"I wanted Mario to play great and the Patriots to win -- that's what I wanted," said Thom McDaniels, who coached Manningham at Warren Harding. "But I didn't get all I wanted."
Patrick Semansky, Associated PressMario Manningham's clutch catch in Sunday's Super Bowl was a decisive play, one that was the culmination of success achieved at Warren Harding and Michigan for the Warren, Ohio native.Tim Rohan
New York Times
INDIANAPOLIS -- Thom McDaniels watched from the stands in Indianapolis as the greatest receiver he has coached made the biggest play of his career against his son's team.
It was McDaniels who first taught the New York Giants' Mario Manningham how to run a fade route. But now, McDaniels -- whose son, Josh, is the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator -- wished Manningham had not beaten the cornerback with a stutter step off the line of scrimmage, had not looked the ball into his hands over his shoulder, had not tapped his feet as he fell out of bounds after making an improbable 38-yard catch with 3:39 remaining in Sunday's Super Bowl.
"I wanted Mario to play great and the Patriots to win -- that's what I wanted," said Thom McDaniels, who coached Manningham at Warren Harding High School. "But I didn't get all I wanted. That's life."
Manningham's quickness, his spatial awareness and his body control caught McDaniels' eye when Manningham was in high school. Before Manningham's sophomore season -- his first year playing varsity at Warren Harding -- he was already a basketball legend. "He could dunk as an eighth-grader, for goodness' sakes," McDaniels said. McDaniels' goal was to harness Manningham's formidable physical ability and teach him how best to use it.
Every practice under McDaniels, Manningham would run fade routes against a cornerback and a deep safety -- the situation Manningham faced in the fourth quarter Sunday. He practiced releasing off the line, beating press coverage with quick jabs or fakes, skills he excelled at.
Once Manningham beat the press coverage at the line, McDaniels wanted the ball to arrive 18-20 yards down the field and within 3-4 feet of the sideline, where he thought the safety would not have a chance to get over and help the cornerback.
With time, Manningham's big plays came by design.
But McDaniels' most important lesson may have come during preseason practice before Manningham's sophomore year. As he had done every year, McDaniels held up a football.
"We only have one of these on every play," he said with the football raised high. "And if you thought that you were good enough -- that you were so good -- that you ought to get it every play, then you need to stand up and say so in front of your teammates."
Nobody ever did.
The longtime high school coach knew it was in the team's best interest to spread the wealth. Manningham never complained, perhaps because the ball always managed to find him.
In a game against powerful Glenville, Manningham caught a 99-yard touchdown pass on a fade route, turned a short reception into another score of more than 60 yards and, playing briefly at cornerback, returned an interception for the winning touchdown.
"He baited the quarterback into throwing it, and he jumped the route and he housed it," said McDaniels, who added that Manningham's quickness was his greatest strength and that his ability to know where his body was on the field was like "radar."
Lloyd Carr, who coached Manningham at Michigan, said people wanted to watch Manningham during the Wolverines' practices, always waiting to see something spectacular.
He soon became known as Super Mario on campus, and according to Erik Campbell, his position coach at Michigan, he made too many big plays during his training camp not to play immediately, despite the presence of Steve Breaston and Jason Avant, established upperclassmen, at receiver.
In the seventh game of Manningham's college career, Michigan had the ball on the 10, trailing by four points, with only enough time for one play against undefeated Penn State. Against man coverage, Manningham ran a post pattern and caught the winning touchdown pass.
"Nobody could cover him," Carr said, adding, "My guess is he's never been intimidated in his life, because he's got such wonderful ability."
Confident as ever, Manningham, a third-round pick of the Giants in 2008, found another opportunity to shine Sunday.
On the eve of the Super Bowl, Campbell called Manningham and predicted he would be the "X-factor" while the Patriots focused on Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz.
"It's going to come sometime during the game; you don't know when, but you're going to make a key play," Campbell said.
Manningham laughed and said he was ready.
After the game, McDaniels texted Manningham, congratulating him on the "great catch."
Manningham's reply was simple: "Thanks."