291 passing yards is fifth best for a franchise that has many great quarterbacks . None of Jonas ’ CFL teams , however , would get to the Grey Cup championship with him at the helm . His final CFL totals are 977 completions on 1930 attempts for 15064 yards and 98 TDs versus 130 interceptions . Coaching career . Jonas continued on in football as the voluntary , then permanent head coach of the new football program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando , FL . The Knights won six of their eight games in 1979 , but only won eight in the next two seasons . At the time Jonas coached , the Knights were in NCAA Division II . Later years . Jonas is now semi - retired , working part - time at an auto - glass replacement shop and playing golf . He has done radio broadcasts of Central Florida football games and had a radio sports talk show for three years .