02.14.25
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Not long until we see greatness at work

An argument can be made, maybe for the first time since 1983, Temple football fans will have a chance to watch greatness at work fairly soon.

Arguably, because while Bruce Arians, Al Golden and Matt Rhule did some great work for Temple since Wayne Hardin retired that year, all were “learning on the job” types who did their better work after getting acclimated to the demands of being a first-time head coach.

When Hardin first stepped foot on campus in 1970, he was not only a championship pro football coach with the Philadelphia Bulldogs, he was one of the five best college football coaches in the nation before that.

In 1961 at Navy, Hardin had the Middies ranked No. 2 in the country. That was an amazing, incredible accomplishment in the year that Navy players were ineligible to play in the NFL due to a five-year service requirement.

Wayne Hardin’s proven dominance over Tubby Raymond and UD.

You think the NIL and the transfer portal are hard?

Try walking into Roger Staubach’s house and telling him he can play at Navy for the next four years but won’t be able to play for any NFL team until he’s 26.

That’s exactly the sales pitch Hardin had for him and he was able to sell it.

Staubach not only bought it but got a Heisman Trophy as a result, as did his teammate and future Temple football radio analyst Joe Bellino. Hardin was a pretty good salesman.

Then Temple hired him in 1971, which was like Temple of today hiring Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman a decade from now.

Hardin is in the College Football Hall of Fame now and no doubt current Temple head coach K.C. Keeler will join him in a few years. After all, Keeler is already the winningest FCS coach in history and that’s probably enough. No one is likely to catch him since the FCS coaches on his heels probably will get FBS jobs.

Keeler has to do something Hardin never had to and that was navigate the choppy waters that are both the NIL and the transfer portal.

Nobody has a better understand of the genius of Hardin than Keeler, who was recruited by him but the Owls overcommitted on scholarships that season so Keeler ended up at Delaware.

Keeler understands the history of Hardin’s battles with legendary UD coach Tubby Raymond, where Hardin went 8-4 against him including a 31-8 win at Delaware before the (still) largest crowd in Delaware history and a 31-14 win over an otherwise 12-0 Delaware team that Keeler played on in 1979.

Hardin proved he could win at Temple.

Keeler already proved he could do it at a tougher place (Sam Houston State), leading that program from an FCS national champion team to a 9-3 FBS team in no time.

He will apply that same kind of blueprint to Temple starting with the first spring practice on March 11. That’s less than one month from now.

If you see greatness at work, take notes. Or you can watch this space because we will be doing exactly that.

Monday: Difference between want to and how to

Friday: That’s my quarterback

Monday: The AAC Schedule

2 thoughts on “Not long until we see greatness at work”

  1. K.C. Keeler is just what this football team needs after going 3-9 in the previous four seasons. I am confident he will quickly turn things around with the program. Go Owls!

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  2. We are so thirsty for success.., TUFB is 21-48 in the last 69 games, and Drayton was worse than Carey.

    Keeler gives us good reason for hope but he needs players. Outside of Jay Ducker this team doesn’t have anyone with the potential to compete for All-AAC honors. Keeler added depth but no diamonds.

    We got commitment, leadership, and strategy this of-season. Now Temple needs all-conference type players.

    2-2 heading into the conference schedule.

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