Connor taking over as head coach at Archbishop Carroll

Dan Connor is back.

The two-time Daily Times Player of the Year from Strath Haven and former NFL linebacker was hired Thursday as the next head coach at Archbishop Carroll.

Connor’s move into coaching high school football should come as no surprise. His father, Jim Sr., and brother Mike are assistants at Cardinal O’Hara. Jim Sr. was the architect of Strath Haven’s District One championship-winning defenses in the 1990s and 2010. His other  brother, Jim Jr., was a lineman at Boston College and is a head coach at Norwell High School in Chicago.

“I grew up in a family of high school coaches. My dad is doing it with my brother Mike at O’Hara. My oldest brother does it up at Boston and he’s a head coach,” Connor said. “When I look back on my career, some of the best memories and best lessons learned were in high school when you’re playing with the guys you grew up with it. You end up learning the most and having the most fun.”

In his high school career, Connor helped Strath Haven win four District One titles in the early-2000s.

After his playing days at Strath Haven under Kevin Clancy, the winningest coach in Delaware County history and a Carroll product, Connor played for Penn State from 2004-07. He was team captain, a freshman All-American, two-time NCAA First-Team All-American and, in his final season in Happy Valley, was named the Chuck Bednarik Award winner as college football’s Defensive Player of the Year. Connor remains the all-time leading tackler in Penn State history (419).

Connor was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was a starting linebacker for the Panthers, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants before retiring in 2013. In 2014, Connor was linebackers coach and special teams assistant at West Chester University the last two years. He coached at West Chester under Bill Zwaan, a Carroll alumnus.

“High school is a level where you can affect peoples lives for the better, even moreso than a college coach or an NFL coach, by far,” Connor said. “I like being able to impact young people in right around the area where I grew up, so I can give back and have a positive influence on young people’s lives.”

Building a program was appealing to Connor. The Patriots are coming off a 3-8 season under Joe Powel, who was let go in November after five seasons. Next year the Patriots will be in the same Catholic League division as juggernauts St. Joe’s Prep, La Salle and Archbishop Wood under the expanded PIAA classification system. Carroll’s last winning season was 2007.

“There’s a team there now that’s hungry to be good,” Connor said. “It’s tough to look too far ahead when you have kids that are here. I want to just build a really strong foundation and lay out some core values in what I believe and what I believe what makes a good player, a good person.

“I wanted to set some roots down and get into a high school, so when this opportunity came up I jumped at the chance.”

Connor is one of the most decorated athletes in Delaware County history. He was Parade Linebacker of the Year, a USA Today High School All American and Pennsylvania Defensive Player of the Year in 2003. He was also honored as The Associated Press Big School Player-of-the-Year in 2003 and selected All-State in three straight years.  In addition, he won the Maxwell Football Club’s prestigious Jim Henry Award as the Philadelphia Area Player of the Year in 2003.

Connor, 30, lives in Broomall with his wife Angela and two young boys, Jack and Murphy.

“Hiring Coach Connor shows that Carroll is in the game and committed to building a competitive football program,” Archbishop Carroll president Frank Fox said. “I am confident he will instill a winning attitude among our young men, and teach them not just about football, but lessons that will last a lifetime. “He brings tremendous credentials and I have the utmost confidence that, under his leadership, Carroll football will quickly become a championship program.”