CHESTER, Pa. – The Widener University football team and head coach Mike Kelly have announced the hiring of Dan Connor as defensive coordinator. Connor comes to the Pride with four years of coaching experience at the collegiate and pro levels after completing a six-year career in the NFL.
 
"We are extremely excited to have Dan join our staff," said Kelly. "He is a rising star in the coaching ranks with a great defensive mind. His experience at the professional level gives him immediate credibility with our players, many of whom watched him in their formative football years when he was at both Penn State and in the NFL."
 
Most recently, Connor completed the Nunn-Wooten NFL Scouting Fellowship with the Tennessee Titans where he was a member of the scouting department during the Titans' 2017 training camp. In 2016 and 2017 he was the head coach and defensive coordinator at Archbishop Carroll High School. Prior to that, he spent two seasons at West Chester University as the linebackers coach and a special teams assistant. While with the Golden Rams, the team went 18-6 including a trip to the 2014 NCAA Division II tournament, advancing to the second round.
 
As a player, Connor suited up for six seasons for the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, and New York Giants, making 216 tackles in 62 career games. A third round selection (74th overall) by Carolina in the 2008 draft, his best season came in 2011 when he appeared in 15 games for the Panthers with 11 starts, making 75 stops and forcing a fumble.
 
As a collegian, the Wallingford, Pa. native was a four-year starter at Penn State, graduating as the school's all-time leading tackler with 419. He was a two-time All-American and was the 2007 recipient of the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in the country.