Author Archives: Mike Gibson

12.26.18
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Bowl Game: Keeping Up With The Joneses

chronicle

The closest thing Philadelphia drive-time sports talk radio got around to talking about the Temple’s impending bowl game tomorrow was on the Mike Missanelli Show two days ago.

Missanelli was making a point about trading Carson Wentz for a No. 1 and keeping Nick Foles to run the show and mentioned the name of the Duke quarterback as a draft possibility should the Eagles designate Foles as a placeholder for the next couple of years.

“They could even draft a guy this year,” he said. “Let’s look at the list of projected No. 1 NFL quarterbacks. How about that Daniel Jones of Duke? If you reject the notion that Wentz is the last franchise quarterback the NFL draft will ever produce, and I do, then now is the time to get rid of Wentz and get something for him. You can draft a guy like Daniel Jones, have him learn from Foles for a couple of years and then he could turn out to be as good as Wentz. You never know.”

Silly me.

templenews

My 40-year-old Temple News jersey did not survive as well as Mr. Russo’s 40-year-old Bishop Egan jersey

I thought that was a lead-in to talking about the Temple-Duke game, but Missanelli beat about 20 other Eagles’ topics to death and left Daniel Jones floating out there. Philly talk show hosts probably don’t even know Temple is playing in the Independence Bowl against Duke (1:30 p.m., ESPN) tomorrow but the Owls can certainly open some eyes with a big win.

First, there will be a lot of draftniks watching Jones to form their own opinion of him and, second, there is another very talented quarterback on the field named Anthony Russo who can establish a reputation of his own with a good game. There was a terrific story by Marc Narducci on Russo’s wearing a 40-year-old Bishop Egan jersey that his dad wore as a QB there. I also have a jersey over 40-years old–my game jersey for The Temple News’ intramural basketball team–but it has not survived as well so I don’t know how he preserved it.

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Shreveport’s Channel 3 is calling for an 80 percent chance of AM rain and 70 degrees by the afternoon.

Jones still has a year of eligibility but it would be crazy for a projected first-round pick to come back to college. Jones checks all of the boxes. Like Wentz, he’s 6-foot-5 and, like Wentz, he can do damage with his feet. He had two runs in excess of 60 yards in a 42-35 win over North Carolina. Jones will be looking to move up the draft board with a strong game against Temple because he hurt his prospects some in a 59-7 loss to Wake Forest in his last game. He was 17-of-36 for 145 yards and a Pick 6.

He’ll be motivated but facing a Temple secondary with two NFL hopefuls in safety Delvon Randall and corner Rock Ya-Sin. Since Duke coach David Cutcliffe is adept at breaking down film, expect Jones to try to attack Linwood Crump Jr.’s side of the field. Crump has been pretty solid as well, but sliding over Randall in help is probably the way interim coach Ed Foley is leaning.

Temple is a four-point favorite, but there’s very little to base that upon since there are no common foes. Interestingly enough, this fall Duke owns wins over both the incoming Temple coach (20-12 at Miami) and the team the outgoing Temple coach (28-14 at Georgia Tech) is taking over so there will be bragging rights to be had for the Owls. Another twist is that Duke beat Baylor and Matt Rhule, for what that’s worth.  If the Owls can pull this off, it will be their most prestigious bowl win since beating California, 28-17, in the 1979 Garden State Bowl so there is plenty at stake.

If Temple controls the clock behind Ryquell Armstead and Russo is effective in the short passing game, Jones won’t be able to do too much damage.

Friday: Game Analysis

Monday: Infante Impact

 

12.24.18
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Christmas: Best Gift Could Arrive Two Days Late

Love the way coach Foley cracks up Christina Applegate here. 🙂

If Christmas comes two days late for Temple in the form of some valuable hardware, the Owls will have to send text messages in the direction of Detroit.

They will have one guy to thank for it and it was a guy who came under a lot of criticism in this space over the last two years.

Geoff Collins.

buckethats

Give credit where credit is (or will be) due this game week.

“When I got the (Temple) job, I saw a lot of guys coming and going,” Collins said at his inaugural Georgia Tech press conference. “The one thing I made sure to say the last day I talked to the team was that this wasn’t going to happen now. I told all of the (assistant coaches) to stay in Philadelphia and concentrate on winning the bowl game. I felt I owed the Temple kids that much.”


