Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR 550) - Many football fans are gearing up and will be tuning in this Sunday to watch Super Bowl LVII take place between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
While the Buffalo Bills missed out on their chance to take part in the big game representing the AFC, many local football fans will still likely be watching Sunday's "Big Game". What some local fans may not know is there are quite a few Western New York connections from both the Chiefs and Eagles taking part in the Super Bowl this weekend.
A few of the names having significant roles this weekend may be familiar to many, but for others, the ties are either lesser known or one may have forgotten their affiliation to Western New York:
Nick Sirianni - Head coach - Philadelphia Eagles
Perhaps the most prominent Western New York connection heading into Sunday's contest, Sirianni was a graduate of Southwestern High School in the Class of 1999. There, he played high school football under the tutelage of his father, Fran.
Also playing with Sirianni at Southwestern High School during those years was Tom Langworthy, who's been a lifelong friend of his after meeting at a young age in elementary school.
"We lived in the same neighborhood growing up in Jamestown, we both went to Southwestern from, elementary school, middle school, high school, and have remained friends to this day," said Langworthy, who also serves as the head coach of Jamestown High School's Varsity Football team. "And obviously being in the same neighborhood, we played a lot of sports together. Organized sports and also sandlot neighborhood sports, so Nick and I have spent a lot of time together growing up, and we've got great memories together. Everyone can think of their childhood friends, and Nick's definitely one of those childhood friends."
After playing four seasons as a wide receiver at D-III Mount Union, Sirianni began his coaching career in 2004 at his alma mater in Ohio as a defensive backs coach. He then coached three seasons at Indiana University of Pennsylvania as the wide receivers coach.
According to Langworthy, it was his years spent coaching at the college ranks where Sirianni fell in love with football. It was also at that point where Langworthy knew Sirianni was set to go places in the game of football.
"As Nick committed to coaching at Mount Union right out of college and then worked his way to IUP, that developed his career in coaching," Langworthy said. "Nick's always been a really hard worker, very focused, very organized. It's not like I was thinking like, 'Hey, maybe he'll coach in the Super Bowl some day,' but when you think about it and break it down into stages, it's very logical that he got the promotions that he got and moved up the ladder. It's not surprising that he had success at every level, so when you when you break it down, it's logical to think that here he is coaching in the biggest game."
From there, Sirianni made the jump to the NFL in 2009, where he joined the Chiefs as an offensive quality control coach under then head coach Todd Haley. After four seasons in Kansas City serving in different roles, Sirianni then joined the Chargers organization in 2013, serving in a myriad of roles before becoming the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts in 2018 under head coach Frank Reich.
After three successful seasons working in Indianapolis with quarterbacks like Andrew Luck and Philip Rivers, the Eagles hired Sirianni as the team's 24th head coach in franchise history. In just his first season, Sirianni led Philadelphia to a 9-8 record in the NFC, good enough for the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In just his second season with the Eagles, Sirianni got the most out of his stellar group, posting a 14-3 regular season record, capturing the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs, and a pair of playoff wins over the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.
While Langworthy says he wasn't surprised by Sirianni's road that got him to his coaching gig with the Eagles, he believes it was being around some really good coaches that has allowed him to take a bit from each one and help formulate his own philosophy and style at the NFL level.
"Working with college coaches like Larry Kehres at Mount Union and Luke Tepper at IUP, and then moving up into the NFL ranks with Todd Haley, Charlie Weis, Brian Daboll, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike McCoy, Frank Reich. I mean, these are experts of the game at not only teaching, but building teams, and Nick has been able to make a name for himself with all of those guys and take a little bit from each person. And you make that your own, you make your own philosophy based off your experiences, and that's what he's been able to do. I think that's what good coaches do," Langworthy explained. "They find what they like and maybe discard what they don't like, and they use that in a melting pot to develop their own philosophy and what they're going to do when they're a head coach. You can see Nick definitely has his own personal and unique style."
As someone who grew up playing football in Western New York and having the opportunity to grow with Sirianni, Langworthy feels there's plenty of significance for the region in having a local product achieve so much already and reaching the Super Bowl.
