Greco Taking Over As Del Val Football Coach
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Delaware Valley College out in Doylestown has been one of the premier Division III college football programs in the region for more than a decade under the tutelage of outstanding head coaches in G.A. Mangus and Jim Clements. Now, Duke Greco is looking to continue that tradition.
Greco, who spent the last 8 years as Del Val's offensive coordinator, has been promoted to head coach to take over for Clements, who left to take over the program at Division II Kutztown University.
"I'm very excited to take over the program," Greco tells KYW Newsradio. "We've had a great tradition here. Coach Clements did a great job, Coach Mangus before (him). Hopefully, I can sit here and follow those guys we've had. The one thing that's been consistent here is we've had great kids, and the guys here have already bought in with what we're doing and are excited for the upcoming season."
Clements leaves as the winningest coach in Del Val history. He went 66-24 in eight seasons, won four Middle Atlantic Conference titles and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament three times.
Greco has spent 11 years on staff with the Aggies, coaching various positions prior to becoming offensive coordinator. He also played his college ball for Del Val, spending time as a defensive back before settling in at quarterback and throwing for 3,974 yards and 45 touchdowns during his career.
Duke Greco Interview
"When I played here, I started to really want to become a coach," Greco says. "And then got my first opportunity with Coach Mangus coaching outside linebackers. Then from there, I knew it was something I definitely wanted to do and it was a big part of my life. I love the competitive aspect of it. Big part for me too, the great thing with coaches, not only in the season dealing with the players and the relationships you have there, but college coaching, every off-season you get to go out and hit the road and meet new families and meet new people. To me, it keeps it very exciting and it's worthwhile."
The Aggies went 7-4 in 2013, with two of their losses coming in overtime. Greco has high hopes for the 2014 squad.
"We will start spring practice next week," Greco says. "We have a pretty good (recruiting) class coming in already, we're going to finish up on some guys. Big thing here, the guys we have coming back, I feel like, and I mean it, right now, myself, the coaching staff and our players feel like we have a group coming back that it's going to be disappointing if we don't win the MAC."
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
