Category Archives: Uncategorized

01.11.17
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New DC Johnson Has Been Here Before

taver

The last time Taver Johnson attended a Temple game the crowd was 1/15th this large.

The last time Temple fans saw Taver Johnson in action as a defensive coordinator, the Owls’ program was in the gutter and in desperate need of intervention.

Probably none of them remember him.

Then, Johnson was the DC at Miami (Ohio) and there was an announced crowd of 11,257 (“missing about 9,000 no-shows”  according to an AP story on the game) in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field but, in reality, you could count the crowd in about 20 minutes and probably come up with one third of that number. Outside, before the game, there were five fans tailgating in the rain in Lot K waiting for the game to begin right up to a half-hour before kickoff.

johnson

Taver Johnson’s last stop was Purdue.

Five, as in the number that comes after four and before six, and the day will go down in Temple football infamy, Oct. 29, 2005. The entire lot was empty except for those five fans.

In all fairness, in those days there was a larger group of Temple tailgaters a couple of lots over at the Jethro Lot but those five in two cars were all that showed in Lot K that  rainy day.

The gloomy rain was a fitting backdrop for a program that hit rock bottom with only two directions apparent: Up or out. The talk of tailgate that day was speculating on the miracle man  who could save the program because then coach Bobby Wallace had already announced he was not coming back at the end of the year, nudged out by the administration. Rick Neuheisel’s name came up, as did Frank Solich’s. Al Golden was an unknown at the time to any of the five Temple fans left.

I know. I was one of them. The other four shall remain nameless, but they have all witnessed a rebirth in the program and the tailgate atmosphere that is truly remarkable. The Owls were able to start crawling out of the gutter a  couple of months later when a Virginia assistant coach named Al Golden, also a DC, was named head coach.

Johnson’s defense was impressive in a 41-14 win over the Owls, but so was every other defense that played against the Owls that year. That was the ninth loss in an 0-11 season on the way to 20-straight losses.

Now Johnson is back and will roam the sidelines in the same capacity this year as DC of the Owls. Ironically, same sideline, too, because the “home” side for Temple was the other side of the Linc in those days.

It seems like a good hire for new head coach Geoff Collins. In that year of 2005, Johnson presided over a Miami defense that spearheaded a 7-4 record. In addition to “holding” Temple to two touchdowns, his defense limited Cincinnati to 16 points, Buffalo to 13 and Ohio to 10.

That was Johnson’s only experience as a FBS defensive coordinator.  His most recent experience was Purdue defensive backs’ coach the last two years and that was the same Purdue team that gave up 63 points to Penn State. Still, he brings a mostly P5 coaching set to Temple and that has to be a plus because he will go on the recruiting trail looking for a P5 skill set. He was at Arkansas (linebackers and cornerbacks) in 2012 and 2013 and coached the cornerbacks at Ohio State from 2007-2012.

He even served as interim head coach of the Razorbacks.

When he finally roams the sidelines, he will see a whole other side of Temple, both on the field and in the stands, that he saw the first time and the impression should be a favorable one. We can only hope those fans have a favorable impression of the work Johnson does in their view, but we won’t know for sure until about midway through the 2017 season.

Friday: God and The Power 5

01.05.17
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How Do We Know About Collins?

geoffrey

Great story on Coachingsearch.com about Geoff Collins.

About a year ago, just about every Rutgers’ fan was singing the praises of getting an Urban Meyers’ disciple in then Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash.


“Over the last 4
years, I’ve helped
Matt (Rhule) with
key decisions within
the program; philosophy
shifts at different times.”
_ Geoff Collins

A few of those same fans are singing a different tune about Ash now. Rutgers lost to Michigan, 78-0; Ohio State, 58-0 and Penn State, 38-0 (yes, the same Penn State team that beat Temple by a measly touchdown). The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 2-10 season and some people are questioning his game day coaching ability. Even the media has joined in as NJ.com called the loss to Michigan State “all on Chris Ash.”

The point being the 100 percent praise Ash received a year ago mollified considerably after watching the guy with the clipboard in his hands.


