Temple should make a big splash with new hire

Jon Gruden wants to coach a G5 team and his familiarity with Philly and Temple would benefit both.

Good Temple showed up against Tulsa on Homecoming but “same old Temple” showed up on Saturday at East Carolina.

The same old Temple that we saw for the last six years under Rod Carey and Stan Drayton, that is.

Buffalo Bills’ running back Ray Davis called Gabe Infante the best coach on the Temple staff when he was here.

The good Temple comes out once or twice a year and that’s not enough.

Carey was fired after a 12-20 record and three years. Drayton is 8-24. If Temple is going to intellectually consistent, it also has to fire Drayton.

There’s no bigger Temple football fan than me–it’s my favorite sports team by far–yet I’m not going to another game this season. It breaks my heart too much to watch this train wreck.

So we’ve moved on and so should Temple. ECU moved on last week by firing Mike Houston. Rice moved on Sunday by firing Mike Blomgren.

If Temple wants to hire an assistant, Chris Wiesehan would be a great fit since he was successful here under two bowl coaches, Geoff Collins and Matt Rhule and knows what it takes to win here.

Got to wonder why Temple is sitting on its hands while other schools read and react. Maybe the administration is waiting for Drayton to change his first name to Mike.

Should Temple go big splash or local ties?

Better to do both.

After bringing in a successful head coach from the Midwest and an assistant coach from Texas, the priority should be to bring someone who has been a successful head coach here at some level.

Or at least understands the Philadelphia and Temple culture.

Geoff Collins wants to come back. Any coach who is 2-for-2 in winning seasons at Temple should be welcomed back like a Prodigal Son.

That means no more assistant coaches because hiring an assistant coach is a crapshoot and Temple needs a sure thing.

That’s why we’ve eliminated all assistant coaches from our list, including esteemed Fran Brown assistant head coach Elijah Robinson at Syracuse.

Brown was perfect for here, Robinson doesn’t have Brown’s effusive energy. They are two different personalities. One is extroverted. One is introverted. While they complement each other perfectly at Syracuse, only one type would succeed at Temple.

Temple needs an extrovert.

Do you go for a big splash like Jon Gruden, who knows Philadelphia and Temple from being here as a long-time assistant coach with the Eagles or do you go the Manny Diaz direction and pluck his Duke assistant head coach Gabe Infante, who was a big-time successful state champion head coach at nearby St. Joseph’s Prep?

To me, you can’t go wrong with either hire.

Temple has the I-95 and I-76 billboards ready just in case Gabe Infante says yes.

Infante isn’t going to make “learning on the job” mistakes like Drayton does nor is he going to be a “my way or the highway” guy like Carey was. Manny Diaz, with assistant head coach Infante’s help, is pulling at miracle at Duke this season.

Gruden said in a story published in August he was open to taking a Group of Five head football job and wanted to make that school a winner.

Temple is a G5 coaching job that Gruden is very familiar with.

Down the line, Geoff Collins also falls into the “sure thing” category for what Temple is looking for now because he knows how to win here, loves it here and his kids played hard for him.

Geoff Collins had the Owls practicing 365 days a year, including this one in the snow on 2/17/17. Stan Drayton took a two-week vacation in Houston the middle of this summer. Wonder why there are so many illegal formations, shifts and false starts? You can start with practice, practice, practice.

In Collins’ first season at Temple, he went 7-6 and won a bowl game. In his second, he went 8-5 and handed ranked Cincinnati an overtime loss. Collins has sent messages through back channels saying he wants to come back.

After three years of Carey and three years of Drayton, I will take the Capri pants and Mayhem every Saturday.

Hell, Troy football became real good for a couple of years when it hired Neal Brown’s assistant coach, Jon Sumrall, because Sumrall had the Neal Brown blueprint of success. If Temple is going to go the assistant coaching route, then Chris Wiesehan, who was a successful assistant here, has all of the Temple success secrets of both Collins and Matt Rhule.

Another possibility with head coaching experience include Sam Houston State’s K.C. Keeler, who knows Philadelphia and is a winner.

Me?

Go for Gruden and the big splash or get a guy like Gabe Infante who is a proven winning head coach and has all the local connections he needs to win here, just like he’s won everywhere.

Let Rice and ECU pick a running back guru for those jobs.

Temple should get a proven winning head coach.

18 thoughts on “Temple should make a big splash with new hire

  1. I know any new HC will pick his own staff but of the current staff are there any you would to see stay. I’m thinking Weisehan and Woods and maybe Knight. Also I want an OC who would get us back to a heavy running attack. Have to be honest thought some of Collins schtick was a bit much but at least he brought energy to the program and compared to Carey and Drayton was a better recruiter.

