Last donation: Heriberto S., McDonough, GA, 4/24/23 (thanks, Heriberto!!) Two on 4/14/23 (thanks to Joe F. and Ross M. ); Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla. 2/18/23 (thanks, Tom!!!)Ed P., Yardley, Pa. (1/9/23; thanks, Ed,) Lawrence S., West Chester, Pa., 12/28/22, our first contribution in over a month (thanks Larry, this will help in having to replace the printer we purchased in the summer that went on the fritz); Bob C., Chadds Ford, Pa., 11/27/22 (thanks Bob, our first contribution since September) Ed P., Perkasie, Pa. who donated 9/24/22 at the UMass game and Ed and I both remember and love Pennridge coach Wayne Helman; Joe S. (Delaware County), 9/3/22 (thanks Joe, hope to see you at Lafayette or RU); James G. (thanks James and for all the great posts you make on this site),, 7/29/22: Matt P. (former Al Golden player, thank you Matt for the generous donation it will be put to good use as we will explain in Monday’s post), 6/9/22; Matt F., Horsham, Pa. (thanks, Matt!!), June 6, 2022; David, B., Milton, DE (thanks, Dave), April 11, 2022: Andy B., Philadelphia, Pa. (our first donation of 2022, thanks Andy), March 3, 2022; Ed P., Yardley, Pa. 12/25/21 (thanks, Ed for the Christmas donation); Matt F., no hometown found (“a celebratory donation for Carey’s firing”), 11/30/21 thanks, Matt; Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio, 11/29/21 (thanks, Jon for the donation and the great comments on this site); James G., Royersford, Pa. 11/28/21 (thanks, Jim, for the donations and your comments on the website); Anonymous (no home town given but donation really appreciated), 11/20/2021; Roger D., Rehoboth Beach,, Del., 10/24/21; Joe S., Drexel Hill, Pa. 10/3/21 (thanks, Joe) At the BC game (9/18), John from Landenburg (thanks, John for being a great friend of this site for so many years); Three Aug. 21 donations: Eric A (former player), Atlanta, Ga; Anonymous (by request), Cincinnati, Oh; Tim R., Buffalo, N.Y. (sincere thanks to all); David N., Silver Springs, Md (thanks Dave) 7/10/21; former Temple player Matt P., who lives in Columbus, GA now (thanks Matt) 7/9/21; Joe F., Philadelphia (4/7/11, thanks Joe) Matt F., Horsham, Pa., 3/27/21 (thanks, Matt); Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio (1/31/21, thanks Jon) Ed P.,, Yardley, Pa. (thanks, Ed, much appredicated), 1/16/21; Mitchell S. , 12/21/20, our first contribution since (10/8) earlier, Former Owl Bruce G., Flourtown, Pa, who generously donated $100 in “honor” of the Ambler guy 10/8/20; (if they hate you in Ambler, we love you in Flortown,” BG says). Thanks, BG, we appreciate it; Earlier: James G., Philadelphia (7/21/20, thanks James) Robert B., Philadelphia (7/13/20, thanks, Bob, hope to see you at the tailgates again this fall); Previous: Jon E. from Cincinnati 6/15/20, our first donation this calendar year (thanks, Jon); Earlier, John from Landenberg; Kurt B., Wyomissing Hills, PA (former Temple player, 10-15-19) Earlier: David B. , Springfield, PA (9/26/19 … thanks, Dave!) also John from Landenberg (9/21/19); Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla. (8/22/19, thanks Tom!! Also, 10 days earlier, Bob. C and Joe S. and, on June 26, first bowl MVP Mark B.