If those decisions
were to utilize
the fullback to
jump start an ailing
running game and ditch
the four wides and
go to a play-action
passing game, expect
Temple to head to
a NY6 bowl under Collins

Geoff Collins has received universal praise as Temple’s new hire, just like Ash did a year ago at Rutgers, so the question some fans might ask about Collins is “How do we know he won’t be a Chris Ash?”

You know, like another hot assistant, like UConn’s Bob Diaco—the national college football assistant coach of the year in 2012 with Notre Dame—who falls on his face as a head coach. Heck, we don’t know if Ash will join Diaco but a 2-10 first season with one of the wins over Howard doesn’t engender a lot of confidence among the North Jersey faithful. What they have learned in East Hartford and Piscataway is being the greatest assistant coach in the world does not automatically translate to being a great head coach. They are two different jobs and even Matt Rhule had a rocky first couple of years. For every assistant who turns into a great head coach like Rhule, there are 10 guys like Diaco who need to get fired. Head coaches who move from one place where they did well as a head coach to another have a higher rate of success. Those are the guys P5 schools can afford to hire.

As far as assistants go, the answer is we do not know, but the weight of the evidence is in Collins’ favor over Ash or Diaco.

goldenash

RU fans wanted Golden over Ash in this poll.

The truth is, with an assistant coach, you never know but there are a couple of things with Collins that give him a little more street cred than say, an Ash or a Diaco. One, the Temple program is in much better shape, player-wise, than the Rutgers or UConn. Two, no less of an authority on Temple football than Matt Rhule himself said the hire of Collins was a “home run” and, three, in two coaching stops along with way, Collins was Rhule’s boss, not the other way around. Rhule learned from Collins. Four, Collins was a coordinator, not a “co-coordinator” like Ash, so you know the Florida Mayhem defense was his production and there are no blurred lines on who contributed what. Collins already has been a coach at Temple of sorts over the last four years as “helped Matt with key decisions within the program” according to this interview.

If those decisions were to utilize the fullback to jump start an ailing running game and ditch the four wides and go to a play-action passing game, expect Temple to head to a NY6 bowl under Collins.

Now all Collins has to do is perform on game day and, from what he has done in the days leading up to his first one, all systems are go for a great liftoff.

01.03.17
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Staff: Quality Over Speed

spouses

This helmet won seven-straight games between a black helmet loss and a white helmet one.

There is a long stretch of empty offices between the ones occupied by Ed Foley, the other two holdovers (Chris Wiesehan, Frisman Jackson) and head coach Geoff Collins at the Edberg-Olson Complex.

Already, Dave Patenaude has taken over the offensive coordinator’s office that Glenn Thomas used to occupy and the leading candidate to replace defensive coordinator Phil Snow is reportedly Florida defensive backs’ coach Torrian Gray. The only holdup seems to be Collins talking Gray into taking the job and the fact that Gray is a Lakeland (Fla.) native reluctant to leave. The process seems a little bit slower in comparison to past Temple head coaches (for instance, by this time in 2011, Steve Addazio had pilfered Chuck Heater and Scot Loeffler from the national champion Florida staff) but, hopefully, Collins is taking his time to sort through the 457 text messages he got asking him for a job.

spouse

If Geoff Collins recruits coaches and players like he recruits spouses, Owls should be in good shape.

If Randy Shannon, as expected, gets the Florida DC job, though, moving up to Temple DC would be a nice move for Gray. One monkey wrench Florida head coach Jim McElwain could throw in is to make Shannon and Gray co-coordinators, which means that Collins will have to look elsewhere.

If that’s the case, so far, so good because quality beats quantity every day of the week and Temple should not settle for less. These are much tougher decisions for Collins than, say, going with the Cherry helmet at the top of this post. That one should be a no-brainer.

Patenaude, the former offensive coordinator at Coastal Carolina, is known for a roughly equal distribution between rushing and passing yards there and that bodes well for the Owls to keep their play-action passing game which features a significant dose of fullback blocking.

Defense should also not be a concern because Collins was arguably the best defensive coordinator in college football last year and should have a significant say on that side of the football.

