Dick Vermeil joins Schuylkill newsmakers, coaches in Super Bowl picks
Feb. 11—The Republican Herald reached out to Schuylkill County coaches and newsmakers for their predictions for the Super Bowl.
This is no surprise: Most are going with the Philadelphia Eagles to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday's game in Glendale, Arizona.
We decided, however, to branch out beyond county lines for a particular pick — and to someone with a lot of knowledge of both teams.
Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022 member Dick Vermeil, a former head coach of the Eagles and Chiefs, as well as the St. Louis Rams, who he coached to victory against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV, offered his thoughts on the game.
We gave Vermeil, 86, who lives in Chester County, an honorary Schuylkill County designation for this feature given he was in the county in October to talk winemaking with his good friend, Dr. Solomon Luo, who operates King Solomon's Vineyard near Orwigsburg. Vermeil operates a Napa-based winery called Vermeil Wines.
Coach is picking the Eagles by 4.
"Throughout the 17-game season, the Eagles have been the better team all the way around — on offense, defense and special teams," he explained. "Will that pay off on game day? ... We'll see."
Vermeil, who will watch the game with family in Key West, Florida, is taking Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as the MVP.
Here are the other picks:
Name: Mike Walborn
Title: Nativity BVM boys' basketball head coach
Winner/score: Eagles 31-21
MVP: DeVonta Smith
Scott Murphy
Marian Catholic boys' basketball coach
Eagles 27-24
Jalen Hurts
Kevin McFarland
Hamburg Area High School boys' basketball coach
Eagles 42-38
Jalen Hurts
Jake Wartella
Pottsville boys' basketball coach
Eagles 27-23
Jalen Hurts
Dustin Werdt
Teacher/boys' basketball coach at Blue Mountain
Eagles 27-21
Jalen Hurts
Theodore Styka
Mahanoy Area boys' basketball head coach
Chiefs 38-21
Stan Dakosty
Head football coach, Marian Catholic High School
Eagles 31-24
Jalen Hurts
Tom Gallagher
Head football coach/teacher, Blue Mountain School District
Eagles 34-31
Jalen Hurts
Mike Farr
Head football coach, Schuylkill Haven Area High School
Eagles 38-24
Jalen Hurts
Aaron Menapace
Athletic director/assistant football coach, Hamburg Area High School
Chiefs 32-24
Patrick Mahomes
Justin Frantz
Head football coach/teacher, Minersville Area School District
Chiefs 30-24
Patrick Mahomes
Frank Zangari
Fire chief, Girardville
Borough
Chiefs 31-17
Patrick Mahomes
John Darrah
Head football coach, Mount Carmel Area High School
Chiefs 27-24
Patrick Mahomes
Edward Moran
Head football coach, Shenandoah Valley High School
Eagles 34-27
Jalen Hurts
Ned Hampford
Coach, Pottsville Area swimming/diving
Eagles 27-24
Jalen Hurts
Tom McCarroll
Head football coach, Lehighton Area High School
Eagles 31-17
Hassan Reddick
Keith Lehman
Head baseball coach, Pine Grove Area High School
Eagles 27-24
Jalen Hurts
Jeffrey Jones
Owner, Hidden Valley Golf Course
Eagles 31-24
Jalen Hurts
Dave Shiffer
Head football coach, Pine Grove Area High School
Eagles 31-17
Jalen Hurts
Dr. Stephen Toth
Assistant superintendent, Tamaqua Area School District; Schuylkill League
president
Eagles 33-27
A.J. Brown
Matt Hoffert
Head football coach,
Hamburg Area High School
Eagles 28-21
Jalen Hurts
Pat Mason
Head football coach,
Nativity BVM High School
Chiefs 35-28
Patrick Mahomes
Alfredo Mercuri
Video editor, Coal Region Campfire/NFL Films
Eagles 28-24
Jalen Hurts
Jeff Sampson
Head football coach, Tri-Valley High School
Chiefs 35-28
Patrick Mahomes
Mark Rosenberger
Head football coach, Jim Thorpe Area High School; assistant principal, L.B. Morris Elementary School
Eagles 27-23
Jalen Hurts
Michael Connolly
Mahanoy City Borough Council chairperson
Chiefs 24-20
Patrick Mahomes
John Fatula
Mahanoy City Borough manager
Eagles 30-27
Jalen Hurts
Kim Phillips
Frackville mayor
Eagles 24-10
Jalen Hurts
Jamie Barton
State Representative 124th District
Eagles 27-24
Jalen Hurts
Tim Twardzik
State Representative 123rd District
Eagles 31-17
Jalen Hurts
Barron L. "Boots" Hetherington
Schuylkill County
commissioners chairman
Eagles by 7
Jalen Hurts
Michael Combs
Minersville police chief
Kansas City by 3
Patrick Mahomes
James Misstishin Sr.
Pottsville fire chief
Eagles 35-28
Jalen Hurts
Dave Clews
Mayor of Pottsville
Eagles 35-28
Jalen Hurts
Thomas "Lefty" Dobrolsky
Schuylkill County deputy sheriff
Eagles by 14
Mark O'Hearn
Schuylkill County deputy sheriff/former Ashland
police chief
Chiefs by 5
Patrick Mahomes
Jimmy King
Information officer, City of Pottsville
Chiefs by at least 14
Patrick Mahomes
Scott Buffington
Athletic director/head baseball coach, Schuylkill Haven Area High School
Eagles 24-21
Patrick Mahomes
Wally Hall
Head football coach, North Schuylkill High School
Eagles 27-17
Jalen Hurts
Joe Gerchak
Loan officer, CACL Financial; PIAA football, basketball, baseball official
Eagles 33-32
DeVonta Smith
Grover the Groundhog
Weather prognosticator; lives in a burrow in Sweet Arrow Lake County Park
Eagles by 6
MVP: Gus, the second-most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania
