Danny Rocco

Danny Rocco

September 6, 2012
Football coach discusses expectations for first season

As the Richmond Spiders football team hits the field this weekend for the home opener against Gardner-Webb, they’ll also be kicking off the inaugural season under Danny Rocco, the University’s 35th head football coach.

Rocco brings nearly 30 years of coaching experience to Richmond, including his most recent run as head coach at Liberty University, where he led six consecutive winning seasons with the Flames. Prior to his arrival at Liberty, Rocco spent five seasons at the University of Virginia, where he served as the Cavaliers’ recruiting coordinator.

Before moving to Virginia, Rocco spent a year as a linebacker coach with the New York Jets—an experience that ultimately put him on the path to become a collegiate-level head coach.

“It was a really unique experience to coach at that level,” Rocco says. “I enjoyed the NFL, but I think in college, you have a much better chance to impact people’s lives. When you’re coaching in the NFL, the job description is to help the player play better and win. When you’re in a college game, that’s certainly a function, but you can not only change the way they play, but change the way they think and the way they grow and mature, so they can become men of character and integrity, and responsible citizens.”

In the following video interview, Rocco talks more about the benefits of coaching at the college level, his first impressions of the University, his coaching philosophy, and expectations heading into his first season at Richmond.