Collins can do Temple
another solid by taking
Dave Patenaude’s fate out
of Manny Diaz’s hands and
offering him a GT job. That
way, we can get back to
the Temple football all
Owl fans know and love–a
pro set with a heavy run
package with plenty of
play-action designed to
accentuate explosive downfield
plays in the passing game
and one that is perfectly
suited to Anthony Russo’s talents

Collins will be in Detroit for Georgia Tech game against Minnesota the night before in the Quick Lane Bowl. Mix in a trophy ceremony after that game and chances are that Collins is still in the stadium late  and to expect him to make flight connections for a 1:30 start in Shreveport the same day is a little unrealistic. He won’t be coaching GT–legendary Paul Johnson will finish up–but he will be there to press the flesh with Yellowjacket fans just like he did in Annapolis with Temple fans two years ago.

Wherever he is, though, the Owls will owe him some thanks because Matt Rhule put Ed Foley behind the eight ball for the 2016 Military Bowl against Wake Forest. While Wake head coach Dave Clawson had a complete group of well-paid Power 5 professionals  Temple really only had Ed Foley and offensive line coach Chris Wisenhan as constants. Pretty much the entire Rhule staff spent the time recruiting for Baylor and making a bare minimum of Temple practices. Foley had no choice but to assign grad assistants to run eight Temple defensive practices.

ourpoll

Our Oct. 19th poll

It showed in Temple, a 14.5-point favorite, falling behind, 31-6, at halftime. The offense made a gallant enough run, but the Owls fell, 34-26.

Temple’s only a four-point favorite this time and Foley said he’s learned a few things this time. That, and having a full complement of assistants should be enough. Diaz has the best special teams’ coach in the nation in Foley and, after Ed hoists the bowl trophy, he deserves to stay right here.

Collins can do Temple another solid by taking Dave Patenaude’s fate out of Manny Diaz’s hands and offering him a GT job. That way, we can get back to the Temple football all Owl fans know and love–a pro set with a heavy run package with plenty of play-action designed to accentuate explosive downfield plays in the passing game and one that is perfectly suited to Anthony Russo’s talents. If the nightmare scenario happens where Collins is gone and Patenaude stays, Russo remains a read-option quarterback and he’s no more of a read-option quarterback than Tom Brady is.

If Collins’ departure means Patenaude is gone and Diaz finds a pro set coordinator, that’s a net plus for the good guys who remain.

Wednesday: Bowl Preview

Friday: Bowl Analysis

12.21.18
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Recruiting: About as good as expected

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Roughly a year ago at this time, Geoff Collins was on the beach sitting on a chair by a table with signatures of 24 commits all while prepping for a bowl game.

What a difference a year makes.

Coaching changes always cause upheaval so that’s probably one of about 99 good reasons why Temple needs to fix the revolving coaching door office at the Edberg-Olson Complex.

Just about every story coming out of AAC schools on Wednesday, including Temple, talk about how happy everyone was with the early signing day.

That’s great, but as an ex-President once said: “Trust, but verify.”

This is where Temple stands nationally, according to Rivals.com this morning:

rivals

This is where Temple stands where it counts, among its fellow AAC members, according to Scout.com:

scoutIf Temple is really going to be pleased with this recruiting haul, it should come in February, not December, this year because, while Collins just about nailed every target by now, new head coach Manny Diaz is going to have to use some of his Power 5 coaching connections to flush out the remaining eight scholarship recipients. If Diaz can bring in a lot of guys who have Power 5 offers between now and then, the Temple rankings go up considerably. Temple hasn’t had the No. 1 recruiting ranking in any league its played in since Rivals.com ranked the Owls’ 2012 recruiting class No. 1 in the MAC.

If recruiting rankings really mean nothing, then why are teams like Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio State in the top 10 the last three years? Temple can get lucky on the Tyler Matakevichs and Muhammad Wilkersons of the world, but those are anecdotal stories and outliers to the whole recruiting process. It’s nice to get five of those type kids in every class, but it’s even nicer to get a boatload of four-star commits in the other 20 signees.

Maybe Temple shoots up the charts with a bullet in these next two months or so.

Hold the celebrations for February, though, because anything else is seeing things through Cherry and White-colored glasses.

Monday: Reasons To Be Optimistic This Game Week

12.19.18
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Temple HC Pick: A Cautionary Tale

rhulediaco

Sometimes coordinators (left) work out, sometimes (right) they don’t.

From reading the reaction all across the country about Temple’s recent hire of Manny Diaz as head coach, one might think that the deal is a slam dunk for Temple.