Earlier: Matt F., Philadelphia; Matt P. (former Temple player) John from Landenberg and Jon E. from Cincinnati
Jay M. no hometown found ; Earlier: William B. Chicago; John from Landenberg, ; Mark B, South Jersey, Joe S, Springfield, PA…,
Also:
Ed P., Perkasie, Pa; and Richard W. (no hometown given); Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Tim C., no hometown available; Bob C., David B., Springfield (Montco); Mark B., from South Jersey; John from Landenberg, Pa.; Joe S., Primos, PA; Thomas W., Palm Coast Fla; Jon E., Cincinnati; Mike S.,no hometown; Ed P., Yardley; William B., Chicago; Matt M., Philadelphia; Matt T.., Oreland; Kevin H., Philadelphia; John from Landenberg, Pa.; Carl M, Silver Spring, Md.;; Brett K., Swedesboro, N.J.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Ed M., Paoli, Pa.; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Ross M., Garden City, NY; David K., Malvern; Jon E., Cincinnati ; Jon, SE Ohio; Cordalia and Jim S., Eastampton, NJ.; Herb G., Newport News, Va.; Richard W., Royersford; Matt T., Philadelphia, Pa.; MWB, Mechanicsville, Va.; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; K.J., Alexandria, Va.; Jeff D., Philadelphia,; Michael R., Philadelphia,Matt T, Philadelphia, Pa.; Ed M., Paoli, Pa.(8 in a row for 8 in a row, thanks EM); Jake and Diane Gicker, Dunmore, Pa.; Ed M., Paoli, Pa.; Adrian R. Sr., Harrisburg, Pa.; Frank M., Marlton, N.J.; Ernie, Millville, N.J.; ; Jay M., Salem, Ore.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Phil E., Lorton, Va; Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla.; Matt M., (five donations in a row); Kevin F., Philadelphia, Pa.;Matt M. (three donations in a row, thanks, Matt); Matt M.; Matt M.; Brian C., Philadelphia, Pa.; Matt M., Hometown ;Unknown; David N., Silver Spring, Md.; Matt M., hometown unknown; Frank K., Horseheads, N.Y.; Mike F., Montauk, N.Y.; John, Landenberg, Pa.; Michael B, D.C.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; James G., Philadelphia, Pa.; Michael R., Philadelphia, Pa.; David N., Silver Spring (Md.);
Mark H., Gilbertsville, Pa.; Lisa M., Hummelstown, Pa.; Johnny Who, West Chester, Pa.; John T., Medford, N.J. (formerly North Catholic, Philly); Jon, SE Ohio; Jay M., Salem, Ore.; Dan M., Moscow, Pa.; Cyrus, Oklahoma City; Jon E., Cincinnati; Chris K., Harrisburg, Pa.; Chip M., Silver Spring, Md.; Dave B., Springfield, Pa.; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; Ross M., Garden City, N.Y.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Ed F., Philadelphia, Pa.; Frank P., Jamison, Pa.; Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Matt G., Haddonfield, N.J.; Tom L., Charlottesville, Va.; Thomas S., Landisville, Pa.; Jack D., Haddonfield, N.J.; Heriberto S., McDonough, Ga; Dr. Jim S., Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Dick White, Milton, Del.; Matt T., Philadelphia; Jerome S., North Caldwell, N.J.; Mike D., Fairview, N.C.; Tim W., Myerstown, Pa.; Edward P., Yardley, Pa.; Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla.; Kurt B., Wyomissing, Pa.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Tom S., East Norriton, Pa.; Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio; Matt T., Yardley, Pa.; Steve C., West Chester, Pa.; Floyd, Blackwood, N.J.; Jim J., Chalfont, Pa.; John, Landenberg, Pa; Jon E., Cincinnati; Ron A., Camp Hill, Pa.; Jay S., Jenkintown, Mr. John H.; Jonathan N., Atlanta, Ga.; Michael E., Levittown, Pa.; Ted D., Media, Pa. Nick and Sharon, Upper Bucks County; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Todd H., New York City; Alex H., Westport, CT; Joe S., Primos, PA; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; Ross M., Garden City, N.Y.; Stanley G., Mountain Top, Pa.; David N., Silver Spring, Md.; Micah F., Philadelphia, Pa.; James S., Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla.; Johnny B. at the Hill Studio, Paulsboro, N.J.; Nick C., Philadelphia; Tom C., Birmingham, Ala.; Phil. E. (Fast Phil), Lorton, Va; Jerome S., North Caldwell, N.J.; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; George P., Downingtown, Pa.; Edward F., Philadelphia; Bryan S., North