TCU defeated Michigan 51-45 at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 2022. Photography by Renee Umsted.

After defeating Michigan at the Fiesta Bowl, TCU football is heading to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

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In the first season under head coach Sonny Dykes, TCU went undefeated for the first 12 games before losing to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship.

Dykes came to TCU from rival SMU, and much of the Dallas university’s coaching staff followed.

Among them was Jeff Jordan, who served as the director of player personnel at SMU. Jordan lived in Lakewood with his wife, Shannon, and daughters, Abby and Carly.

Before starting at SMU in 2018, Jordan was the director of personnel at Kansas. He was also an in-house scout for the Dallas Cowboys, and he spent much of his career as a coach at Garland High School. During his 28 seasons at the school, Jordan led the Owls to 13 playoff appearances and the 2006 state semifinals.

As a student, he walked on to the team at Texas A&M and was there when the Aggies won the 1985 Southwest Conference Championship.

Jordan is now the assistant athletics director for player personnel at TCU.

In December, ESPN’s Dave Wilson published a story about TCU’s then-undefeated season, naming Jordan as one of the keys to the team’s success.

“He’s Dykes’ confidant on everything from strategy to clock management to analytics,” Wilson wrote. “During the Horned Frogs’ comeback win against Baylor, Dykes said he and Jordan plotted out the dramatic final drive before TCU got the ball back, play by play. Then they did exactly what they said they’d do, and won the game on a walk-off field goal.”

While Jordan connects Lakewood to this year’s TCU team, there’s another East Dallas connection that’s more historical.

Woodrow Wilson High School graduate Davey O’Brien played for the Horned Frogs in 1938, when TCU won the national championship. O’Brien, a quarterback who played under legendary coach Dutch Meyer, won the 1938 Heisman Trophy and still holds the NCAA record for most rushing and passing plays in a single season, according to Fort Worth magazine.

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is named for him, and in 2022, it was given to TCU quarterback Max Duggan.

TCU will compete against Georgia for the national championship title at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 9.