After spending the last two years at West Chester, Dan Connor is ready to lead a program of his own.

The legendary Penn State linebacker was named the new head football coach at Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor, Pa. on Thursday. After spending six seasons in the NFL, Connor entered the coaching world as the Rams’ linebackers coach for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

“High school is a level where you can affect peoples lives for the better, even moreso than a college coach or an NFL coach, by far,” Connor told PAPrepLive.com. “I like being able to impact young people in right around the area where I grew up, so I can give back and have a positive influence on young people’s lives.”

Connor takes over a Carroll team looking to bounce back after a disappointing 3-8 campaign in 2015. The Patriots have not finished a season with a winning record since 2007.

“There’s a team there now that’s hungry to be good,” Connor continued. “It’s tough to look too far ahead when you have kids that are here. I want to just build a really strong foundation and lay out some core values in what I believe and what I believe what makes a good player, a good person. I wanted to set some roots down and get into a high school, so when this opportunity came up I jumped at the chance.”

The “Linebacker U” product is familiar with the Philadelphia area, having played high school football at Strath Haven in Wallingford, Pa. While at Strath Haven, Connor was dominant on both sides of the ball, rushing for 4,531 yards and 77 touchdowns, and amounting 461 tackles and 38 sacks in his career.

Connor came to Penn State with a lofty five-star ranking, and somehow still exceeded the hype. Playing alongside star linebackers Paul Posluszny and Sean Lee, Connor earned first-team All-America honors his junior and senior seasons. He left Happy Valley as the program’s leader in career tackles, racking up 419 through his four seasons. Connor was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft, and also played with the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants before he retired after the 2013 season.