East, Pa.; Josh P., West Chester, Pa.; Brent Z., Atlanta, Ga.; David B., Springfield (D), Pa; Lisa M., Hummelstown, Pa.; David H., Pottstown, Pa.; Brian O., Ambler, Pa; Frank P., Jamison, Pa.; Brian C., Philadelphia; Mark B., Manlius, N.Y.; Ted D., Media; Scott J., Columbus, Ohio; Thomas H., Mullica Hill, N.J.; George T., Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Rob G., Fleetwood, Pa; Steve C., West Chester, Pa.; Fred A., St. Augustine, Fla.; Michael S., Westfield, N.J.; John, Landenberg, Pa.; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; Frank P., Jamison, Pa; Matt G., Basking Ridge, N.J.; Joe S., Primos, PA; Nick and Sharon, Upper Bucks County; John T., Medford, N.J.; Cap P., Finksburg, Md; Coolowl, New York City; Michael B., Washington, D.C.; Oakee, Salem, VA; Rob from Fleetwood; John from New Kensington; Kathyrn, Bloomingville, Ohio; Rockland Owl; Matt, Haddonfield, N.J.; Anthony, New York City; Jason F., Berlin (N.J.); Ed, New Hope; Mark B., Manlius, N.Y.; Mike, Lindenwold, N.J.; Tom C., Birmingham, Ala. Jim, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Kurt, Wyomissing Hills, PA;
Dave, Ocean City, N.J.; James, Chalfont; Ross, Garden City (N.Y.); Schmitty, Ocean City, N.J.; Sarge (via Schmitty);
Broad Street Leon; Martin, Encino (Calif.); John, Boston; Mike, Susannanoa, N.C.; Francis, Lansdale; Tom L., Charlottesville, Va.; Mark, Gilbertsville, Pa.; Frank, Sebastian, Fla.; George, Toms River, N.J.; Tom, Branchburg, N.J.; Chris, Philly (our first Philly donation!); John, Landenberg, Pa.; Tom S. East Norriton, Pa.;
Temple Football Forever 
I met Addazio at an alumni event in NYC. After chatting with him for about 5 min I could tell he was full of baloney. Would’ve been great to play him and beat the crap out of his 1930s offense. Still excited about playing an ACC team. A dominating performance coupled with finishing the season ranked will help with recruiting.
I was there, too, Carlos. (That so happened to be the day I was in NYC to take the test for the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Show. I passed, but never got on the show. 🙂 Addazio came around to talk to Russ, Tom, and me and dropped some seriously foul language talking about one of his players at the time. Russ said: “Steve, you know Mike is the Temple Football Forever guy, right?” Steve then goes, “Mike, please don’t print this.” I kept his confidence but I walked away knowing the guy is the wrong person for Temple. Then I walked over to Fran Dunphy and had a 15-minute one-on-one that left me knowing he was the right guy for Temple and he truly loved Temple and understood the Temple mission.
Hey Mike, not an Addazio fan but come on about the language. Franny Dunphy can and does swear like a sailor too. I used to sit close to the Temple bench and he can belt out the profanity too. It’s about winning and losing, Addazio was not only the wrong guy for Temple, he is just not head coaching material. His one winning season at Temple was a product of what Golden left behind. The guy originally lucked out by hooking his wagon to Urban Meyer. Without Meyer, he’d be an offensive line coach somewhere. His tenure at BC is going to come to an end next year if he can’t win some conference games and if he gets stomped in this year’s bowl game, it could happen sooner. He is not a fan favorite up at BC. The way I look at it, both BC and Wake Forrest are terrible on offense and are lower tier teams in their conference. Yea, it would be a good back story for Rhule to face Addazio but that’s all it would be. I’d like to see Temple put a hurting on Wake to the tune of about 35-7, this would allow us to end the year in the top 25 maybe at 19 or 20 and this will add a punctuation mark onto a great season. The best part of playing in Annapolis is Temple will once again get great fan support which will be visible on TV.
How amazing is it that we’re at a point to complain about what bowl we’re in or what team we’re playing in it. It’s only been 5 years since we were ecstatic about going to a garbage bowl game in New Mexico. And here we are, with a legit gripe about not getting the Cotton Bowl. Not too shabby….
