In looking for the second football coach in the history of Jacksonville University, director of athletics Alan Verlander wanted for a person to take the Dolphins to the next level.

As the search began, one name quickly rose to the top of the list and when the final vote was cast, he became the only candidate for the job.

On Jan. 2, 2007, Kerwin Bell became the second head football coach in the short history of Jacksonville University.

Bell brings a background of winning and success, no matter what the circumstances. He has a "never say die" attitude that will be a strong influence on the players. And to steal a phrase from Steve Spurrier, he has an innate ability to "coach 'em up."

"Kerwin is a proven winner and a leader with a vision for JU football and we will do everything we can to attain excellence with our program," Verlander said. "We believe that the community of this great city will come out and support our efforts in building a top-rate football program."

His collegiate career began as a walk-on at Florida. All he did was step in as a redshirt freshman in 1984 after an injury to the starter and rewrote the Florida passing record book. By the time his career as a Gator was finished, he had become the all-time leader in passing yards in the Southeastern Conference.

A true-gamer, Bell battled through injuries both in his collegiate and professional career. There is one injury that may have been the most important of his career - an ACL injury in 1989 that sent him to the sidelines for a year to rehab.

During that 1990 season, Bell got his first taste of the coaching bug as a graduate assistant at Florida under Spurrier.

"I wasn't excited about coaching until I got involved with Coach Spurrier," Bell said. "While I was there, I really got into it because of attaining perfection on the field. I've seen it with him, the way he coached, implemented his plays and strived for perfection. That's what I try to do, execute to perfection."

After mending his wounds for a year, Bell landed with the Indianapolis Colts and saw his only game action in 1995 - going 5-for-5 for 72 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 15.

A coaching change and the drafting of a new rookie quarterback, Peyton Manning, sent Bell's playing career in a northern direction - to the Canadian Football League in 1996.

It became a great opportunity for Bell, not only as a player but in his development as a coach.

After playing with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Bell signed with the Toronto Argonauts and jumped into the offense with great results, setting the team single-season record for passing yards. But it wasn't just his play that developed, he also got more experience in coaching - helping put game plans together and eventually becomig the offensive coordinator after an injury derailed his final season.

In his next to last season in Toronto under head coach and CFL-legend Mike "Pinball" Clemons, Bell helped redraw the offense in midseason after a 1-7-1 start to the year. With the new offense installed by Bell, the Argonauts went 6-3 to finish the season and missed the playoffs by just one game.

"Mike wanted me to come back and be the offensive coordinator and the quarterback, despite other offers to play for other teams," Bell said. "My wife asked me why I always took the tough job, because I had an offer to play at Calgary and win a Grey Cup. When I came in, we put in a new spread offense, went 6-3 and I really began to enjoy coaching more than I did playing that season."

So what does a retired quarterback do? He starts a football program at Trinity Catholic High School from scratch and builds it into a state power. In five seasons, he led the Celtics to a state championship and just missing out on a repeat this past season.

"We built something special at Trinity, because there wasn't anything there before," Bell said. "We created an atmosphere of expectation, which really boosted our program. We wanted the kids to excel at everything on and off the field."

Now, Bell will continue his gridiron success at JU and there isn't a better person up to the task of taking this program to the next level.

"With Alan's vision of where this program can go, I think we have a very bright future ahead of us," Bell said. "I feel his energy and excitement about taking JU football to another level and that we can do something special.

"This program has a lot of potential and once people see the product we put out on the field, they will want to jump on board. We plan to build something special for the entire city of Jacksonville to enjoy."