Former star player Jacobs recommended to be new coach
Eric Jacobs has coached at a variety of places and levels, but there was always one job that he wanted.
Now he’s about to get it. Jacobs, a standout player for legendary Easton boys basketball coach Stan Sutphen in the early 1980s, who earned all-league and all-state recognition before graduating in 1983, has been recommended to become the new Red Rovers coach.
Easton athletic director Jim Pokrivsak sent out a release on Tuesday morning saying Jacobs would be the new head coach and succeed Ben Childs pending school board approval on May 24. Childs resigned after posting a record of 94-102 over nine seasons.
Jacobs, who will inherit a program coming off a 1-19 varsity season, has been ingrained in the Easton area basketball community for decades.
He spent 10 seasons with the Easton girls program — seven as an assistant under his sister, Shelly Bartolacci, and then three years as the head coach — and followed that by becoming the boys coach at Delaware Valley Regional (Frenchtown, New Jersey) where he went 100-81 over eight seasons wrapping up in 2012.
“It’s so exciting,” Jacobs said. “I’m honored and thrilled. I want to thank the administration for giving me this opportunity. It’s not a cliché to say this is a dream come true for me.”
Jacobs, who is a business education teacher for grades 9-12 at Delaware Valley, most recently was the head coach at Phillipsburg for two seasons, 2015-17.
He went 21-27 before returning to Easton as a part-time assistant on Childs’ staff over the past five years.
“When I got into coaching, this job was always the top job in my mind,” he said. “It’s something I’ve always strived to be. I’m a Red Rover at heart and there’s a saying ‘Once a Rover, always a Rover’ and I’ve been waiting and hoping for this opportunity to arise. It’s just so difficult to get any head coaching job, much less a job like Easton, which has been my home.”
Jacobs played college basketball at Wilkes and Scranton and had a taste of professional ball with the Lehigh Valley Lightning in the Atlantic Basketball Association and in Europe.
He played in an era when Easton basketball created a lot of excitement and routinely packed the 25th Street Gym. He’d like to have teams that rekindle the enthusiasm.
“There are some good young kids coming up in the program,” he said. “As a head coach, you always have your own style and philosophy. So, it will be a learning experience for me and the players. But we have our first summer league games this week and I’m looking forward to jumping right into it. There will be a learning curve, but I am sure we’ll get there.”
Jacobs said he can’t start filling out a coaching staff until he’s approved, but said he has a few people in mind.
“There are guys who I have put on my list who might be interested,” he said. “I have a shortlist and a long list, but I have to wait until I am approved before I make any official moves. The people I am interested in are people I’m familiar with and people I can trust. It’s important to build a loyal staff and that will be one of the first steps for me after next week.”
In the release, Pokrivsak said: “If approved, Mr. Jacobs enters the position with a wealth of experience as a player and coach at many levels. Mr. Jacobs has been a part of the local basketball community for the majority of his life. The Easton Area School District welcomes coach Jacobs and looks forward to his leadership as he takes over the Easton boys basketball program.”