Let Addazzio get mugged in Detroit; playing Wake gives me a game to bet with my old high school QB who played at Wake.
Nowhere in my post can you find a “complaint” about Temple vs. Wake. I’m just saying the better “storyline” (which makes for better press, which makes for bigger crowds) is the Temple vs. Addazio matchup. The whole Temple community dislikes the guy. As far as your last point, John Zeglinski also played quarterback at my high school, although I’m a little older than him. Not enough Temple interest in that storyline that only involves me, you, John and maybe former Ryan and Temple great Brian Irwin.
Wasn’t insinuating that you were crying about anything, but semantics aside, it’s certainly a “complaint” 🙂
Saturday night the vibe was, just give us a P5 opponent. Now it’s, this isn’t the right P5 opponent. Just saying, that’s a little bit of audacity.
Not a complaint, not even semantics. Just saying a “better” matchup for Temple is BC, not Wake. No audacity involved. Wake and BC are P5 in name only. In football, Temple (and the entire AAC except for maybe Tulane and UConn) are more P5 than both BC and Wake. I would just swap out Wake for BC in order to build media and sell tickets. Moot point now, but they should have thought about it before releasing the game.
Is it possible Boston College refused the matchup with Temple since it seems unlike basketball, football teams have some say in post season.
As far as the conference, while WMU is a great team in a poor conference we are A great team in a great conference. The G5 gets a raw deal. AAC deserves a place at the New Years table. Hey AAC has a higher ranking then the Big 12 this year but that means nothing unfortunately.
Good point, Rob. On one hand, I could see Daz telling Bates (the BC AD), “Please don’t do that to me.” On the other hand, if he did he would be a wuss and I don’t think he sees himself as a wuss although many of us do.
Don’t want to be nitpick Mike but Wake Forest is in Wnston Salem, not Raliegh-Durham. Temple gets screwed again (along with the AAC). They should be in a better bowl.
Proves my point even further. Raleigh-Durham market is No. 25 (Philly is No. 4). Winston-Salem market is No. 46, two slots behind Harrisburg. Boston is No. 8. Both Boston papers and Philly papers would eat up the Addazio-Temple angle.
next year this time the only thing we’ll remember is that we beat an AAC team and finished in the Top 25…,
finishing ranked to generate the recruiting buzz is the top priority, everything else takes a backseat…,
MR just did what AG, Daz, and everybody else did not do, win a conference championship and finish the regular season in the top 25..,
BUILD THE STADIUM should be the off-season slogan
Saw blurb earlier today that Cotton Bowl tickets face priced $135 are on the secondary market for $15 (for the nose bleeds). That’s the other side of a New Year’s Day bowl. Participating schools have to buy a lot of seats then sell them to fans to recover that outlay.WMU and Wisc won’t be filling the place. Imagine what this will cost both schools.
I’m sure a game with Wisconsin on Jan 2 would have more Owl people in the place than WMU people. And didn’t Temple beat Wisc the last time they played?
Philly.com reporting Rhule to Baylor.
Rhule’s going to Baylor. Here we go again.
Annnnnd gone. Unfortunate, but expected.
Just saw that, kind o makes it a real moot point as to what bowl we are going to now. Kind of glad it is a team like Wake Forest, should be able to beat them even with a lack luster performance. More importantly the new head coach hire is critical to the continued success of this program and I hope kids like Russo don’t start thinking of transferring
I just hope Rhule doesn’t take Phil Snow and the rest of the staff with him, will he?
Of course he will try to take other coaches with him. He’s got the big paycheck, screw Temple. Gut the program, steal some commits, Rhule is just a other “businessman” now. Think he could wind up being more despised than DAZ!!
You really can’t blame him. $4-$5 million a year? Briles was @ $4.2 I think. In Waco, so that’s like $7 million in Philadelphia. Graduating the only QB he’s had here, along with a lot of other Seniors. If you were Matt Rhule’s best friend, you’d tell him to take the job……
Rhule to Baylor. This really ticks me off. Winds up Matt not much better than Daz. Baylor is scandal plagued right now and we saw what happened to Golden, when he took over a troubled Miami program. Could almost understand if this was Rhule going to N.D. Temple is a much better program than Baylor right now. Money isn’t everything, Matt. I know I am shocked and disappointed but don’t know if I’ll ever forgive Rhule for this !!!
