‘DYNAMIC DUO’ MOVES UP
Chambers, Tyler are coaching JV, varsity at Patrick Henry
The players call Eboni Chambers and Mercedes Tyler the “Dynamic Duo.”
Patrick Henry High head football coach JT O’Sullivan says Chambers and Tyler are “outstanding coaches and people.”
Chambers and Tyler were part of an all-female freshman-team coaching staff last season at Henry, O’Sullivan’s first year with the program.
This season Chambers is working with the offensive and defensive linemen while Tyler is coaching the linebackers on the varsity and JV levels.
While women coaching boys football is still somewhat of a novelty, O’Sullivan, an All-American quarterback at UC Davis, who played 11 years in the NFL and CFL, doesn’t consider himself a trailblazer by having women on his staff.
“When I got here, I was looking for coaches,” said O’Sullivan, who has a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from USD. “Eboni applied. I interviewed her, and she was very impressive.”
So O’Sullivan offered Chambers a job, and she recommended Tyler.
“They’re passionate about the game, but more importantly they knew their stuff,” O’Sullivan said.
“They fit right in because they can coach.”
Chambers, 36, graduated from Scripps Ranch High and went to Clark Atlanta University where she played the trombone for the “Mighty Marching Panthers.”
Tyler, 33, graduated from San Diego High and played rugby at Sacramento State.
Both play professionally for the San Diego Rebellion of the Women’s National Football Conference.
“Football had my attention as a youngster, but the sport was taboo for young girls back then,” said Chambers, who played trombone for Clark in the 2003 Gold Coast Classic in San Diego against Stillman College and in the Georgia Dome vs. Tuskegee Institute. “So I played basketball in high school.
“Then when I was at Clark, the bands were the show. The football teams were there just so the band could perform.”
After graduation, she tried out for a women’s pro football league “and got lit up the first day.”
“Still, I was intrigued by seeing all the other women in full pads,” she said. “It was the real thing, and it became my passion.”
Tyler played football at San Diego High and gravitated to rugby in college.
“Obviously, I couldn’t play football in college, but rugby lit my fire,” Tyler said. “When I graduated, I wanted the same feeling I had playing rugby.
“I love football, and like Eboni, it has become a passion. I love the way you have to work together in football to accomplish a goal. So these kids will get my best effort every day.
“I love to challenge the kids, and they understand that. Some of the guys have never played football, but kids are like sponges. If you teach them correctly, they’ll soak up the knowledge. They want to learn.
“Not every guy was open to JT hiring us, but we never felt an ounce of resentment. Early on they saw we knew what we were doing, believed in us, and we got nothing but encouragement.”
Chambers and Tyler said O’Sullivan stresses coaches must be teachers. He wants his staff to be prepared, bring energy and be fundamentally sound.
“Mercedes is very detailed,” said Henry senior linebacker Matt Elliott. “She puts her players in the best position to be successful, read blocks and gaps.
“She plays professionally, she has experience. She really knows her stuff.”
O’Sullivan has turned around a Henry program that was 4-17 in the two seasons before his arrival.
After going 6-6 in 2019, the Patriots are 2-1 this season and host Serra this week to end the abbreviated season.
“The kids are buying in, and it’s paying off,” Chambers said. “JT has set a culture. Like everyone else, we were down 400 or more days because of the pandemic, but we had Zoom workouts, meetings and the kids were really into it.
“We don’t have that 6foot-5, 300-pound kid who runs a 4.5 40 at Henry. We have good, hard-working, neighborhood kids, who are willing to put in the time. So we have to put in the time, too.
“I’m so grateful JT has provided me with this opportunity. Honestly, I’m shocked he has allowed us to coach. So we’ll never disrespect him.”
Chambers said the future of the program is the sophomore class, a group she and Tyler coached last season, singling out Kory Symington as a rising star.
Chambers has seen her share of great football players on the women’s side, playing on national championship teams in 2012 and 2014. She played on the U.S. national team in 2017, a team that won a gold medal.
“Eboni is the ultimate players’ coach,” said Henry lineman Jacob Cogan. “She knows the position and relates to her players.
“Honestly, when she got hired we kind of went ‘whoa.’ But when JT moved she and Mercedes up to the varsity, we figured they must know their stuff.
“She’s a woman. She’s our coach, and she’s a darn good one. She’s the best position coach I’ve ever had.” speaker.
He has spent time with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers as well as with the Carolina Panthers, L.A. Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Astros.
At the 2019 ESPYs, he was presented with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.
His story was chronicled in an ESPN SportsCenter feature, “Who Says I Can’t?” — the title got its name from Mendez’s catchphrase.
All that has fueled his dream to be a head football coach at the high school level.