Jack Giambrone is the Athletic Director at Sinclair Community College. But what most people don’t know about him, is that he coached collegiate level football for 20 years.
“I was the defensive line coach at Wittenberg for 10 years, associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Wilmington for three years and I was the defensive backs coach at Eastern Kentucky when we were ranked number one in the nation in 1990,” Giambrone said.
His coaching résumé also includes a stint with NFL Europe’s domestic league and the team the Ohio Glory.
Over winter break, he received a call from the Offense-Defense football camp that he participates in every summer. They wanted Giambrone to be a part of the coaching staff for the All-American High School football game.
The game is usually played in Myrtle Beach, S.C. or in a warm weather state. But on this occasion, the game would have a much greater venue–Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Not until Giambrone flew to New York, to meet with the directors of the football camp, did he find out that he would be serving as the head coach of the East team.
At that time, he also realized the caliber of players he would be coaching on Dec. 29, 2011.
“The collection of talent [that we had] on the field, once they’ve done their three or four years at college, they will be playing NFL football,” Giambrone said.
His team was loaded with players committed to Universities as prestigious as national champions Alabama, Florida and Louisiana State.
The biggest challenge for Giambrone was getting all the players on the same page in a short amount of time.
“We only had four practices to put everything together, but the kids were so talented and they got it,” Giambrone said.
Giambrone said that the venue alone was breathtaking.
“It’s magnificent,” Giambrone said. “People describe it as a spaceship, and it looks like a spaceship has hovered and landed right there.”
Giambrone said his favorite part of the trip was coaching the players and developing a gameplan.
“Good coaches never forget how to coach,” Giambrone said. “It was nice to see them perform.”
Throughout the month of January, the game can be viewed on Time Warner Cable’s sports/fitness on demand for free.
The outcome of the game was 21-14 with the West defeating Giambrone’s East team.
“We out gained them yards wise, had more first downs, had less turnovers and they had more penalties,” Giambrone said. “Just where it really counted, they had more points.”
Although he is a well respected football coach, Giambrone said he has no intention of leaving Sinclair.
“I love being at Sinclair,” Giambrone said. “I left coaching because I believe what I do here is just as important as coaching. I don’t think there is a job out there that can duplicate the passion that I have for Sinclair and Sinclair Athletics.”
But this doesn’t mean that Giambrone won’t accept any offers to coach for special occasions.
“Oh without a doubt,” Giambrone said, “just as long as it doesn’t conflict with our schedule here.”