Mike McCoy, Ted Marchibroda among former NFL players, coaches with ties to northwestern Pa.
Northwestern Pennsylvania has produced some tough-nosed football players who have gone on to play at the professional level.
The Erie Times-News' series on Erie-area connections to the NFL continues with this installment of former players, coaches and personnel with last names starting with letters M, N, O, P, Q or R.
The research was done based on data available at pro-football-reference.com and the Times-News archives.
Readers who know of a former or current player with ties to northwestern Pennsylvania — defined as Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Venango, Forest and Warren counties — but isn't mentioned below can email sports@timesnews.com for potential inclusion in the future.
The players include the following, listed in alphabetical order with last names starting with letters M through R:
Wade Manning
The 68-year-old Meadville native moved to the Cleveland area as youth. He graduated from Shaker Heights High School and then played for the Ohio State Buckeyes during the end of Woody Hayes’ coaching era.
Manning signed as an undrafted free agent with the 1979 Dallas Cowboys. He was a return specialist for the reigning NFC champions, which included a short punt return during their 21-19 upset loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.
Manning, who didn’t play in 1980, also returned kicks for the Denver Broncos in 1981 and 1982.
Dan Manucci
The former Buffalo Bills quarterback, who was born in Erie but graduated high school in McClintock, Arizona, attempted passes seven years apart for the franchise.
Manucci, now 66, was behind center for Kansas State when the Bills selected him in the fifth round of the 1979 NFL draft. He was a two-year backup to Joe Ferguson but did see action when the incumbent starter was briefly injured during Buffalo’s 20-14 loss at San Diego in an AFC divisional playoff on Jan. 3, 1981.
Manucci’s NFL career ended at that point.
Or so he thought.
Manucci suited up as a replacement player for the 1987 Bills when the NFL’s established players went on strike for 24 days over labor issues. He threw for 68 yards and no touchdowns as a so-called “scab” player.
Manucci last worked as co-host for a radio sports talk show in Phoenix.
Ted Marchibroda
The Franklin native and graduate, who died in 2016 at age 84, was better known locally and nationally for his coaching career than playing career.
Marchibroda’s time as a college player was split between the former programs at St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York, and the University of Detroit-Mercy. The Pittsburgh Steelers used the fifth overall pick in the 1953 NFL draft to take the former Knight.
Marchibroda passed for 340 yards and 15 touchdowns over three seasons and then started another seven games for the 1957 Chicago Cardinals.
However, most NFL fans know Marchibroda for his coaching tenures with the Colts, both in Baltimore (1975-1979) and Indianapolis (1992-95). He was voted the NFL’s coach of the year for leading the 1975 Colts to first place in the AFC East Division.
One of the 1995 Colts that Marchibroda coached was McDowell graduate Brian Stablein.
Marchibroda returned to the sidelines in Baltimore as the Ravens’ inaugural coach in 1996. The Ravens were deemed a “relocated” franchise upon owner Art Modell’s decision to move the Cleveland Browns to Maryland.
Marchibroda’s overall NFL coaching record was 186-87 over 12 seasons.
Mike McCoy
An argument could be made the 1966 Cathedral Prep graduate is Erie’s most celebrated former NFL player not named Fred Biletnikoff.
McCoy’s varsity career for the Ramblers warranted recruitment by the University of Notre Dame. He was good enough as a defensive tackle to receive Heisman Trophy votes in 1969.
No northwestern Pennsylvania football native is likely to come closer to being the No. 1 overall pick for an NFL draft than McCoy. He went second overall in 1970.
Selected first? A Louisiana Tech quarterback named Terry Bradshaw, who was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
McCoy played for the Packers (1970-77) in mostly doldrum seasons after they dominated the NFL for most of the 1960s. He also played two seasons for the Oakland Raiders, their last two with coach John Madden, and split two more with the New York Giants and Detroit Lions before he retired in 1980.
McCoy, 75, has run a veteran ministry out of Grayson, Georgia.
Hugh McKinnis
The 75-year-old Sharon native and Farrell graduate had several long-distance football stops before the Cleveland Browns drafted him at age 23.
McKinnis cut short his time as an Arizona State running back to sign with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders. The Browns, not deterred by his three seasons of wear and tear in the Great White North, chose him in the eighth round of the 1972 NFL draft.
McKinnis initially suited up for Cleveland the following season and rushed for 855 yards and six touchdowns through 1975.
Cleveland left McKinnis unprotected for the league’s expansion draft. He ended up a member of the 1976 Seattle Seahawks, whose 2-12 record was considered robust compared to the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
McKinnis retired after one season in the Pacific Northwest. He also retired from the beverage industry in 2004.
Chip Nuzzo
Born Cris D’Annunzio, Nuzzo, like Manucci, was a replacement player for the 1987 Buffalo Bills.
The Olean, New York, native moved to Corry with his family. He competed in various sports for the Beavers and then attended Princeton University in New Jersey.
Nuzzo was listed as a defensive back for the Bills. He dressed for each of the three games the team fielded "scab" players but didn’t record any statistics.
Nuzzo, 58, later became an actor and playwright. His bit roles on television included “Seinfeld” and “Law & Order," and briefly appeared in 2007’s “American Gangster” which starred Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
Ed O’Neil
The Warren graduate, now 71, remains the only former Dragon who suited up and competed in an NFL game.
O’Neil’s prowess as a varsity linebacker drew the attention of Penn State University, aka Linebacker U. The Detroit Lions thought enough of his talent to choose him with the eighth overall pick in the 1974 NFL draft.
O’Neil’s rookie season was the Lions’ last at Tiger Stadium. They moved to the Pontiac Silverdome the following year, where he played for their home games through 1979.
O’Neil retired after one season with the rival Green Bay Packers. He recorded five career interceptions and seven fumble recoveries, all with the Lions.
Frederick "Babe" Parnell
The Ashtabula, Ohio, native spent a portion of his college career as a linemen for Allegheny College's football program. His NFL career, which lasted through the league's barnstorming days of its original decade of existence, was with the 1925-28 New York Giants.
Parnell was a right tackle for those Giants, who played before the NFL even conducted a postseason. New York was declared the league's 1927 champion based on its 11-1-1 record.
Parnell was a Kingsville, Ohio, resident when he died in 1982 at age 81.
Jim Romaniszyn
Titusville residents, plus those in the Edinboro University and McDowell football communities, mourned the loss of Romaniszyn on Aug. 22. The 1996 Metro Erie Sports Hall of Fame inductee died in Port Orange, Florida, at age 71.
Romaniszyn played for Edinboro’s football program during its glory era of the early 1970s. The Cleveland Browns, despite the Fighting Scots’ small-school status, still chose him as a linebacker in the 13th round of the 1973 NFL draft.
“You can’t imagine as a fan what it’s like being on an (NFL team),” Romaniszyn said in a 2021 Erie Times-News story. “You don’t get the size perspective on television. You don’t get the speed perspective. I was running 4.6 (40-yard dashes) in camp, and there were linemen who could run faster than that.”
Romaniszyn played two seasons for the Browns and then, after a year on injured reserve, with the 1976 the New England Patriots. Three years later, he began his coaching career in charge of McDowell’s boys basketball program.
He resumed coaching high school hoops after he moved to Florida.
Coming up: S through W
Check back soon on GoErie.com as the list of northwestern Pa. players/personnel who have connections to the NFL concludes with last names starting with letters S, T, U, V or W.
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: At NFL level: Mike McCoy among former players with Erie PA connections