6-6 Baylor is playing their bowl on the same day as we are. That’s an indictment of the conference. He’s bailing on the AAC as much as he’s leaving Temple.
Forgive Rhule for this? what world do u live in? u sound like your 12 years old. welcome to college football reality.
Me thinks that the bowl selection people knew that Rhule had one foot out the door hence they didn’t care about placing Temple well.
Saw this coming and posted it six weeks ago. Just look at next year’s schedule and it’s reasonable to assume that the Owls will be lucky to be bowl eligible. He realized that and said I better go now and not later. Wish i didn’t already buy bowl game tickets.
There goes Matt Rhule chasing the money like AL Golden when he could have built a great legacy at Temple. Guess I cant blame the guy. Wish him well but I hope the next hire doesn’t come in here claiming Temple to be his “dream job” and that he wants to sign a “15-20 year contract” and that he is a “Philly guy”.
Tough news but that the is the business of college coaching. The disappointment is the BS these guys throw around while they are here. Golden, Daz and Rhule all with the same story. We forget that these guys are salesmen first, coaches second and let’s not forget the money factor. Time to move on, the Temple job is a good job now and we can get a solid replacement. Hope he does well but that is a tough job down at Baylor if you are taking the dregs of society or cheating.
not taking the dregs of society.
Tough loss. Can’t get hung up on “coach speak,” money matters. Not just salary, but a Big 12 budget and your own stadium is huge. Wish him the best, Baylor could use a good guy to get their ship righted.
As for the Owls, where to now? Have they gotten enough respect to be able to lure a Charlie Strong ( not him, but someone with Power 5 experience)?
Don’t know if Temple is a big enough brand for these coaches but I’d take Chalice Strong, LES Miles or Greg Schiano in a heartbeat.
Feel like all 3 of those guys would leave at the first chance. Golden and Rhule left for the 2nd chance at least…..
It will be interesting to see if Rhule can get the ship righted at Baylor. Outside of Briles tenure that program has been mediocre for the prior 20 years. I wish him the best and let’s be honest I don’t think anybody here wouldn’t do the same thing if given the opportunity. Given the B12 I can see several scenarios for Rhule and Baylor. He moves them back to the upper echelon of the conference, someplace they were only ever at with Briles), in 2 years he is in the top 10 of the Coaches Hot Seat web site, soon to be unemployed or the HC of a team looking for a home when the B12 implodes and Oklahoma and Texas move on
Posted this on the Temple Fan FB page as well but I would also like to get this groups input with regards to the next Temple HC. Getting this right is critical to this program right now. I will be throwing some names out, just as examples:
1. Promote someone from the current staff, not sure who is staying.
2. Current head coach from the Sun Belt (for as strong as the AAC is given recent hires I don’t think MAC, CUSA and MWC coaches look at it as more than a lateral) or FCS.
Some people I would think of in this category would be Scott Satterfield at App State or KC Keeler who had success at Delaware and now Sam Houston St. (I think he had some issues at Delaware but again example)
3. Former head coach that is currently an assistant at a P5. A guy like Pete Lembo, Greg Schiano for example.
4. Former head coach that is currently an NFL assistant, such as Randy Edsall or AG
5. Top P5 coordinator, not sure who the “hot” candidates are in this category
6. Other, as I saw someone post earlier hire Todd Bowles if he gets fired from the Jets.
I think the admin has to act quickly to keep as much of the current recruiting class in the fold and be on board to hit the ground running when the recruiting dead period ends.
JD excellent comment on recruiting. The last thing we need now is to lose commits.
Todd Bowles is probably the answer.
All that talk of being a city guy with his childhood in NYC and loving life in center city, hah. Maybe he can help Geo W. Bush clear brush at his ranch outside Waco.
More serious thought, I figured he would stick with the Owls a few more years while being paid handsomely along with lower pressure compared to a Big 10 gig and wait for Franklin to stub his toe up at PSU for the dream job. I figured wrong.
