University of Delaware Athletics
Rocco Finalizes Coaching Staff For 2018
3/1/2018 3:10:00 PM | Football
NEWARK, Del. – With spring football right around the corner, University of Delaware football head coach Danny Rocco has finalized his coaching staff for the upcoming season.
Joining Rocco's staff will be a familiar face to Blue Hens fans as Nick Rapone will take over the cornerback coaching duties, along with Kevin Reihner (Offensive Assistant/Tight Ends Coach) and Greg Meyer (Recruiting Assistant/Offensive Quality Control).
Recent alum Jalen Kindle will join the coaching staff as the Defensive Assistant and work with the linebackers, while Manny Rojas and Clint Sintim, will serve as Co-Special Teams Coordinators, along with their coaching duties with the inside and outside linebackers.
“I'm really excited to complete our staff as we head into our second season here at Delaware. We've really been able to round out our staff with extremely knowledgeable and experienced coaches and it puts us in a good position headed into spring ball in a few weeks,” Rocco said.
Rapone returns to Delaware after spending five seasons working with the Arizona Cardinals defensive backs. He coached five Pro-Bowl selections and two All-Pro selections during his time in Phoenix. This is Rapone's second stint with the Blue Hens, after he served as the defensive coordinator from 2006-12, where he was a part of two National Championship game appearances (2007, 2010). He also had stints on the defensive staffs at Temple, UConn, Pittsburgh and ETSU.
“A lot of our fans and supporters are familiar with Nick as he spent numerous years here with a lot of success working with K.C. [Keeler]. I've known him for quite some time and was certainly excited to here about his interest in the job and the knowledge and experience he will bring to our staff,” Rocco said.
Reihner joins the staff after spending last year as an offensive assistant at Wake Forest and the 2016-17 campaign as the Offensive Quality Control Specialist at Fordham. He played collegiately at Stanford University and Penn State, where he was a member of the offensive line and a part of three consecutive BCS bowl games.
Meyer is a familiar face to Offensive Coordinator Matt Simon and new QBs Coach Alex Wood, having worked alongside both of them at the University of Buffalo. Meyer spent the past five seasons with the Bulls, where he was served on the offensive staff in various capacities, including player development, wide receivers and offensive quality control. Prior to coaching at Buffalo, Meyer worked with the wide receivers and DBs and Lycoming College. Meyer's collegiate playing career was also at Buffalo, where he was a three-time All-Conference selection.
Kindle remains in Newark and transitions into the coaching role, after playing the past five years with the linebacking core. He was a four-time CAA All-Academic Conference honoree and this past year was a finalist for the Campbell Trophy Award, the academic Heisman for FCS and FBS programs.
The Blue Hens take to the field for the first time this spring on Tuesday, March 13. A full practice schedule can be found at BlueHens.com.