As New York sports talk personality Mike Francesa said on his WFAN show Monday about the New York Jets next hire, no coordinator slipping into a head coaching job is ever a slam dunk.

6155a-hardin

Wayne Hardin was the only slam dunk hire in Temple history but top 10 head coaches don’t go to G5 schools these days.

“I don’t want any more coordinators,” Francesa said. “A coordinator is never a sure thing. Really, there’s no sure thing but at least with a head coach you have a track record of what they’ve done as a head coach.”

Francesa is not always right, but his logic on coordinators taking over head coaching jobs is irrefutable and provides a cautionary tale for Temple right now.

At most … most … Temple’s hiring of Diaz can be considered a layup and layups have been missed in the past.

Really, the only “slam dunk” Temple had was Wayne Hardin and that could not have been surprising. When Hardin came to Temple, he had just come off a professional football championship with the Continental League–a league competing with the fledgling AFL–for the Philadelphia Bulldogs. Prior to that, he had Navy ranked No. 2 in the country and coached two Heisman Trophy winners.

He was the real deal.

There are no slam dunks at Temple anymore and none, really, nearby.

A head coach and a coordinator are two separate jobs. Just because someone is a great produce manager at the local supermarket does not mean he’s cut out to run the whole store.

There are plenty of examples of it not working out on the college football level, either.

In fact, you don’t have to go very far from the center of Temple’s campus to point to three missed layups. You could put a protractor in the middle of Broad Street and Montgomery Avenue and draw a 200-mile circle around it and come up with these recent examples.

WISCONSIN ATHLETIC DIRECTOR BARRY ALVAREZ ON RUTGERS HIRING CHRIS ASH:

“Chris did a great job for us at Wisconsin and has been successful at every stop he’s made as an assistant. I was always impressed with his preparation and the way he motivated his players. He’s ready to be a head coach. I think Chris is a great fit for Rutgers.”

Ash’s record at Rutgers: 7-29

NOTRE DAME LINEBACKER CARLO CALABRESE ON UCONN HIRING BOB DIACO:

“He will bring a winning attitude to the team and we will bring in winning people to the team and just all around winning mentality to the  He will do whatever it takes to that. I think he will do a great job as head coach there.”

Diaco’s head coaching record at UConn: 11-26.

FLORIDA ATHLETIC DIRECTOR JEREMY FOLEY ON MARYLAND HIRING D.J. DURKIN:

“D.J. is one of the bright young minds in the coaching profession. He is a great teacher, recruiter and has a deep passion for the game and helping young men develop both on and off the field. He did a wonderful job while here at the University of Florida. Everyone here loved working with D.J. He is a winner.”

Not so fast. Durkin exited Maryland with an 11-15 record and a bad scandal involving the death of a player.

It’s a little easier to predict success for a guy who has done it all of his life with the clipboard in his hands. Handing the reins of a program over to guys who have had terrific success with the headsets on is not a slam dunk as Rutgers, UConn and Maryland have learned.

While Temple has been lucky in hiring coordinators under two different athletic directors, expecting Temple to be successful using this same kind of formula forever is tempting fate. All Temple has to do is look at some of its neighbors. The one program that hired a successful head coach, Penn State, is thriving. The others not so much.

Right now, Diaz is ahead of the pack and looks like a layup but finishing the play will determine if he scores and the scoreboard always tells the true tale.

Ask the guys coaching schools not all that far away.

Friday: The Latest

12.17.18
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National Reaction to Diaz Hire

No doubt Dr. Pat Kraft did his due diligence prior to hiring Manny Diaz as Temple’s football coach but even he probably did not anticipate the reaction following the introduction.

Mostly, it’s been a positive led by a terrific endorsement on ESPN’s duo of Jonathan Vilma (a Miami product) and Emmanuel Acho, a linebacker he coached at Texas (see above video).

That wasn’t the only reaction, though. Here is a sampling that includes players, media and rival fans.

Players:

russo

“Watching some of the games, seeing him running around on the sideline having fun with that defense, that is the kind of guy you want to play for,” quarterback Anthony Russo.

Media

Alan Rubenstein, Canes’ Insider: “There have been a lot of reasons on social media why Diaz shouldn’t take the job at Temple. The fact is Temple is a good opportunity with a program that has been successful over the last ten seasons and seen its head coaches in the past step up into Power Five positions.”

Imagine any Philadelphia football station talking about Temple like this one about Miami.