What about the recently fired/released coach of the IU Hoosiers Kevin Wilson? The Hoosiers went 6-6 and played PSU and Michigan tough (but lost to Wake).
Mike probably knows the details but I think there were some real off field issues with Wilson.
Damn it anyway, I really had hopes Rhule would stick around longer – “Philly guy”, wife employed at Temple, kids staying in same school, be like Paterno and make a career here, blah, blah, blah…2 mil is just not enough. Well, I hope Temple hires a top, proven coach this time. Here we go again, we just can’t expect anything different. At least there’s something to build on now – let him take his coaches, just not his recruits (Russo in particular).
Russo would have to transfer and I don’t think he would want to sit out a second year.
What Golden, Daz (to a lesser extent), and Rhule accomplished here is remarkable, and FAR MORE than anyone could have predicted. I’ve commented here each time one of these guys has left that a revolving door of upgraded talent is nothing to be ashamed of. We will never have a Paterno tradition (minus the bad press) without additional university support. Period. if we can’t pay and provide the natural resources expected of a perennial Top 25 team then we won’t keep a coach worthy of it.
On a brighter note I’d like to point out that both other coaches left for “better pastures” turned up nothing but manure. The Temple Football Program has outlasted and built upon each of their legacies. MR did great things here. I wish him best in the future, and hope for even better of our next coach. Let’s end the year in the Top 20.
Well said. I honestly think that a good hire now could benefit us greatly.
PS, obviously if he was going to wait for Franklin to stub his toe, that got delayed this season didn’t it? And if he does well at Baylor the PSU job will be more possible if and when Franklin does the stub.
Temple’s DC might fit the bill? – don’t know if Baylor can pay 2 mil for a coordinator. At least the Owls could continue with a solid D. Other than that, who knows. I hope they don’t take any chances this time – Rhule at the time was taking a chance and his record shows it. He could have done better in every season he was here – even this year when you look at the 3 losses that could have been wins. I hope this doesn’t effect the play against Wake. The players can still top this season off. Is Rhule leaving before the bowl game?
Foley to be temp head coach for bowl. Rhule broke kids’ heart and I hope they can still perform at high level at Military Bowl. I think his leaving may effect ticket sales. I know some not going to game now. Leaving on the cusp of win #11 is shameful. Money more important than history.
Charlie Strong is a DC by training. Florida recruiting roots, now some Texas connections. Big name, associated with Teddy Bridgewater. Texas paying him for a couple more years.
And remember, first thing he did at Texas was clean up the place which cost him a couple good years.
I loved what coach Rhule accomplished and I thank him for two wonderful years but I believe this program is bigger than one man. We are the program, the players are the program, the students, the owl club and the alums. We will be just fine moving forward. Golden left, we did ok. Daz left we did even better and now Rhule is leaving. As coach Golden liked to say flip the switch, we will be ok! Look how far we’ve come in 10 years, it is truly amazing.
hoist the trophy high, now get back on the canvas face down.., would anyone be surprised if Pat Kraft left? We lost the university president, lost the stadium, and lost a great coach…, our destiny is limited by the G5 albatross.., we will never be who think we should be with that curse around the neck
KJ, I do wonder of some of the recent internal turmoil at the President and BOT level had more than a little bearing on Rhule’s decision. I feel the stadium is a non-starter, at least in my lifetime given I’ve been hearing this since 1996.
I firmly believe that this hire is critical to the program for a couple of reasons, first how serious is the administration about building TUFB, second seeing what kind of candidates this opening attracts should give us a good idea of the national perception of this program.
Wow, nothing like seeing the glass half full. People come and go in most professions, it’s not the end of the world, it never is. Temple Football will continue moving forward with a new leader at the helm.
As long as we have troll/fans like u…………
Bruce Arians, currently below .500 AZ?