    • I think Wiesehan would do a great job here as HC. He’s an extrovert. The players love him so he would retain the roster and he would also keep Tyree Foreman and Chris Woods. Any guy who leaves a P4 job to come back to Temple is someone I want here. If Collins gets the job, Wiesehan stays. Win/win. There are a ton of guys who can win here. Drayton ain’t one. His loyalty to Everett Withers got him a defense that can’t stop a nosebleed for the last two years and that loyalty should get him fired.

      • Mike, any thoughts on Mike Siravo, similar to Wiesehan, he was here a year under Golden and then a second time under Rhule. I bring his name up because I remember a conversation I had with Chris Coyer at a game during Carey’s last season and he spoke very highly of Siravo.

      • Great coach but with all the changes with the transfer portal and the NIL and Temple’s specific situation, if you are going to hire an assistant coach, Wiesehan is the far better choice. Also would be able to retain the current roster better than an assistant coach none of those kids heard of …

  2. You make a good case, Mike. Why not make a splash and have a good fall-back option. Gruden’s crass comments is a problem but maybe we can forgive and forget.

    • Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing. Don’t see any scenario where Gruden DOESN’T win here. Everybody says things they regret saying. I’d rather beat the ECUs of the world 56-34 than lose to them 56-34.

  3. Drum is clearly beating, but think snare drum. Drayton will be back next year, period.

    Fry will take his time for assessment and action. There is zero BOT pressure on him to make any or immediate changes.

    Remember this is the same BOT that refused to compete and not move forward with an on campus stadium. P4 is not their aspiration. The BOT has chosen to abstain at every critical moment. They will not change course now.

    Reality, itʻs Pernetti vs the BOT for TUFB relevance. Fry, stung by Drexelʻs recent financial hiccups, might choose to reinforce the budget.

    • Maybe Pernetti can give Temple an ultimatum: Follow the Rice and ECU lead and get serious about winning in football or push for a vote to expel Temple from the conference.

      • I hate that TUFB has been allowed to potentially get back into that situation again. If getting booted out of the AAC would come to pass just turn out the lights the party’s over

      • Pernetti is not shy and passionately wants a competitive conference. The relationship w/Johnson is acrimonious at best for good reason. Johnson sucks at his job.

        Pernetti hasnʻt had anyone at Temple to conversation. An extreme point of frustration for the AAC.

        Can he sell the benefits of athletics to Fry? Donʻt bet on it, Fry is not playing w/house money.

        Wretched situation.

  4. The Ad is the biggest problem – buddy hire for a ridiculous contract, while at the same time he doesn’t mind firing Olympic sport coaches but accepts failure in the football situation. We can go round and round about the best choices but until there is seriousness about wanting to win and getting the best possible choice nothing will change.

  5. Every successful HC for TUFB had a strategy for building a roster.

    AG built a “house of bricks”, loading up on interior linemen and HS captains.

    MR built the defense first, and played offense to strength of the defense.

    Collins went after speed on offense and edge rushers on defense.

    After 2 plus years nobody can discern Draytonʻs strategy for building a roster. The result is a complete disaster. What is the team identity? What is he recruiting for, what is he trying to build?

    IMHO the man is clueless. Look for TUFB to be at the bottom of the conference in wins and paid attendance for another 2 years.

    • About the only “strategy” I can see is making TUFB a JUCO program since that seems to be his primary recruiting focus. I’m ok with picking up a top JUCO running back like Worthy and maybe top defensive players but a handful of JUCO players at most. Go after top FCS players and underclassmen P4 backups from the portal. How he went into the season with a middle of the road JUCO transfer as the starting QB is beyond me.

      • No football sense whatsoever. Some people have it. Some don’t. Abundantly clear he doesn’t. Look at Rich Rodriguez. Tell me he couldn’t do at Temple what he’s doing at Jacksonville State right now. He can and would.

  6. Temple vs Tulane will be Tulaneʻs homecoming green out at Yulman Stadium, 30K in the house.

    Lurie vs Benson. New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson and his wife Gayle, a member of the Board of Tulane, donated $7.5 million to Yulman Stadium. Benson Field, which will host the games of Yulman Stadium, is named in their honor.

    Lurie screws TUFB every year…, why?
     

    • Big difference is Benson is a native of New Orleans, similar to the Rooney in Pittsburgh, native and Pitt grad. Lurie, New Englander who probably would have rather bought the Pats if available but got the Eagles because Braman was selling. He’s a good owner of the Eagles but I really think he could care less about too much else in Philly

  7. Maybe Temple should appoint Lurie to the BOT. See how that works for the program, be it reduced rent or a donation.

  8. Pingback: Keeler: An A in Marketing 101 – Temple Football Forever

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