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Thom McDaniels’ name resonates with Warren G. Harding football fans.
It should. The retired mentor brought an uprising of gridiron fervor that spread like wildfire throughout the city of Warren.
He left with a 63-21 record.
The Raiders made the playoffs five of his seven years in town, including an unforgettable 2002 Division I title game in blizzard-like conditions against Cincinnati Elder – falling two points short.
The year prior was the D-I regional title game in which Harding lost to eventual state champion St. Ignatius, but the Raiders almost willed themselves past the Wildcats with the powerful rushing style of Maurice Clarett, who was named Ohio’s Mr. Football that season.
On Saturday, McDaniels was honored by the Warren Sports Hall of Fame with other 2016 inductees – Anthony Antolini, Jeff Wood, Dr. Paul Gould, Robert Davis, Jay Lacy and Robert Saffold.
“Seven of the best years of my life were spent in Warren, Ohio,” McDaniels said, after the inductees were honored prior to Harding’s 40-6 victory over Cleveland Heights Friday night at Mollenkopf Stadium. “We have great feelings about this place. The people were wonderful to me. We had it rocking and rolling. We won a lot of games. We had a lot of great kids. It’s an amazing place.
“I’m thrilled with the honor.”
McDaniels enjoys his retirement and seven grandchildren. Two of his sons, Josh and Ben, are NFL assistant coaches.
Ben is in his first season as an offensive assistant with the Chicago Bears, after spending the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rutgers University.
Josh, who was hired to coach the Denver Broncos in 2009, is the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.
Thom stays busy with his wife, Chris, traveling to see their grandchildren and seeing Josh and Ben’s respective NFL teams.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t stay in touch with Harding’s football team. He’s kept track of the Raiders’ progress, which includes last year’s playoff appearance in Division II which resulted in a win over Madison and a loss to Mayfield.
WGH has arguably the best senior athlete in the area in Lynn Bowden, who had more than 1,800 yards rushing in 2015.
The Raiders are off to a 2-0 start this season, beating East Cleveland Shaw and Cleveland Heights by a combined score of 75-6.
McDaniels keeps in contact with WGH coach Steve Arnold. The two meet at a Cracker Barrel to talk about the previous season. It’s a good way for both to catch up.
“He’s a good friend, and he’s doing a great job,” McDaniels said.
The former WGH mentor coached at Canton McKinley, where his sons Jason, Ben and Josh, played for him, prior to his stint in Warren. He returned to McKinley a couple of years ago for second go-round before his former assistant and former Ursuline head coach Dan Reardon took over the Bulldogs program.
McDaniels coached at Massillon Jackson as well, along with assistant coach positions in Solon and Massillon.
Despite his many stops along the coaching trail, McDaniels will always remember Warren.
“Just a deep appreciation of the seven years I’ve had here,” he said. “The people were wonderful to us. I don’t know if I’ve coached anywhere where the people have been better to us.
“The Warren kids were great. They responded. The program we wanted to implement, we had immediate success.”
His coaching success with the Raiders left an indelible impression on the Warren community.