A Boston TV station has a story about conflicted New England Patriots fans from Hudson, Mass., who will see native son Matt Burke lead the stifling Houston Texans defense into Foxboro this week to face the Pats. Find a video report HERE.
There are Dartmouth fans who cheer for the Pats who have reason to feel the same way because Burke '98 is a former reserve Dartmouth defensive back. Here's his senior bio:
2000-02 Boston College – Graduate assistant
2003 Harvard – Assistant coach
2004-08 Tennessee Titans – Admin. assistant, defensive quality control
2009-13 Detroit Lions – Linebackers
2014-15 Cincinnati Bengals – Linebackers
2016-18 Miami Dolphins – Defensive coordinator
2019-20 Philadelphia Eagles – Defensive special assistant
2021 New York Jets – Game management coach
2022 Arizona Cardinals – Defensive line coach
2023 Houston Texans – Defensive coordinator
He graduated from an Ivy League school. He proposed to his wife while hiking with gorillas in Uganda. He once called a literal storage closet his office.
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And speaking of coaching, former excitable Dartmouth assistant Mike Bruno is on the move again. Bruno, famed for taking on tackling dummies as a way to fire up his charges in Hanover between 2011 and 2015, is the new defensive coordinator at Presbyterian per FootballScoop (LINK). Here's how his coaching journey has gone:
2009-10 Worcester Poly – Special Teams Coordinator, RBs, DBs, DL2011-15 Dartmouth – NIckels, assistant secondary, assistant special teams
2016 Mississippi State – Defensive graduate assistant
2017 Louisville – Defensive quality control
2018-21 Cal – Defensive quality control
2022 UNLV – Inside linebackers
2023 Minot State – Defensive coordinator
2024-25 Cal – Inside linebackers
2026 Presbyterian – Defensive coordinator
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Turns out Dartmouth's Chris Corbo isn't the only former Ivy League tight end heading to Georgia Tech. Following in the steps of former Yale tight end Jackson Hawes (now with the Buffalo Bills) and Corbo is Yale tight end Spencer Mermans. In a Q&A the Tech commit brings up Corbo (LINK):
How excited are you to get going and be part of a Georgia Tech program that seems to be one on the rise?
MERMANS: "That's what it looks like for sure. That's one of the reasons I came here. I didn't come here to lose. I foresee this team doing well. I think that Georgia Tech has a really good plan, and I'm really very excited to be part of this room. We've got another Ivy League tight end in the room too... played against him over at Dartmouth and in the Yale Bowl. Super stoked. I didn't really know Chris (Corbo) before this other than having friends of friends or playing against each other or watching a little bit of his film. I hear the D-linemen talking about him and how tough he was. But we haven't officially met.
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EXTRA POINT
I got a call last weekend from someone who teaches at an ACC school about some award I won, but that's not what is interesting. When I told the fellow over the phone that I knew a couple of recent graduates from his school he asked their names. Wonder of wonders, he had taught both of them, I believe in a sports broadcasting class. One grew up in Massachusetts and is the son of a very good high school friend. The other grew up in Hanover and was a catcher on the undefeated Little League team I coached.
Knowing both boys heading to the ACC school were huge sports fans, I always intended to find a way to introduce them to each other from afar, but never did.
Here's the fun part. I touched base with my high school friend a few days ago and told him his son's name came up. When I mentioned the name of one of my former players my friend told me he actually met my former player because his son and my old catcher were in the same fraternity. Turns out I didn't have to introduce them at all!