Opposing Fans

 

Rutgers (rivals board):

Tico: “No matter how you feel about the Temple program, they didn’t pout or cried about being left behind. They reinvented themselves and they have a pretty good looking future as of now. And from the looks of things, they’re not looking to rest on their laurels and think this is all they have to do (unlike other programs).”

Lotus aggressor: “It appears that we are doomed to the worst case scenario. The only hope is that Temple gets the Texas Manny Diaz and not the Miami Turnover Chain Manny Diaz.”

.. and, of course, you can’t read the RU board without a dumb remark here and there:

Miketd1: “Yeah, that’s nice. There’s a reason an undefeated UCF didn’t get a shot at the national title. Enjoy the kiddie table.”

Like losing 78-0 a couple of times every year is the big boy table.

Uconn fans (The Boneyard Messageboard)

Dream Job: “The great thing going with Temple right now is that they are unafraid of hiring guys who consider it a stepping stone job. Who cares if a guy is only there 3-4 years before moving on? Better than firing someone every 3-4 years.”

UCF fans (Rivals board)

Poolside Knight: “It fits Temple’s Program Identity. This might be an upgrade from Collins who I thought relied a little too much on Special Teams gimmicks but the problem for Temple is that if Miami continues to struggle it could be a 1-2 year round trip to Coral Gables for Diaz.”

Wednesday: A Cautionary Tale

 

 

 

12.15.18
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Diaz’s Presser: Better Than The Billboard

billboard

Photo courtesy of Manny Diaz Sr.

In the great tradition of one-liners at Temple football coach hiring press conference, Manny Diaz offered this gem about the university we all know and love:

“It was better than the brochure.”
Geez. I hope that was a good brochure but, truth be told, the press conference was better than I expected even though I did not get all the answers I wanted.

The brochure remark joined these great ones in the introductory presser Hall of Fame:

“We’re going to build a house of brick, not straw,” _  Al Golden, 2005. (Golden kept that promise, stayed five years and built a house solid enough to win a bowl game the year after he left.)

“My message is to make it a destination to be at Temple. Don’t be passing through. I’m now honestly living my dream.” _ Steve Addazio, 2010  (Addazio passed through after two years and then told BC he was living his dream. He must’ve had a lot of dreams.)

rittenberg

Great coaching hire by Manny Diaz

“I asked Bill to sign a 15-year contract and he wouldn’t let me,” _ Matt Rhule, talking about athletic director Bill Bradshaw, who gave Rhule a five-year contract that the uni ripped up and extended to 2021 after the 2015 season. Rhule didn’t even serve the five years Golden did.

“We will compete for championships, we will provide a world-class student-athlete experience and education, and we will represent the community with pride.” _ Geoff Collins, 2016. (Depends on what your definition of “compete for championships” is but Memphis, which played UCF in the last two title games, fit that description better than Temple in the two Collins’ years.)

So we’ve gone from coaches who have promised to build brick houses to ones who didn’t want to pass through to one who wanted to sign a 15-year contract and another who wanted to compete for championships to a guy who said Temple was better than the brochure.

No promises, no demands, this time. Love is a battlefield.

Fortunately, the brochure guy got to work on the love part Friday night by bringing in Baylor assistant coach Fran Brown and that says more about his commitment to competing than any promises could. The billboard welcoming Diaz to Philadelphia (I95 Northbound between Chester and the airport) was impressive but the deeds already are paying fruition. Who knows? Having Brown learn how to be defensive coordinator under one of the best DCs in the country could be a succession plan of sorts. Brown is a great recruiter and one of the most popular coaches with the players in practice facility history, so that’s a good start. Brown is a keeper around the E-O, as is OL coach Chris Wisenhan, QB coach Adam DiMichele and the best special teams’ coach in the nation, Ed Foley.  That would be a nice nucleus. Collins can have the rest of the coaches.

Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude, who tried to make a read-option quarterback out of a pro set one, probably should be packing his bags right now. Hopefully, Diaz has enough football savvy to know that making a read-option QB out of NFL prospect Anthony Russo makes as much sense as Bill Belichick suddenly making a read-option QB out of Tom Brady.  Patenaude has spent two years here trying to force square pegs into round holes and good coaches know that square pegs go into square holes.

Diaz didn’t promise to stay forever, but actions are always more important than words and his first hire was a helluva great action.