"For me, it's a reminder that Nick's a guy. He's a son, he's a brother, he's a friend, he's a guy just like everybody else. But he's on the grand stage in a really great sports town, leading his team and inspiring people," he said. "In our friends group, it's still Nick. He just has a really cool job and really high profile job, and he's doing really well. But I think on another level, it's an inspiration to our area student athletes and students, in general, that you don't need to go to a big school to have success. You don't need to come from Ohio or Florida or Texas or California, or one of these hotbed football areas. Everything that you want can happen right here in Western New York. The world can be at your fingertips right here from Jamestown, whether you go to Jamestown High School, or Southwestern High School, or one of the other schools in the area. Everything that you could ever want is accessible to you if you work hard, and you stay committed to your goals."
Brett Kern - Punter - Philadelphia Eagles
It has been a long NFL journey for Kern, who is playing his 15th season in the league in 2022.
After playing four seasons of college football at the University of Toledo, Kern was signed by the Denver Broncos in 2008 as an undrafted free agent. He went on to win the Broncos' starting punting job, where he averaged an impressive 46.7 yards per-punt.
After being cut by the Broncos following parts of two seasons in Denver, Kern was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans, where he established himself as a mainstay in Nashville for parts of the next 13 seasons. In his 197 games played with the Titans, the Grand Island native booted the ball 923 times, averaging 45.9 yards per-punt.
Between 2017 and 2019, Kern was named a three-time Pro Bowler, and was also named an AP Second-Team All-Pro (2017) and AP First-Team All-Pro (2019).
After losing out on the starting punting role in Tennessee to start this season, Kern was released and remained unsigned until December when the Eagles signed the 36-year-old to the practice squad. He was eventually elevated to the active 53-man roster back on Jan. 7, and has served as the punter in Philadelphia for the team's last six games.
Before that, though, Kern started his playing days at Grand Island High School, where he graduated in 2004.
Athletic Director Jon Roth has been with the district in his role for nearly 30 years, and has gotten to know Kern and his family extremely well over the years.
"His family was just an outstanding character, Christian family. That's exactly what Brett Kern is," said Roth. "I mean, he's got a character attitude, he's a Christian athletes, he's very humble. You would never know that a guy like Brett Kern is an All-Pro punter."
Roth says it's been an exciting time for the whole Grand Island community, especially for the Vikings football program and other programs across the region.
"Brett has been an All-Pro [two] times, he averaged almost 50 yards a punt one year, I think it was 2017. Just unbelievable," he said.
"People I've talked to, at least a dozen, have chosen to root for the Eagles instead of Kansas City just because of Brett and, of course, his high school teammate Scott Kaniecki. I mean, we're thrilled about it. You'll go into an area restaurant or something like that, and it's not uncommon to hear him talking about Brett Kern. They throw it out to me, 'What do you think about Brett being in the Super Bowl?' I just think it's so deserving."
While it has been a long road for Kern to finally get a chance to win a Super Bowl, Roth knows what a thrill ride it has been for the veteran punter in his 15 years spent with the Broncos, Titans and now Eagles.
At one point earlier this year, Bills fans - especially in Grand Island - were hoping Kern would bring his talents back to Orchard Park and sign with the team following all that transpired with Matt Araiza and his subsequent release from the team. Instead, Buffalo elected to sign veteran Sam Martin in free agency, allowing Kern to eventually find his way to Philadelphia.
Years after his playing days in Grand Island with the Vikings, Roth says Kern is a staple of the community, always taking time during his offseason to return to Western New York and work with some local high school football athletes.
"Brett Kern comes back every summer to put on a little clinic, to say hello to is former high school coaches that are still here, all three of them - head coach Dean Santorio, Mike Stauffer and, of course, Steve Steck. And, of course, JV coaches Brian Willats and myself are invited, and he invites a lot of our athletes in the summertime to put on a clinic, sign autographs, give them a little speaking engagement, and, of course, punting to a lot of our athletes. He's always giving back," Roth said. "Fortunately for us, he's been a [Pro Bowler] three times, and he has chosen to give a $10,000 award three times to our football program, and that's how much he felt about Grand Island football. Just an outstanding character athlete."
