When I graduated from Saratoga Springs High School in 1998 and headed to college later that summer, I had little idea what my next steps would be. The same can’t be said for my classmate and Blue Streaks football star Anthony Weaver. After what can only be described as a dream high school football career and senior season on the East Side Rec gridiron, Weaver went on to star at the University of Notre Dame, making the all-freshman first team his debut season and being named one of four team captains in 2001.
Following college, while I again struggled to find direction (eventually becoming a journalist), Weaver’s dream run continued, when he was drafted by the National Football League’s (NFL’s) Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2002 draft as a defensive lineman, playing for the team during its defensive heyday, sharing the field with the likes of future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs, and finishing out his career as a member of the Houston Texans (he retired in 2008).
Since then, Weaver’s been a coach on the rise, beginning on the collegiate sidelines and working his way up via a series of positions for NFL teams, including the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans, where he’s been since 2016, as defensive line coach.
Now comes the news of a major promotion: ESPN has reported, via team sources, that Weaver will replace outgoing defensive coordinator (DC) Romeo Crennel. It would mark Weaver’s first DC coaching position in the league.
It’s worth noting that Crennel previously held head coaching positions in the league with both the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs, as did Crennel’s predecessor, Mike Vrabel, who recently helped lead his team, the Tennessee Titans, to the AFC championship game. In other words, if Weaver succeeds at the position, it could easily punch his ticket to a future top coaching position. No doubt, Saratoga will be watching.