Phil Snow is gone.., plus Glenn Thomas is a Texas guy and definite asset to MR in understanding the culture, Texas is another country.., plus you trip over four-star QB prospects while picking up the morning paper.., big negative impact on the recruiting class.., Pat Kraft is the next guy out the door.., he is more ambitious and just as talented as MR
I am seeing all these comments about what sort of commitment TU has to football and the Owls position in the AAC/G5. I am sorry but the split has happened. I went to UF as an undergrad and now I am working on grad degree at Temple. I have been following Florida since 1991. Does anyone know why Florida has been struggling for the last few years? There is obviously more than one reason but the biggest reason is that they have not invested enough in football. The former AD Jeremy Foley was very interested in building up all of Florida’s sports programs. He was able to achieve that goal; multiple sources rank Florida as the number one athletic program in college sports. Despite the resources and the prestige Florida has, they have been financially ignoring the football program for just a few years and look at how far behind the top teams in their conference they have fallen. This is despite recently building a $28 million addition to the stadium (some offices, weight room, and trophy gallery), a new video board for the stadium ($5.6 million), renovation to the west concourse of the stadium ($4.7 million), and a $17 million indoor practice facility(Florida was the last SEC team to have one). With all that they are still considered behind the curve of top football programs and are slated to build a new football building and athlete dorms for around another $40 million. I am not saying that Temple should be compared to Florida, but the problem is people seem to be missing just how massive the gulf between P5 and G5 truly is. Even non-elite teams in the P5 are going to be able to build these sorts of facilities in the near future due to the bowl tie-in money and massive TV contracts. It is going to be near impossible to build a consistently winning program at a G5 school because of this disparity. Jeff Brohm just went undefeated at his current job and has his team headed to a NY6 game. Purdue swept in and gave him $20 million for 6 years. PURDUE?! This is not an indictment of anything Temple has control of. To me Temple has been committed to football as much as they can be, but the economic realities are just too great.
agree, we are slightly delusional after back to back 10 win seasons.., all reminds me of AG and the DC going to Miami with reduced scholarships, fan and alumni drama.., and how did that story end? Baylor will be playing undermanned for quite some time and more sanctions to come.., they are not winning the Big 12 for a long time
Golden went 8-4 and didnt make a bowl game. Rhule beat the 19th ranked team on the road and could only muster being ranked 24th.
Ultimately, this lack of respect of the G5 and Temple in general is wht drives these coaches away.
I wish Rhule nothing but the best. He took Temple to a new level. ESPN Gameday was in philly. He won a conference championship. Those are things I will never forget. He left this program in far better condition than it was when he got here. What more could he do at Temple?
His stock will never be higher than it is right now. Lets be honest. As much as I love the Owls, it is a step down from the P5 and I dont think that invite is coming any time soon. I am now going to buy 4 tickets to the bowl game, instead of 2. I support Temple, not the coach. Go out and beat Wake Forrest, finish the season in the Top 20, and continue building this program.
MD, you make a lot of excellent points. Something else to consider (and it really doesn’t seem fair): TU, after winning the AAC, is going to the same bowl game it went to when it finished 3rd place in the MAC in 2009. On some level that has to be discouraging to a coach/staff.
…I’ve heard that one of the reasons Schiano left Rutgers (besides the obvious NFL job) after turning down a number of other jobs was because he believed we were going to be ‘stuck’ in the BE and thus seriously limited as to what we could do. Reportedly the Rutgers/B1G move almost happened in 2010 but Nebraska wanting out of the BigXII and basically falling into the B1G’s lap put the kabosh on that. Once that ‘fell through’, Schiano reportedly became very discouraged and rumors were that 2012 may have been his last year if he had stayed and if the B1G invite didn’t come through.
It would have been VERY easy for Rhule to leave after last year and take the Mizzou job. He stayed, brought you to a conference title and left your program much better than he found it…hard to deningrate the guy IMO.
the next several years are going to be very hard.,, it took MR three years to find a coaching staff he trusted and believed in.., it will take the new coach at least that long.., we are starting anew, strong indications are few key underclassmen will transfer
I think a lot less will transfer than initial reactions would indicate. I really don’t think any top underclassman wants to sit out a year.
