11.17.24
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Temple can’t afford to roll the dice on another assistant coach

Temple can do a whole lot worse than re-hire former head coaches like Geoff Collins or Al Golden, currently two Power 4 DCs.

Had to chuckle when two games ago Temple head coach Stan Drayton said the Owls’ lack of an NIL a primary reason the team has been mired in 3-9 seasons.

Partially, yes. Primary, no.

Then I watched the Bowling Green vs. Western Michigan where Steve Addazio did the color and his former Temple OC, Scot Loeffler, is the head coach at Bowling Green.

Bowling Green and Temple is a similar level of G5 football and both teams have about the same NIL money in their coffers, which is pretty close to nothing.

Did not get the name of the play-by-play guy but hit “key plays” on Youtube and he must’ve said “he called these kind of plays for you at Temple” on about 11 of those 28 key plays. Good, imaginative, plays.

Don’t remember Loeffler ever blaming the lack of NIL for the performance of his team.

BG is atop the MAC with a 5-1 record, 6-4 overall. Played tough against Penn State this year (34-27 loss) and won at Georgia Tech last year.

This is what we wrote before the Manny Diaz hire.

Both teams with significant NIL advantages over Bowling Green.

Some coaches make excuses. Others just roll up their sleeves and get the job done.

Stan Drayton was in one category. Scot Loeffler is in another.

How did Temple end up with a career assistant coach in charge of a multi-million dollar program is the key lesson the school can learn and apply to next hire. How it ended up with a Midwestern head coach with no knowledge of Temple before that is another lesson.

No more assistant coaches. No more Midwestern fishes out of water.

A guy with Philly and Temple connections and a proven winner as a head coach is really the only way to go now.

There are plenty of guys who have head coaching experience and someone in charge of the hiring process should pull out a yellow legal pad and put some names at the top of the list.

I would shoot for the moon and work my way back to earth like Apollo 13 did.

One, Jon Gruden. Lived in Philly as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles for years. Very familiar with the Temple program and once said on draft night that “nobody plays tougher than Temple.” Has said he would like to coach a G5 program. Would bring star power to Temple. Probably would say yes. Would be a major splash hire, just like Pop Warner (1930) and Wayne Hardin (1970) were for Temple. That worked out pretty well.

Two, Al Golden. Already has done a more impossible job taking Temple off college football’s deathbed and applying CPR to the program. Already in the Temple Hall of Fame. Would bring in major money to a Temple NIL fund and have the support of past Temple players. Would probably say no but I’d make him say it.

Three, Gabe Infante. Currently the assistant head coach at Duke University and a former Temple assistant coach. Current Buffalo Bills’ and former Temple RB Ray Davis said of Temple while at Vandy that “Coach Infante is the only great coach on that staff.” Has multiple state titles as a head coach at St. Joseph’s Prep, which is only five blocks from the Temple main campus. He is the embodiment of Temple founder Russell Conwell’s “Acres of Diamonds” story. Huge recruiting ties to Philadelphia.

Four, Geoff Collins. Rubbed some the wrong way while here as a head coach but you can’t deny this simple fact: Of all the head coaches in Temple history, Collins is the only one who has coached multiple seasons and never had a losing one here. Can you imagine Arthur Johnson introducing Collins with this line at the next press conference: “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the only head coach in Temple history who has never had a losing season and we fully expect that to continue after today.” Would jump at the opportunity to come back.

There are about six more head coaches with Temple ties who have won as head coaches elsewhere. Rolling the dice on another assistant who has never been a proven winning head coach is a crapshoot and the Owls might be down to one chip.

Friday: UTSA Preview

37 thoughts on “Temple can’t afford to roll the dice on another assistant coach”

  1. I saw on a YouTube video the head coaches at Delaware and Villanova as coaches Temple should go after. They obviously know the Philadelphia recruiting area. What are your thoughts ?

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  2. Couple of questions regarding the head coach search. First is the AAC and the Mountain West/Pac12 considered a move up for a HC in the MAC, CUSA or Sun Belt. They are the only G5 conferences with teams in the Top 25. Second how attractive is the TUFB job amongst G5 schools, even within the AAC, with opening at ECU and Rice?

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    • The fact that Temple pays $2 million roughly per the last five head coaches and the MAC, CUSA and Sun Belt are all between $500-800K indicates the AAC is a step up. I think with Washington St. and Oregon St. the new Mountain West is on a par with the AAC.

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  3. I hadn’t thought about Jon Gruden but I did wonder if Jay Gruden would be a fit. He’s got head coaching experience and it does not seems like he’s a hot candidate elsewhere.

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  4. Here are some more names being tossed out there https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5927295/2024/11/17/temple-football-stan-drayton-fired/ Robinson and Loeffer seem to be mentioned a lot. Had to look up a lot of these other guys, the only 2 that cover most of your check boxes are Knowles, who is a Philly native and was HC at Cornell (2004-2009) with a 26-34 record, 1 winning season and 2 .500 and Flood. With Flood do remember the payer misconduct issues. As for Jim Clements at Kutztown he does hit all of the check boxes and has a good record as HC but I do remember the outcome the last time TUFB hired a DII coach. Granted Wallace was like a fish out of water up here in the northeast. Also saw Herman was fired at FAU today

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    • Not excited about a 26-34 HC

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    • Pernetti is on a roll, great to see. Be competitive or be gone.