As far as Temple, Rhule seems to have raided virtually the entire staff. Even Rob Dvoracek, whose name has not been reported going to Dallas, even is joining Baylor. (I got that nugget from his mother at the Military Bowl.) Also joining Rhule is former Cardinal O’Hara running back Damiere Shaw, another guy who rose through the graduate assistant ranks. Another student assistant, Mike Wallace, is leaving to join Thomas, Rhule and Phil Snow.

When it comes to coaching staffs, only the G5 schools seem to get significantly raided by the P5 schools and not the other way around.

Still, Collins has enough coaching contacts scattered throughout the nation—even more than Rhule—to find a decent staff. He should be given the time to find the best.

Thursday: How Do We Know?

12.29.16
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Fizzy: Adventures in Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda Land

sunset

Every once in a while, we submit the extraordinary insight of a former Temple football player, Dave “Fizzy” Weinraub. Fizz graced us with this analysis of the game. Enjoy.

By:  Dave (Fizzy) Weinraub

For the third year in a row, we end up in despair.  Two years ago, we lost out three in a row.  Last year, we lost a winnable game in Houston, and then a horribly coached and played game against Toledo.  This past Tuesday, after a terrific conference championship, we lost to Wake Forest.  There were three major reasons for this loss, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator, and the NCAA.

When I watch a game, I mentally grade the coaching.  That’s because the players will always make great plays and poor plays, and many in-between.  The refs will also be inconsistent, and that’s to be expected.  What shouldn’t ever happen, is that the coaches screw it up.  That’s what happened.

Yes, Phil Snow coached a highly rated defense this year.  Despite the fact he always drove me crazy when he’d go to a three-man  rush when the opponent had a third and long, the defense was fine.  It wasn’t even satisfactory on Tuesday.

Wake found a weakness early on, and Snow never adjusted.  Wake would come up to the line, look to the sideline for the called play, and then adjust their formation.  After Wake’s adjustment, Temple would look to their sideline for their defensive call.  Yo Phil, while you were sending in the call, Wake Forest was already running the damn play.  Over and over, even into the fourth quarter this was happening and a major contributor to the Wake Forest tight end catching and running down the middle of the field without a Temple defender in sight.

How do you fix it? Well, it’s simple.  You let your defensive captain make the call on the field.  We have two guys on the defense who will probably be playing on Sunday.  They should be trusted to make the call.  When I was playing in high school (in a previous century), we had four different defenses, and the captain made the call.

Moving on to the offense, I could never tell if it was Matt Rhule, who dictated the mostly conservative play calling, or the offensive coordinator.  But in the AAC, it didn’t matter because we had more talent than mostly everyone, and we’d overwhelm the other teams in the second half.  It mattered Tuesday though.

Wake was consistently blitzing up the middle, yet we ran no real screens, no middle screens, no jet sweeps, which would have put Jahad outside their rush, or flares to Jahad after a quick fake.  Over and over on first down, we called the straight hand-off to our running back into the teeth of the blitz.  All this did was put us in second and third and long, so they could bring great pressure on Walker.

Four times we were in the red zone, and two of those times the first play was the direct hand-off which got stuffed.  We ended-up having to kick four field goals, despite two, first and goal situations.  Yes, I know; Phillip took some horrible sacks. However, those sacks were after we were already in second, and third and long situations.

Now let’s review the NCAA bullshit rules that allow schools to poach each other’s coaches.  Mike Jensen from the Inquirer and I, tried to fight this nonsense four years ago. I even wrote a letter to the NCAA, and got a politician’s reply from the Executive V.P. that any rule change would have to be initiated by the schools themselves.  The NCAA won’t ever force a change because they fear the Power 5 will simply form their own association.

There’s an easy solution for the problem.  Simply move the signing day back to March 1st, and mandate that all the coaches who are leaving must coach in championship and bowl games.   It’s grossly unfair to the players and their schools for the current piracy to continue.  How much did the coaching turmoil affect Temple?  For sure, it couldn’t have helped, and it was a definite factor in keeping us from finishing in the top 25.

