Jay Fiedler

Early life and high school years

Fiedler was born to a Jewish family on Long Island in Oceanside, New York. He is a distant relative of Arthur Fiedler, the long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra.

Fiedler attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, New York, and won varsity letters as a quarterback in football, a point guard in basketball, and as a decathlete in track and field.

College career

He is an alumnus of Dartmouth College, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. In football, Fiedler set school records for touchdown passes (58), passing yards (6,684) and total offense (7,249 yards).

Fiedler was named Co-Offensive Player of the Game in the 1994 East-West Shrine Game. He received a Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, the Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award for sportsmanship, and received his degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was named the MVP for the 1994 Ivy Bowl in Japan.

Professional career

Fiedler had stints with the Philadelphia Eagles (1994–95), Minnesota Vikings (1998), and Jacksonville Jaguars (1999) before finding steady work with the Dolphins (2000–04) beginning in 2000. In between his time with the Eagles and Vikings, Fiedler served as a receivers coach at Hofstra University in 1997 before being signed as a free agent by Minnesota in 1998.

Fiedler's stint with the Miami Dolphins featured three 10+ win seasons in four years, two 11–5 seasons in 2000 and 2001, an AFC East title, and two postseason appearances including a victory for the Miami Dolphins. During these years, the Dolphins' offense lagged notably behind its defense, which featured perennial Pro-Bowlers in linebacker Zach Thomas, cornerbacks Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain, and hall of fame defensive end Jason Taylor. He is the last Miami Dolphins quarterback to win a playoff game, winning the 2000 AFC wild card game, 23-17 in overtime, versus the Indianapolis Colts on December 30, 2000 at Pro Player Stadium.

Fiedler signed with the Jets as an unrestricted free agent on March 11, 2005, as a backup quarterback to Chad Pennington. On September 25, 2005, in a game against his former team the Jaguars, Fiedler was pressed into action when Pennington suffered what would prove to be a season-ending rotator cuff tear. Fiedler would himself suffer a severe shoulder injury during the game and was also sidelined for the remainder of the 2005 season.

Fiedler was released by the Jets on February 22, 2006, and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who released him in August of that year due to injury as Fiedler had a nagging shoulder issue and was unable to practice. Fiedler sat out 2006 rehabilitating his throwing shoulder following his release from Tampa Bay.

Fiedler was set to work out for the Falcons in April 2007, according to his agent Bryan Levy. In addition, the Giants considered signing him but eventually signed Anthony Wright instead.

Fiedler played in 76 games with 60 starts and is a 58.7 percent career passer. He threw for 69 touchdowns and 66 interceptions in his career.

Outside of the NFL

In 2007, Fiedler and Demetrius Ford became co-owners of the CBA basketball expansion team, The East Kentucky Miners, based in Pikeville, Kentucky.

Fiedler, who is Jewish, was inducted into the National Jewish Museum Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. At the time of his induction, Fiedler mentioned how strong he is in his faith. Fiedler was one of two active NFL players inducted into the Hall that year, the other being then-Pittsburgh Steelers punter Josh Miller. ESPN personality Chris Berman would also occasionally allude to Fiedler's faith by referring to him as Fiedler on the Roof after performing well in games, even going far as to start singing If I Were a Rich Man during highlights.

Fiedler currently owns and operates The Sports Academy at Brookwood Camps and the Prime Time Sports Camps along with his brother Scott. Brookwood is a summer sleep away camp that has been family owned by the Fiedlers since 1986. Prime Time Sports Camps operates various sports camps and clinics throughout the year with Fiedler operating all of the football sessions.