      TUFB needs a successful FCS HC, or hire someone w/HC experience. No more on the job training, we donʻt have time for it.

      A prior HC will be able to bring his best players, a battle tested winning formula, and selected staff. No more starting and hoping from scratch.

      Drayton started with nothing, none of the above. And, thanks to Johnsonʻs late cycle hire, he lost a full recruiting cycle. Result, he finished with nothing.

      An early indication will be which AAC school fills the vacancy first, and last.

      You should expect another disaster if TUFB is the last AAC to hire. Hint, donʻt count on Johnson for excellence,.

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  5. Ever team with an owl as their mascot fired their HC this season, TUFB, Rice, FAU and Kennesaw State in FCS

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  6. Biff Poggi has been let go at Charlotte, multiple reports share this evening.

    Pernetti and the AAC, letʻs get relevant!

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  7. Five alarm, the house is on fire. Recruiting has stopped. Another lost recruiting cycle looms!!! The longer he waits the worse it will be. Arthur Johnson, our Car 54, where are you? Are you going to be responsible for Two Lost Recruiting Cycles on your watch?

    “Withers noted he hasn’t had any discussions with players about whether they should stay at Temple or enter the portal, but figures the question is on a lot of their minds. He also said the staff was not continuing to recruit, leaving that for the next staff.”

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    • That last line is why I wanted Wiesehan to be the interim coach, not Withers. He would have continued with business as usual knowing that his old buddy Collins would get heavy consideration.

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  9. Head coaching experience is a must. Somebody who is dynamic, engaging and successful at lower levels. Loeffler must certainly get an interview. Bring Infante as a coordinator so that he gets more experience and then becomes the succession hire once Loeffler moves on to the P4. Say NO to a Training Wheels hire. There is no time for that. The lifeboat is taking water in both the bow and the stern.

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    • Infante isn’t going from assistant head coach at Duke to any coordinator position at Temple. If he wants coordinator experience, all he has to do is whisper in Manny Diaz’s ear.

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  10. BOT: Please fire Johnson quickly so a new AD can immediately commence a search. Johnson does not deserve the task of hiring a new coach. Hopefully the football-focuses members have a list on their desks of possible AD hires.

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    • Looks like Arthur wants a head coach (he reads this site). 🙂 That would be a smart move. Any great thing said by anyone about Robinson and Nixon and any other high-profile assistant coach were the exact same things said about Drayton three years ago. I think Arthur realizes how that turned out and knows that a winning HC with a prior knowledge of Temple is the way to go. Loeffler would be perfect, Collins less perfect, Gabe Infante semi-perfect. Can’t go wrong with the Holy Trinity. (Yeah, I’d rather have Al Golden but that ship has sailed.)

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      • Agree with your sentiment about Johnson but maybe he learned his lesson that the “buddy system” doesn’t work. Question how much is Johnson able to talk with potential candidates at other schools, can he do this before end of season? Seems with regards to college football coaching seems pretty much anything goes

  11. What should be done and what will be done will probably be miles apart given TU’s record of hiring, even when the obvious is in front of it’s face – sorry to say.

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    • Temple BOT:

      OK already, letʻs really think about this. Johnson hired Drayton. How did that turn out? What has Johnson done in the last two years to gain your trust and confidence? He admitted to being asleep at the NIL wheel. And, he probably is the least respected AD in the AAC. His record is terrible.

      If I had to choose between keeping Johnson or Drayton Iʻd cut my losses with Johnson in a heartbeat.

      The folks who hired Johnson are gone, there is no loyalty left behind.

      Current HCs have experience working with ADs. No current HC worth a grain of salt is going to work for Johnson. Theyʻll see right through him in nanoseconds.

      Letʻs put Temple first for just once, please.

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  12. Regarding Geoff Collins, I’d say a hard NO. He benefitted greatly from Matt Rhule’s recruits. And then he took a Georgia Tech team that went 7-6 under Paul Johnson’s last season and followed up with 3-9, 3-7, 3-9 and 1-3 win/loss records before he was fired. I note that his successor has quickly turned around the Yellow Jackets.

    Collins is now the DC at Carolina. This year, his defense gave up 70 points to James Madison and 41 to Georgia Tech.

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    • 17 sacks in the last two games. Temple hasn’t had 17 sacks in three years under Withers. From a defensive standpoint, Collins figured out what went wrong after JMU and now the Tar Heels are 3-point favorites at BC.

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      • Our most successful coaches have been assistants Rhule, Golden, Addazio,and Collins. Carey and Wallace disasters. This program needs rising star coach who is an assistant and young. Drayton was a career assistant which is the difference.

      • Hardin and Warner weren’t assistants. They were our two most successful coaches

  13. Times have changed, all those dudes were pre-portal/NIL. TUFB can ill afford to build from scratch. An young assistant will bring nothing with him aside from enthusiasm.

    A HC will bring experienced players who can fill immediate needs and voids in the roster. A HC will bring staff, recruits, a proven track record, and a history of doing more with less. Most importantly, a HC will have sideline game experience.

    Look at the AAC. Coaches were fired two years in. The four year model is history.

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    • I heard Joe Judge wants the job. His dad played at temple. If Temple fired there coach before the season end I bet they are already in negotiations with someone.

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  14. Yea they’ve done that to many times

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