Coped as he grew older? (7)
I believe the answer is:
managed
'coped' is the definition.
('manage' can be a synonym of 'cope')
'he grew older?' is the wordplay.
'he' becomes 'man' (I've seen this in another clue).
'grew older?' becomes 'aged' ('age' can be a synonym of 'grow older').
'man'+'aged'='MANAGED'
'as' is the link.
(Other definitions for managed that I've seen before include "Controlled, was in charge of" , "Contrived" , "Ran, administered" , "Coped" , "Supervised (staff)" .)