Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Downer, Aces may use Kobe memories as fuel
Lower Merion held off host Upper Darby, 48-44, Tuesday night in its first game after the tragic death of alum Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash.
A difficult week won’t get any easier for still shaken coach Gregg Downer and his guys, as Ridley and Conestoga are ahead.
Credit Downer, the Penncrest High alum with working his way through the grieving process. The stories of Bryant’s competitive past are more apropos than ever, including the 1996 PIAA Class AAAA state title run.
Downer remembers it like it was yesterday.
“In 1995 we lost in the second round,” Downer said. “We weren’t quite ready for prime time. It wasn’t like Kobe was surrounded by a group of Division I players. Kobe was surrounded by multiple-sport athletes; soccer players, baseball players and a roster full of people who were going to play Division III basketball.
“We lost in ‘95 and it was a somber locker room. Everybody was saying what they wanted to say, like some of the seniors that would never wear the Aces uniform again. And then it came to Kobe and he said, ‘Look, we’re going to miss the seniors but for every ballplayer coming back we’re not going to go through this again. This is not going to happen again. This is non-negotiable. We’re winning the state championship in 1996.”
The Aces did just that. And they’ve since added two state titles and 15 Central League titles.
That first championship for Bryant and Downer was challenging. Two days before the state semifinal against Chester High, Bryant and teammate Leo Stacy dove for a loose ball at practice. Bryant broke his nose.
“For 48 hours we were concerned about would he play, could he play, would he wear a mask, would he not wear a mask?” Downer said. “Can we camouflage this for Chester and how are we going to get through this very difficult game? In the locker room before the game he warmed up with his mask that we got him. He did not like anything about having to wear that mask. We came back in for one final conversation and he ripped the mask off, he threw it off the wall and he said, ‘Guys, lets go to war. I’m not wearing this thing.
“From that moment on I knew we were going to win the state championship.”
RIP, Kobe.
••• While the Eagles are in no rush to finalize their coaching staff, part of the new cast no longer is a secret.
Marquand Manuel, who played for six teams after the Bengals took him off the board in the sixth round of the 2002 draft, is the defensive backs coach replacing Corey Undlin, according to reports.
Matt Burke, defensive coordinator of the Dolphins in 2017-18, is projected to be the defensive line coach, taking over for Phillip Daniels.
Quarterbacks coach Press Taylor is in line for a promotion, according to sources, who expect him to get at least a share of the offensive coordinator’s job that opened when Mike Groh was let go the week after the season ended.
Taylor has been highly regarded as an offensive assistant dating back to the Super Bowl, when he was assistant quarterbacks coach to John DeFilippo. Taylor has been the Eagles’ QB coach the past two years.
What’s not clear is who will be the Eagles’ fifth wide receivers coach in five years and whether they intend to go with a co-offensive coordinator operation, which is becoming more fashionable.
This could get interesting, particularly with assistant coaches from Super Bowl opponents Kansas City and San Francisco becoming available after the game Sunday.
Chiefs quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka, who was drafted by the Birds, may not be available per a report suggesting Andy Reid would block the move. But Mike LaFleur, the Niners’ passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach, could be a viable candidate. He’s sharp and has pedigree. His older brother is Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
A co-coordinator organizational chart with Taylor and LaFleur would be interesting. Ditto a job share with Taylor and Duce Staley, the Eagles’ assistant head coach and running backs coach.
Face it, head coach Doug Pederson isn’t going to let someone else call the plays, the same as 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. The Niners’ operation is streamlined with passing game coordinators, run coordinators and offensive specialists. And it works very well. I could see the Eagles going in that direction.
While Josh McCown reportedly told the Eagles he wants to play, not coach, he turns 41 in July and in all seriousness isn’t a guy who can step in and win a game as he was in his younger days. One half of football is all it took for the man to tear a hamstring. That said, McCown was an anchor for Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz.
Quarterbacks who have put in 16 NFL seasons don’t grow on trees. If McCown watches film of his last game, maybe he changes his mind and sticks around with the Eagles as a coach.
If the Eagles want to go with a senior consultant type of co-offensive coordinator, Mike Caldwell is out there. The Vikings had one of the best offenses in the league last season with Gary Kubiak as the veteran consultant and Kevin Stefanski as the coordinator. Stefanski now is head coach of the Browns.
In the football operations department, Eagles analytics chief Andrew Berry has returned to the Browns, where he’s general manager with control over the 53-man roster.
The Eagles may add some analytics types but make no mistake, Connor Barwin, who played linebacker for them, will be used extensively in scouting and player personnel matters. He knows players, the league and the process. He’s going to be Howie Roseman’s right-hand man.
••• A few stats jump off the page with respect to Super Bowl LIV.
First, if the 49ers beat the Chiefs, they’ll win their sixth championship. The Patriots and Steelers are tied for the lead with six Lombardi Trophies.
Secondly, Andy Reid has 207 career wins, the most in league history without a league championship.
Lastly, the 49ers and the Chiefs are the top seeds in their respective conferences. Since 2013, all but one of the Super Bowl winners has been a top seed. The seeding system works. Don’t fix it.