NFL Football player and current coach of the Olentangy Berlin Football team, Mark Nori has made it his mission to take his experience and coach our highschoolers to victory. 

    He was born 1974 in Philadelphia. He went to a private high school and after he went to Boston College Majoring in English, after college he began student teaching until he was picked up by a free agent to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not long after, he was signed by the Jaguars due to being released by the Steelers.

   “I went to Major in English because I love to write,” Nori said

   Nori expresses he found he was always on the edge of being cut, but that didn’t stop him because he always tried his best for the team until he was released and picked up by another team. 

    After he was released by the Jaguars he was signed by the New York Giants but was cut the year of the Super Bowl. He came to the realization that his NFL career was most likely coming to an end, so he went to play for the XFL league on the Los Vegas Outlaws.

       “[I was]waiting to get fired but having the best time of my life until they got rid of me,” Nori said

Once he finished playing, he went back to Philadelphia and lived with his parents at 26 taking night school classes to get his Masters Degree while coaching at a nearby college. In 2002 he got a full time job as an English teacher upfront. He submitted 42 resumes to colleges to become a coach, and he ended up coaching at the University of Pittsburgh for a year, the University of Maine for a year, and the University of Akron for 4 years. He was also the assistant coach for the 49ers but left so he could be with his family and became a beverage salesman.

     “The best part of my day is getting changes and going out and coaching football every day,” Nori said

Nori obtained several jobs upfront and was very free spirited, going wherever he was needed even if it meant leaving his family behind, which was quite painful. He had to leave his family for 8 months while coaching the 49ers which he remarks as his biggest mistake. He wonders if things would have been different if he moved his family out and committed to the position he was in.

    “[My friends all ways say I always] come out smelling like roses” Nori Said

     Nori traveled the country job to job with a white ford explorer he bought from one of his friends while playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers who had a garage full of cars. He ended up paying 16k over the course of 17 weeks, now that same car would be about 40k.

    “The only thing I owned for about 8 years was that white ford explorer,”  Nori said