So Temple fans, here we are again.  A new head coach is on board, and there will be new coordinators.  Will we improve?  I’ll let you know after the Notre Dame game.  On the plus side, I did get to see a win  over Penn State last year, and a conference championship this year.

Tomorrow: Season Analysis

 

12.18.16
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Fake News And The Coaching Search

The entire press conference, including a question and answer session.

Under the category of “Fake News” had to be all of the names floated as possible replacements for Matt Rhule over the last 10 or so days.

With few exceptions, those names almost gave me a heart attack and certainly gave me agita—not the heartburn definition, but the “more aggravation than I can stand” second definition.

Let’s count the names: K.C. Keeler, Danny Rocco, Neal Brown, Matt Canada, Tim Beck and Chris Klieman and those were just some floated by Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

alexholley

                                                                       Philly TV treasure Alex Holley is stunned that future Philly football treasure Geoff Collins does not wear socks.

With just about everyone, my initial—and only reaction—was “you’ve got to be kidding me.” Keeler was fired from Delaware and coming off a 65-7 loss to James Madison. You would be doing Sam Houston State a favor by taking that guy off its hands. Rocco was being interviewed by Delaware, which is really a step down from the same position he was already holding at Richmond. (Rocco got beat, 42-14, by Stony Brook this year.) Canada was fired at N.C. State a year ago as offensive coordinator before being rescued by his friend, Pat Narduzzi, at Pitt. Neal Brown (Troy) and Chris Klieman (North Dakota State) have zero connections to Philadelphia and no understanding of Temple. Beck is the “co-offensive coordinator” at Ohio State, so we don’t know if he was responsible for the good plays or the bad plays. Plus, you’ve got to believe Urban Meyer has the big input there.

With those backgrounds, when the news hit the radio that Geoff Collins was hired by Temple there was a huge sigh of relief. Compared to those guys, Collins sounded like the Second Coming of Vince Lombardi. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that Temple intentionally floated those horrible choices to make this one look even better but that’s probably giving Temple too much credit.

The truth is no one really knew who the targeted guy was until the morning of the announcement and that is the real credit  Dr. Pat Kraft deserves.

This was a guy who came out of left field and was not even in the speculation, but a guy who fit what Temple was looking for infinitely better than some of the names floated. It makes you wonder who Narducci’s “source” was because Temple did not even consider some of those names he reported as being interviewed. Temple denies being involved with the only name that made any sense that Narducci floated, Old Dominion head coach Bobby Wilder.

Maybe it’s just as well.  Temple fans dodged some pretty bad ammunition before Kraft caught Collins in his netting.

“Temple hit a home run when they hired him,” no less an authority than Matt Rhule said upon hearing the news.

I believe Matt simply because from what Collins has said, he does not appear to be the kind of guy who will be stumbling to find his way as a head coach like Rhule was here the first couple of years. Rhule sacrificed immediate wins while trying to implement a system that did not fit the talents of his players. Collins, on the other hand, is a coach who said he believes in tailoring his schemes around the talents of the players he has in the program. I believe he is a guy who says what he means and means what he says.

If so, he is just the kind of guy who will hit the ground running and a baton carrier is really the only thing this program needs right now.

Tuesday: A Coach Collins Primer

 

12.16.16
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Mayhem’s Already Here

footprint

Temple’s defense is No. 1 in the nation in DL havoc rate and No. 9 in overall havoc rate.

Funny how one of college football’s best nicknames can originate essentially in the basement of a Vanderbilt University grad student, but that’s what led to Temple head football coach Geoff Collins being called the “Minister of Mayhem.”

A couple of years ago, Collins was pouring over some defensive statistics that he especially liked and stumbled upon the mayhem stat, which was developed by Stephen Prather, a student going for his Master’s at Vanderbilt.

ranking

Temple is No. 3 in overall defense.

Simply put, the “Mayhem” stat counts the percentage of plays on defense that end in a sack, fumble, tackle for loss or interception and those are the kind of stats Collins gears his defensive scheme to achieve. His players then started calling him the “Minister of Mayhem” and the nickname stuck.

