Brian Cooney didn’t have to look very far to find the inspiration necessary to become a football coach. All he had to do was look at his dad.
Dennis Cooney was a long-time football coach, working his way up the ranks from the West New York Pop Warner league, where he coached for many years, to St. Joseph of the Palisades High School, where he turned that program around and made them state-playoff caliber in the matter of minutes.
"Wherever he coached, Pop Warner, freshman, varsity, my dad adjusted," said Brian Cooney, who has taken over as the head football coach at Memorial High School this season, replacing Scott Cannao, who was the head coach for one campaign a year ago. "My dad always had a good relationship with every kid he coached. I saw how other kids got along with him and I fed off that. He made it fun for them, but also made them learn and keep them interested.
Added Brian Cooney, "My dad was definitely an inspiration to me."
Although only 27 years old, Brian Cooney seems ready to tackle the challenge of being a head coach.
After a fine high school career, playing three years for his father at St. Joseph, then transferring to North Bergen for his final year, Cooney went on to become one of the finest quarterbacks in the history of Montclair State football. Cooney is still ranked fourth all-time at MSU in passing yards (4,546), touchdowns (38) and completions (316).
After graduating from MSU, Cooney immediately became a football coach, serving as an assistant to Mike Guasconi at Weehawken for three years, then going to Bayonne for one year, and last year, was the offensive coordinator to Eddie Marinez at Emerson.
"I set myself to move up the ladder as a coach," Cooney said. "It was all a progression. I worked at getting better as a coach each year, but I honestly didn’t expect to have this kind of opportunity at this stage in my life."
Especially not at Memorial, where Cooney serves as a physical education teacher, but seemed to have an established coach in Ed Sargent, the architect of putting the Tigers back into the state playoffs and back into perennial contention in the HCIAA race.
"For sure, I thought Sargent was staying there for a while," Cooney said. "He built the program back up and made it successful again. I thought Eddie was set at Memorial for a long time."
But then Sargent resigned right before the beginning of the 2002 season due to a family-related situation, turning the reins over to Cannao, a long-time Sargent assistant. When Cannao’s wife had twins, then became pregnant with a third child, the chances of him coaching went right into the diaper hamper.
"The opportunity came knocking on the door for me," Cooney said. "I really didn’t expect it and I didn’t campaign for it. It just sort of worked out that way."
Cooney said that it wasn’t a tough transition, even though many of the Tigers were playing for their third coach in three years. It helped that Cooney was already in the building as a teacher and an assistant basketball coach to Wilson Rodriguez.
"The fact that they did know me helped a lot," Cooney said. "But I don’t think they knew me as a football player or a football coach. They all just thought I played basketball, until I picked up a football and threw it. Once I threw the football, I had full attention from the start."
Added Cooney, "We’re trying not to look at the past. Two years ago, they had a very good year and were the top seed in the (NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV) playoffs. There are some kids who remember that year, but we’re looking toward the future."
Cooney was asked if his young age was a deterrent to being a successful head coach.
"I think the kids can easily relate to me, because I am young," Cooney said. "I can also show them firsthand what I want to have done. I can get out there and show them how it’s supposed to be done. I think they’ve reacted differently, once they knew I played the game and knew what I was doing. I think it’s been a little difficult on them. I can’t give them too many things to learn or I’ll lose them. I have to establish a base until they feel comfortable with me."
Cooney inherits a team that went 4-6 a year ago. It is a senior-dominated team, with talented performers like tailback Edwin Trinidad and quarterback Gus Lopez.
"We have talent," Cooney said. "We just have to be able to turn the corner and get on an upswing. I think they believe in me and believe in the system. I feel I’m very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. I’ve committed myself since Day One to this program and I want to see it succeed. I’m here for the duration, if I have any say in it. I want to be here for a very long time. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do."
Cooney has comprised a young staff of assistant coaches, with people like Danny Marroquin, Stefano "Bear" Calderara and Jorge Delgado aiding Cooney in the transition.
"It’s a good, young, energetic and enthusiastic staff with no one older than 28 years old," Cooney said.
Cooney will not have any time to waste as the new head coach of the Tigers. Memorial opens the season with Emerson, which will pit Cooney against the team he coached a year ago.
"It’s going to be an emotional game on both sidelines," Cooney said. "I’m really looking forward to it."
After that, the Tigers face North Bergen, then Hoboken. No rest for the weary.
"It’s definitely going to be an experience," Cooney said. "So far, it’s been a lot of fun, tons of fun. I definitely can see some positive outcome. I’ve had a great feeling about this team so far."
There might be one obstacle down the road. Cooney’s wife, Iris, is expecting the couple’s first child. Her due date is November 30 – which is right around the same time as the NJSIAA Group IV state finals.
"I told her she’ll have to wait a while if we get that far," Cooney said.
Spoken like a true coach. – Jim Hague