Hillside stays local, taps former Union standout and NFL safety Isa Abdul-Quddus to lead Comets’ football program

The coaching carousel in the Big Central Conference finally seems to have come to a halt, as Hillside has named its new head coach.

It’s Isa Abdul-Quddus, who played his high school ball at Union, college at Fordham, and spent time with three different NFL teams in a six-year career cut short by injury. His hiring was approved earlier this week by the Board of Education.

He replaces Barris Grant, who stepped down in the off season after nine years to take the head coaching job at Abdul-Quddus’ alma mater, Union, in February. Grant was 63-28 with four sectional titles (2017 through 2019) in four finals appearances (also in 2022) and a regional championship in 2019.

Abdul-Quddus played 15 or 16 games in five of his six seasons in the National Football League, spending 2011-2013 with New Orleans, the next two years with Detroit, and his final season with Miami.

He suffered a neck injury in a December 2016 game that left him with no feeling in his arm, and was placed on IR, then released by Miami in March. Just one season into a new contract, his playing days were over, but he eventually got into coaching as a high school assistant down in Florida.

Born in Elizabeth, he played for the Union Farmers, graduating in 2007, then went to Fordham. In high school, he was first-team All-Union County, and second team All-State, recording 115 tackles and two interceptions for touchdowns. He also ran track.

Abdul-Quddus takes over for Jason Scott, who was promoted to head coach after the departure of Lou Grasso, who took the Athletic Director position at Colonia High School when Ben LeSala retired. The Farmers struggled to a 2-8 record in 2024, with wins over South Brunswick and Livingston.

Click below to hear new Hillside coach Isa Abdul-Quddus talk about taking over the Comets’ program with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: