NFL coaches with Tucker High roots set to vie for Super Bowl title
Thomas Brown and Neiko Thorpe, both graduates of Tucker High School, will represent their alma mater in tonight's Super Bowl LX, with Brown as the passing-game coordinator/tight ends coach for the New England Patriots and Thorpe as the defensive assistant/defensive backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks. The post NFL coaches with Tucker High roots set to vie for Super Bowl title appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.
Key points:
• Thomas Brown is the Patriots’ passing-game coordinator/tight end coach.
• Brown’s fellow Tucker Tiger Neiko Thorpe is heading into his first Super Bowl appearance as a defensive back coach.
• Both played football for Tucker High School.
Two Tucker High School standouts are representing their alma mater in the Feb. 8 Super Bowl at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
Thomas Brown, a 2004 Tucker High School graduate, is the passing-game coordinator/tight end coach for the New England Patriots. Neiko Thorpe, who sparked national attention after graduating from Tucker High in 2008, is a defensive assistant/defensive back coach for the Seattle Seahawks.
Brown got his training on the gridiron as a running back at Tucker. He helped the University of Georgia win the 2005 SEC championship, with 26 touchdowns, 25 rushing, in his collegiate career, according to his Patriots’ profile.
He recently told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his time in Tucker and Georgia was the foundation of his future NFL success.
“I started making some of those earlier connections,” Brown told the AJC. “I grew up 50 minutes from Athens. It was close by. I had the support system, made some lifelong friends, but also just learned a lot of values of hard work and perseverance.”
Brown, as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Rams, won a Super Bowl ring at Super Bowl LVI in 2021.
Brown’s fellow Tucker Tiger Neiko Thorpe is heading into his first Super Bowl appearance. He has achieved several successes on the field prior to his coaching stint. As a Tucker High safety, he was named an Under Armour All-American, recording 64 tackles and three interceptions in his senior year. He was part of the national champion team at Auburn University in 2011, according to Rivals.com.
Prior to being named defensive coach, Thorpe spent five seasons with the Seahawks, occasionally as corner back snaps, but primarily as a special teams gunner. Thorpe shared a brief message on his Instagram after his team narrowly clinched the NFC championship game against the Rams: “Big Blessings. Thank you Father on repeat.”
Mayor Anne Lerner expressed her excitement about the Tucker High School’s alums facing off.
“No matter who takes home the trophy tonight, Tucker wins,” Lerner told Rough Draft Atlanta. “Having our Tucker Tigers represented in the Super Bowl is a moment of great pride for our entire community.”
The post NFL coaches with Tucker High roots set to vie for Super Bowl title appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.
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