Need to hire a fromer D-1 coach who’s well respected and has ties with high school coaches. Some people I know have floated the names of Todd Bowles and Kevin Ross. Neither have high school ties. Charley Strong might be a good choice. He won’t have to clean up this program like he did at Texas, which doomed him before he even got started. I just wish Rhule had been more honest Saturday. Who knew that when he said he was going out on the recruiting trail immediately he was doing it for Baylor.
John, agree with you about Rhule, but if you go back and listen to his speech when excepting the trophy you get the sense he was done at Temple. Looking at the current Baylor situation and there history from as far back as the SWC days, I think this is going to be as tough or tougher challenge then Rhule faced when he took the Temple job with a lot shorter time frame to produce results. Especially if Herman gets Texas back on track quickly.
I have to think Kraft has been aware of this for some time now and already has a short list of candidates (should have been putting that together after Missouri last year). What do you think the best case time frame for getting a new HC on board? I also agree with the type of coach you mention, I would prefer FB HC experieince as well
Bob Heffner played for the Owls in the 70’s and has been a long time assistant and currently is at Northwestern. Iwould hire him in a minute. As a coach at Lafayette he has close contact with the local high schools. Frankly Randy Edsell wouldn’t be a bad choice either. He took UConn from 1-aa to a New Year’s day bowl. Frankly, If Charly Strong is available he’s a no-brainer. There’s a lot of talent in Philly and I think he could get those kids to stay home. Besides he has proven he can coach and recruit. The one problem the new coach will have and the one Rhule realized he was going to have is next year’s schedule. It is far tougher than this year and eight wins would be an achievement.
I know there seems to be a lot of UCONN fans that would like to bring Edsall back. To me a guy like him or Strong are what we need. Not real familiar with Heffner but based on your posts here I trust your opinion. Was he HC at Lafayette. As for next year’s schedule, with a new coach at the helm I think he will get more slack with a 6 to 8 win season than Rhule would. Especially with a conference championship trophy at the E-O. I think we jut need to get accustomed to our coaches staying 3 to 5 years, as Mike has said here in the past similar to Cincinnati’s coaching “carousel” since 2004. After all if our coaches keep getting hired away it means Temple is wining more than it’s losing and consistently making bowl games.
Someone asked “what more was there for Rhule to accomplish at Temple?” Well, the answer is “a lot.” Immediately he could have carried through to winning that 11th game by winning a bowl, another chance at beating ND next year, coaching a 4 star QB, keeping the program rising, more and more bowl games (if not 10-win seasons every year), develop a consistently winning program, developing a legacy and more. For almost 2 and a half mil a year, there’s a lot to accomplish at Temple. I’ve always believed Temple could do what Rhule has done and do it consistently. But a good coach has to stick around to see it through. But, whatever. Temple is Temple and at least football isn’t an embarrassment anymore – really the last 10 year period has been a great improvement over what it had been and shows that consistency (yes, with some glitches) is possible at Temple even with frequent coaching changes. Even the hated DAZ won a bowl game for Temple. Y’know, Rhule was great for Temple but wasn’t perfect by any stretch. Getting someone similar should be possible – now it’s up to the AD and BOT to get it right, again.
I get the sense from comments on this site and others that people are looking to either not go to the bowl game, or, wish they hadn’t bought their tickets for it. All because of Rhule’s departure. Seems like it’s the time to step and show support for the program. I have family commitments that day and I’m trying to rearrange things so I can attend the game for that very reason. Let’s get a grip on reality. Expect coaches that win championships here to take other jobs. It happens. Even the top P5 schools lose coaches to the pros. So go to the bowl game. We’re still looking for the 11th win that will make this the most accomplished team in TU history.
Regarding Rhule, Best Wishes and Good Luck. He’ll need it. Can’t see how he makes it to a fifth year. Just too much to overcome including unrealistic expectations of the big money boosters. (Plus he’s not a Texan. It matters down there.)
I really liked Jon’s summary of other things Rhule could have looked to accomplish. Another one would be a NY6 bowl after an undefeated season. I still think there might be a coach that comes to TU with HC experience, maybe a little older (50’s), who made a lot of money at the P5 level and now wants a good program, moderate pressure to win, great location to live and can feed his family on $2 million/year. I know it sounds like a Strong or Golden. We should be so lucky.