Jody Fortson - Tight end - Kansas City Chiefs
The road to the NFL was certainly an interesting one for Fortson, who is set to take part in his third Super Bowl weekend as a member of the Chiefs.
After a college football career that started as a wide receiver at Erie Community College and eventually over to D-II Valdosta State University, Fortson signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2019, where he then transitioned to the tight end position.
Despite being cut after his first NFL training camp, Fortson stuck around with the Chiefs as part of their practice squad, where he was able to earn a Super Bowl ring following a win over the 49ers in his rookie year. A year later, the Buffalo native, once again, spent the season on the Kansas City practice squad, where the Chiefs ended up losing the Super Bowl that year to the Buccaneers.
It wasn't until the 2021 season when Fortson ended up making the active roster for the Chiefs, where he has played 19 career games with 14 receptions for 155 yards and four touchdowns. This past season saw Fortson earn his first-career start in the NFL at tight end in a Week 11 win over the Chargers.
Where it all began for Fortson, though, was at South Park High School, playing with the Sparks under the tutelage of head coach Tim Delaney until he graduated in 2013.
"Jody was an integral part of us coming into Section VI," said Delaney of Fortson during his time coaching him. "The City of Buffalo football programs had made the jump from playing Harvard Cup football to Section VI in 2010, and Jody would have been on our first-ever complete JV team in 2010. He was a kid who took some time growing throughout his high school career. He was just a member of our program who took workouts very seriously in the offseason conditioning programs and going to camps, and things that we were trying to build as we went from where the program was when I became the head coach to where it is now. He was right in that transition phase, as we were making our jump into the section. And a kid who very much wanted to be a really good player, wanted to do all the work necessary, which obviously has come to fruition for him now."
Over the years, Delaney and the South Park program has enjoyed some pretty good success in Western New York. This includes a Class A football championship back in 2015. As he looks back on his years coaching Fortson, Delaney admits that while he was a good player in his time with the Sparks, his road to the NFL did take him a bit by surprise.
"He was not one of the guys who got a ton of accolades. We've been lucky enough to have a Connolly Cup winner, a couple of Buffalo News Players of the Year, a Trench Trophy winner and guys who made First-Team All-Western New York. Jody was a good player on a competitive team, but we didn't win our division back then and those kinds of things," Delaney explained. "So for him to leave South Park, go to ECC, go the route that he went, where he ended up playing Division-II football and his maturation as a person - let alone a football player - it really is a testament to his perseverance and just the message that we try to instill in all of our student athletes and all of our students, in general: Hard work will pay off in the end. You have to keep plugging away, you have to keep doing the work, and if you believe in that process, good things will happen."
In the decade-plus of coaching at South Park, Delaney says it is always humbling as a coach and as a coaching staff to have any player on his program go on and continue their playing days at the collegiate level and beyond.
"We've been lucky enough to have kids go out and play at junior college football to Division-III, all the way up to Division-I. This is the first kid in the time that we've been here at South Park to play in the NFL," he said. "Certainly for him to be a member of an organization that had so much success and now he's on the active roster and will get to play in the Super Bowl, it's very humbling for us as a coaching staff."
In the years since graduating South Park, Fortson has been able to give back to the school and his community, being an inspiration for others who may hope to one day follow in his footsteps to something greater in life.
"He actually during his rookie year - when he was on the practice squad for the Chiefs - he came back and spoke to kids in the building, our student athletes and some other kids just about being able to work hard to achieve your dream. He did a really good job with that," Delaney said. "Then fast forward to the spring that we had to play football because of the COVID year, he was able to come back and be on the sideline for a game, and address our kids at the end of the game. He's come back, he hasn't forgotten where he started, where he came from.
