Miles Austin — a 37-year-old Garfield native and Monmouth University graduate — is back home in New Jersey. He is in his first season as the Jets’ wide receivers coach. Photo courtesy of New York Jets

Miles Austin’s three kids came downstairs on Christmas morning and saw a large cardboard box. A present from Santa? No, this was something even better.  

Austin had taken a Christmas Eve red-eye flight from San Francisco, come straight home to Rumson from Newark Liberty International Airport and hid inside the box — with his wife Stacy’s help – before the kids woke up. They had no idea he’d be home.  

And then, when they saw the box, he popped out. The kids went crazy.  

“It was like double Christmas morning,” Stacy said.  

But after spending the day with his family, Austin had to fly back that evening to San Francisco. Now, he doesn’t have to worry about any of that. Austin — a 37-year-old Garfield native and Monmouth University graduate — is back home in New Jersey. He is in his first season as the Jets’ wide receivers coach and also serves on Monmouth’s board of trustees.  

“For this to turn out the way it did was just great,” Austin said. “It was really just the best of all worlds.”  

Austin was an NFL receiver from 2006-15, including eight years with the Cowboys. Photo courtesy of Miles Austin

Austin was an NFL receiver from 2006-15, including eight years with the Cowboys. Despite going undrafted, he thrived. He made two Pro Bowls, had 5,273 yards and 37 touchdowns, and earned about $40 million. Then he was a Cowboys scouting intern from 2017-18. He caught on as a 49ers offensive quality control coach — an entry-level position — in 2019.  

Flying back every couple of weeks to see his family became exhausting. (Austin’s son, Miles IV, is now 6. His daughters, Maven and Ava, are 2 and 4.) So, he left the 49ers after the 2019 season. 

“Seeing my family was a major part of the reason why I didn’t go back there,” he said. “I obviously love my family more than I love coaching.”  

Miles Austin with his wife, Stacy, and their three kids: Maven, Ava and Miles IV. Photo courtesy of Miles Austin

Austin always wanted to settle in New Jersey, not far from his parents’ home in Union. Even after entering the NFL, he regularly returned to Monmouth for games.  

In 2019, he went back and finished his degree in history, with a political science focus. Last year, he was elected to Monmouth’s board of trustees, for a four-year term. Austin might be Monmouth’s most famous alum, but you’d never know it.  

“It was really a very easy decision to bring Miles on,” said Jeana Piscatelli, the board’s chair. “He’s never been entitled. He doesn’t put on airs at all.”  

Austin — who met his wife at Monmouth, where she played lacrosse — still brings his family to Jack’s Goal Line Stand, the sports bar near campus where he and Stacy hung out as students.  

“It used to be, we were always sitting in the front, getting loud,” Austin said with a laugh. “Now we’re hanging with the kids in the back.”  

Austin can envision himself making a long-term career out of coaching — especially if it’s with the Jets. Photo courtesy of New York Jets

During the season, Austin doesn’t have time for much other than football. Some nights, he has to stay near the Jets’ training facility in Florham Park, rather than driving an hour home. And attending board meetings — which are recorded — can be a challenge, too.  

“If we have a (coaching) install meeting on a Tuesday night, I can’t say, ‘Hey, you guys, I’m going to hop on this board call,’ ” Austin said. “It’s really a tough balance.”  

Austin is happy to do that balancing act back here in New Jersey. He lived in Dallas during his playing career and didn’t buy a house in Jersey until about four years ago.  

“It’s one of those places we knew we were going to come back to,” he said.  

And Austin got to coach near home because the Jets hired Robert Saleh — the 49ers’ former defensive coordinator — earlier this year. During Austin’s season away from coaching in 2020, he stayed in touch with Saleh by playing chess with him on an app.  

Austin spent last year weighing his noncoaching options, including getting a finance job with the help of friends who work on Wall Street. When Saleh landed with the Jets and called Austin, “I wasn’t even expecting anything,” Austin said. As it turned out, Austin got his ideal situation — a higher-level coaching job, right down the road.  

In 2016, Austin was inducted into the Monmouth University Athletics Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of Monmouth University

Austin made enough money playing in the NFL that he doesn’t need to coach. Yet even though it’s a grind, he and Stacy knew he might regret not giving it a shot. So now, he can envision himself making a long-term career out of coaching — especially if it’s with the Jets.  

“The team atmosphere is something that’s hard to leave,” Stacy said. 

Just like home.  

Darryl Slater is an NFL analyst, writing about the Jets, Giants and more at NJ Advance Media.

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of Jersey’s Best. Subscribe here for in-depth access to everything that makes the Garden State great.