Brockton’s new football coach and Patriots Super Bowl champion Jermaine Wiggins passionately tells his players: ‘Yes, you can’

© Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Jermaine Wiggins’s attention was on his players at his introductory press conference at Marciano Stadium.

BROCKTON — Jermaine Wiggins knew he was supposed to look straight ahead at the cameras, but the new football coach at Brockton High instinctively found himself twisting his body to face the players behind him during his introductory press conference.

His message was for the community, yes, but it was meticulously crafted for the players in particular. A supporter quietly played the Superman theme song midway through his remarks. While he appreciated the gesture, he made it clear he wants to make his players feel like super heroes.

“That’s why I’m here,” Wiggins said. “To show everybody that looks like me, talks like me, walks like me, and is from a place very similar to where I’m from, that anything can be attained.”

Wiggins, a 2001 Super Bowl champion with the Patriots who grew up in East Boston, follows legendary father-son coaches Armond and Peter Colombo. This will be the first time in 54 years that someone outside the family takes the reins at Brockton, and Wiggins couldn’t be more grateful to embrace that challenge.

The 48 year old will continue to co-host The Greg Hill Morning Show on WEEI. He sported black sunglasses, a baby blue checkered suit, and clean white sneakers as he addressed an enthusiastic and attentive crowd amid the scorching heat Friday afternoon at Marciano Stadium.

“You see what the Colombos have created here,” Wiggins said. “It’s an honor to follow in those footsteps. It’s like I tell my kids. ‘To come from a great legacy is one thing, but now you have to create your own legacy.’ That’s what I intend to do.”

Moving on from the Colombo legacy, Brockton hires former Patriot Jermaine Wiggins as football coach

Wiggins said he sees similarities between East Boston and Brockton. He expects his players to give back to the community, value education, and feel a sense of pride playing for their hometown.

He grew up in a single-parent household, with a mother who worked multiple jobs, and didn’t initially believe he could play college football.

While coaches Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, and Jim Donnan of Marshall and Georgia shaped him in a major way, he said his high school basketball and football coaches, Mike Rubin and John Loftus, are the coaches who stand out the most. They helped him build a foundation and taught him to relentlessly pursue greatness.

One day in high school, Wiggins sat with his late mother, Doreen Faretra, at the kitchen table across from then-Northeastern coach Barry Gallup.

Gallup told Faretra that he’d love to have her son at Northeastern, and she politely told him they couldn’t afford it. He clarified that they were prepared to offer him a full scholarship.

“She goes, ‘Guess what? He’s going to Northeastern,’ ” Wiggins said.

He ended up at Marshall, transferred to Georgia, then had a successful seven-year NFL career.

His sons, Jermaine Jr. and Jaden, who both starred at Central Catholic, will play at UMass this fall. Wiggins said he plans to treat his players like he does his children and to empower them to achieve their dreams. He describes his coaching style as fair but hard, with a lot of fun sprinkled in along the way.

“If you have aspirations of one day playing in the NFL, my job isn’t to tell you that you probably can’t make that happen, it’s going to be too difficult,” Wiggins said. “My job is to tell you that you can. My job is to give you the reality of what it takes to get to that level.”

Wiggins addressed his team shortly after his press conference and told them he was no different from any of them. He got perhaps the biggest cheer of the night when he mentioned that he loves the rapper Lil Baby.

Junior Cameron Monteiro, who has several Power 5 offers, acknowledged it will take some getting used to without a Colombo around, but he’s thrilled to have Wiggins on board.

“It’s a blessing, honestly,” Monteiro said. “He’ll open up opportunities for us, knowing he’s a Super Bowl champ.”

One of the winningest programs in Massachusetts history — 11 state championships and 18 Super Bowl appearances — is hoping to re-establish itself as a dominant power. With Wiggins as their leader and anchor, the Boxers will aim to capture their first state championship since 2005.

The City of Champions has a new champion to help forge new champions.

“I’m excited for him to create his own legacy here,” said Kevin Karo, Brockton’s athletic director. “We’re going to give him all the tools to be successful.”