Monday: Out of Town Reaction

Wednesday: A Cautionary Tale

Friday: 5 Things We Won’t Miss About Mr. Mayhem

Monday (12/24): Hitting The Ground Running

Wednesday (12/26): T-Minus 1 To Game Day

12.14.18
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Fizzy: Groundhog Day

Editor’s Note: Fizzy wrote this BEFORE the press conference but we did not see this until a day before. His points are still well-taken here. 

                                            By Dave (Fizzy) Weinraub

 

Once more, the alarm clock sounded at 6AM, and the Temple athletic director groggily got to his feet.  Stumbling to the mirror and looking at himself, he groaned.  Not again, he thought. For the fourth time in recent years, another school stole our head football coach.  Not only that, but he took the first plane to Georgia Tech and won’t even stay to coach our bowl game. The athletic director shook his head as his thoughts continued to flow.  And we have no head coach to meet our recruits, so who knows how many we’ll lose? 

The above scenario is quite familiar to Temple football fans, as well as those from many other universities across the country.  Run by the big “Power Five” schools, the impotent NCAA does absolutely nothing to preclude student football players of less wealthy schools from getting the shaft.  After a letter of complaint I sent years ago, the executive director of the NCAA responded by basically saying it was illegal to restrain someone from working wherever they wanted.

As General McAuliffe said in the Battle of the Bulge in WW II… “Nuts!”

For example, my oldest son works for a large corporation and I asked him if he was looking around.  He said, sure, but I can’t go to the companies most likely to hire me because I signed a “non-compete letter.”  When I questioned its legality, he said his company sued a person who left for a new job and won.  Perhaps Temple should have its new coach sign a non-compete agreement and see what happens at the next Groundhog Day.

There are other remedies.  In the NFL, coaches can’t leave unless they receive a promotion. Head coach to head coach in the Football Bowl Championship Division is not a promotion.  Head coaches would have to fulfill their contracts… imagine that.  At least, the NCAA could also punish the hiring school by saying if you steal a coach under contract you lose the opportunity to go bowling games or win the championship of your conference.  Without question, coaches should have to stay until the end of the season.

Turning this around, maybe Temple is losing a business opportunity.  They could go in the head football coach training business (Ph.D. in Football) and earn a substantial fee.

Tomorrow: Press Conference Reaction

Monday: Where Did We Hear This Before?

 

12.13.18
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How Manny Diaz Could Win The Press Conference

unamed

Temple fans are looking for Manny Diaz to win the press conference

Believe it or not, there is some news about Temple’s hiring of Manny Diaz that is not all that discouraging:

He can win the press conference.

Kickoff is 3 p.m. today at the Liacouras Center.

It could dribble out of bounds, it could go through the goal posts. It could even be fumbled by the bad guys or taken back for a touchdown by the good guys.

north

“Mark, I’m headed up I95 but I’ll be back to replace you in a year.”

Full disclosure: I am not in favor of this hire. If you came to me and asked me who the ABSOLUTE WORST choice that Temple athletic director Pat Kraft could make I would not have been able to give you Diaz’s name because I never heard of the guy.  I could have given you a pre-outline of a worst-possible choice: 1) a coordinator from a P5 school; 2) a coordinator who has never been a head coach before; 3) a coordinator who has to learn how to be a head coach (probably for another school) on Temple’s dime and Temple’s time; 4) A guy who has never been to Philadelphia before and knows nothing about the city; 5) A guy who knows very little about Temple’s personnel; 6) A guy whose dad was a Mayor of another large city and probably longs to return to that city.

Manny Diaz fits all of those disqualifications.

Still, there is a press conference.

julian

49er and former Owl Julian Taylor echo the feelings of a lot of former and current players about this hire.

If the right questions are asked (doubtful since they weren’t last time) and the right answers are given (also ditto), the Manster might change my mind.

Here is a primer for the new coach:

Shawn Pastor, OwlsDaily: Manny, both Steve Addazio and Geoff Collins left these kids after two years. Can you promise to them and the Temple fans right now you won’t do the same?

Diaz: Shawn, nice to meet you. I’ve been following the Temple coaching changes from afar and I’m really sick about it. I can tell you right now that I have a five-year contract and I will not even entertain any offers from anyone until the conclusion of the contract. That is my solemn vow to you and these kids. My word is my bond and when I sign a contract I consider that a promise not only to my employer but my God.

solong

John DiCarlo, Owlscoop.com: Manny, you’ve seen the Money Downs and heard Geoff Collins call his defense the dark side defense. What do you think of that kind of swag and nicknames?