"He played Little League Football kind of down the street from the school, and then played his high school career here. For all of that, it's been really nice for our kids, our program and our school to see, 'Hey, here's a kid who walked these halls, put on this uniform, practiced on our little practice field, and played here to go on and have such success.' It really transcends more than just football, and I feel like all of our kids can take something from that. Whatever your pursuit is, if you keep continuing on and don't let the obstacles stop you, you're able to achieve your dreams."
Despite it being tough as a Bills fan to root for an archrival team in the Super Bowl, Delaney has nothing but best wishes for Fortson, as he gets ready to play this weekend for the Chiefs.
Delaney feels there is greater significance for the Western New York area, including Buffalo Public Schools, with having a player like Fortson find great success with reaching and playing football in the NFL. It shows the football world there are some excellent athletes that come out of the region, which also includes Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie - graduate of Bennett High School in 2017.
"Not only do we have really good athletes, we have really good football here," Delaney said. "It's an area that tends to be underrecruited nationally by college football programs. There are reasons for that, but it does show that there are plenty guys who are able to play at that level. So that is really important for not only our program, but the Buffalo Public Schools to show there are kids here. People should be knocking on our doors looking for the next Jody Fortson, looking for that next guy, that diamond in the rough kid."
Others with Western New York ties taking part in this year's Super Bowl include:
Tyree Jackson - Tight end - Philadelphia Eagles
Jackson played three seasons in Buffalo as quarterback with the University at Buffalo, completing 55.8% of his passing attempts for 6,999 yards, 49 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. He ended up ranking fourth in school history in career passing yards and completions (533), third in touchdown passes, and sixth in completion percentage.
After going undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Jackson signed with the Bills and spent the offseason and training camp with the team. After he was waived as part of the team's final roster cuts that year, Jackson joined the D.C. Defenders of the XFL, where he appeared in four games before the season was cut short due to COVID-19.
Following the 2020 season, the Eagles signed Jackson to a Reserve/Future contract, where he would make the transition from quarterback to tight end. He has since spent the last two years as part of the Eagles, but currently sits on Injured Reserve.
David Caldwell - Senior personnel director - Philadelphia Eagles
Born and raised in Buffalo, Caldwell attended St. Francis High School, graduating as part of the Class of 1992.
Caldwell has since worked his way up the NFL ranks, where he eventually was named the general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2013. After being fired from his role in Jacksonville in 2020, Caldwell was brought in by the Eagles to serve as a personnel executive. He now serves as the team's senior personnel director and advisor to general manager Howie Roseman.
This is the second Super Bowl Caldwell will have some role in, as he served as an area scout when he was a member of the Colts' staff in 2006. They went on to beat the Chicago Bears that year in Super Bowl XLI.
Alex Tanney - Assistant quarterbacks coach - Philadelphia Eagles
Tanney had a couple cups of coffee with the Bills over his career in the NFL. He spent rookie minicamp with the team back in 2012, as well as one day on the practice squad in 2015.
Where Tanney stakes his claim to fame is for his trick-shot videos he made while playing D-III college football at Monmouth College. He set the NCAA D-III record for career touchdown passes while at Monmouth with 157, and has the second-most passing yards in D-III history with 14,249.
After retiring, Tanney was joined the Eagles as an offensive quality control in 2021. He has since been promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach.
Scott Kaniecki - Administrative assistant to head coach - Philadelphia Eagles
Like Kern, Kaniecki was born and raised in Grand Island, graduating with the Eagles punter in the Class of 2004. Kaniecki then went on to play collegiate football at SUNY Brockport for four seasons.
Kaniecki joined the Eagles' coaching staff this past offseason after spending seven years in a number of different roles with the Cleveland Browns.
David Hinson – Co-director of college scouting - Kansas City Chiefs
Hinson is a graduate of Jamestown High School in 1995, where he helped the Red Raiders reach the Class A football championship as a running back in 1993 and 1994. Hinson was able to help Jamestown capture the Class A title as a senior in '94, where he rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns in the championship game.
After high school, Hinson also played tailback at the University at Buffalo from 1995 to 1999.
Hinson has served several seasons in a scouting role in the NFL - including some time with the Bills - spending the last six seasons on the Chiefs' personnel staff.