Diaz: Not a fan, John. This defense is too good a defense to give up 45 points to Boston College, 52 to UCF and 49 to Houston and earn any nicknames. We’re going to play a sound base defense and go for shutouts. I did notice that the last time you had consecutive shutouts was in the 2016 season. That’s one of my goals: back-to-back shutouts. Until that happens, I’m not giving out any nicknames.

Marc Narducci, Philadelphia Inquirer: Manny, what do you think of quarterback Anthony Russo?

Diaz: Definitely an NFL talent. I watched the film and could not believe they had him running a read-option offense. He’s a Pro Set quarterback. Even Stevie Wonder can see that. Let me ask you a question, Marc: Would Belichick have Tom Brady run a read-option? I told coach Patenaude this morning to pack his bags and take that sorry-ass offense with him to Atlanta. Any other questions?

Don Hunt, Philadelphia Tribune: Manny, what about keeping Ed Foley and Chris Wisenhan? Foley had the best special teams in the country and Chris had the best offensive line in the AAC.

Diaz: Don, I’m looking for a special teams’ coach and an OL coach. I’d be crazy not to keep those two guys. They are not only staying, but I talked to QB coach Adam DiMichele and asked him to stay as well.

Pat Kraft: Manny, I think you’ve won the press conference. Please get to work keeping our commits and getting a few of the U’s to come North to Miami. Gentlemen, in the words of the great General MacArthur, these proceedings are closed.

Friday: Fizzy Checks In About the Overall TU situation

Saturday: Reaction to The Press Conference

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12.11.18
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Moving parts and the Temple football coaching search

patkraft

The worst thing Pat Kraft could do for Temple is to bring in another team’s coordinator

More than any other recent hire, Temple athletic director Pat Kraft has a lot of moving parts to deal with in his search for a Temple football coach.

At times this week, he’s got to feel like one of those contestants in that Lincoln Financial Field shell game–find the Owl under the football helmet as the helmets jump all over the place.

statement

The most important sentence is underlined

The moving parts existing now were not necessarily there the last time.

This team coming back is POTENTIALLY a great team, losing 19 seniors but only a handful of those seniors played key roles and, the ones who did, have backups that can easily replace them. (Just one example is losing receivers like Ventell Byrant and Brodrick Yancy but having upside guys like Branden Mack and Sean Ryan coming back.)

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Nothing will continue this train moving forward than two things: 1) a guy who has been a head coach before and doesn’t have to learn to be a head coach on the job or 2) a guy who is familiar with the talent at hand and how to use it.

Is there a guy out there who possesses BOTH important qualities?


The time for bringing
in a coordinator who
has to learn how to
be another team’s
head coach on Temple’s
dime at the expense
of the Temple kids
should be over

Winning now should be the most important thing and, Kraft has to be thinking if he hires the Texas A&M coordinator, the Alabama coordinator or the Miami coordinator winning now becomes more difficult. At least that’s what I hope he is thinking.

So, the moving part, in that case, is that you don’t want to hire a guy who is new to the team and takes a year to figure out the relative merits of both the personnel and the ideal offensive and defensive schemes that fit, you risk taking a team with 10-12-win potential down to a six-win (or worse) season.

Basically, that’s what happened in Geoff Collins’ first year. His learning curve was too steep and Temple gave up a free year so a coach could learn both on our dime and our time how to be Georgia Tech’s head coach. The bottom line is Temple got one good year out of a two-year, $4 million investment.

Finding a guy who has been a head coach before and who at least as a rudimentary concept of the current Temple talent probably is the best way to go. Buffalo’s Lance Leipold, who studied Owl film the week before he was able to devise a way to beat them, seems to have all of the moving parts. You can’t go wrong hiring a guy like that.

Failing that, Ed Foley–who was a head coach before (albeit a losing one) and understands the Temple talent and how to use it–probably would be a safe choice. Fran Brown would be less safe, but more welcome in the clubhouse than some big-time team’s coordinator.  The time for bringing in a coordinator who has to learn how to be another team’s head coach on Temple’s dime at the expense of the Temple kids should be over.

This time, finding the guy who maximizes the talent currently on the team should be the way to go.

Otherwise, Temple football will be someone else’s Guinea pig and finding a pig under the helmet instead of an Owl won’t get you that Jumbotron Prize pack.

Thursday: How Manny Diaz Wins The Press Conference

Friday: Fizzy’s Thoughts on Temple’s Overall Situation