If Collins is the “Minister of Mayhem” then he probably already met the “Kings of Mayhem” and they are our own Temple Owls. Temple’s DL is No. 1 in the nation in “Havoc Rate” which is a team’s total tackles for loss, passes defensed, and forced fumbles.

The defensive footprint stats, which roughly parallel Prather’s and Collins’ favorite stats, already have Temple has the nation’s No. 1 disrupting defense. Since Collins will probably not be his own defensive coordinator, he probably has a guy in mind right now to implement his system.

Who that will be is only known to him, but he will probably come from a group of coaches he met along the way in stops that started at Albright, went to Georgia Tech, Alabama, Mississippi State and Florida.

Meanwhile, he should be observing and taking notes at the Military Bowl because whatever he has in mind for the Owls’ defense are things they already are doing very well.

Sunday: Dodging Bullets

Tuesday: A Coach Collins Primer

Thursday: Eyes On The Prize

12.10.16
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Quintessential Acres of Diamonds’ Story

russell

When Dr. Pat Kraft approaches the podium to introduce the next Temple University football coach in a week or two, he could have a terrific Russell Conwell-type story to tell.

Conwell, the founder of Temple University, wrote the book “Acres of Diamonds” about a man who searched the world for riches only to find them in his own backyard. It has become the backbone of the Temple mission with the moral of the story being that education is the key to finding your own personal wealth.

Kraft already has a list and he is checking it twice and only one man checks all the boxes and his return to Temple would be the quintessential Acres of Diamonds story. Like any good shopping list, it is always helpful to know what you are looking for and not wander around the store aimlessly and, to that end, Kraft has already noted some boxes he wants to check off. In that presser, Kraft said the next Temple coach will have to in no particular order, understand Temple’s mission; value academics; be the right fit, be a great person and be able to win here.

Some candidates have emerged in the media, while others have been mentioned to have sent out feelers behind the scenes. Of those two groups, only one—former Temple head coach Al Golden—checks off all of those boxes. Golden searched the world for riches after Temple, and just might find his Acres of Diamonds were in his old backyard all along.

Unless God called Nick Saban and told him to take a $5 million pay cut to take the Temple challenge, these are the top candidates:


When it comes to the most important
criteria “being able to win at
Temple” every other coach is a
crapshoot. Golden has proven
he can win at Temple

AL GOLDEN (A+, exemplarily)–Golden is really the only guy who fits all of Kraft’s stated criteria. He took Temple out of NCAA academic sanctions caused by Bobby Wallace and had the football team among the nation’s leaders in APR. He also checks off some important boxes Kraft did not mention, like keeping the continuity of the program. Temple plays with a certain Temple TUFFness and that was a style Golden, not Matt Rhule, implemented. The Temple team fans see under Golden will be much like the one they see now, with a heavy emphasis on defense, running the football, and play-action passing. Plus, he knows the landscape and will be able to keep coaches he brought here, like George DeLeone, Adam DiMichele and Ed Foley, among others. When it comes to the most important criteria “being able to win at Temple” every other coach is a crapshoot. Golden has proven he can win at Temple. He also went 32-25 under brutal sanctions at Miami, sanctions that do not exist at Temple. We hear he is interested and could get out of his contract as TE coach with the Detroit Lions to take the job right away. He is an extremely competitive guy, eager to prove that he can do better with Temple talent than Matt Rhule did. He, above all other candidates, realizes that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the 10th and Diamond fence. He would have to assure Temple fans on the day he is hired that he is here to stay this time. If he’s willing to make that commitment, hire him.

boxes

The Rest, ranked A (excellent), B (good), C (average), D (unsatisfactory) and F (don’t even think about it):

JOE MOORHEAD, P.J. FLECK  and BOBBY WILDER (A, excellent).– If you ignore Kraft’s other criteria and cut to the chase on these three, they fit the mold of being proven winners. Kraft can sell Moorhead to Temple fans as someone who was able to beat Matt Rhule with FCS talent. Wilder is 66-30 as a head coach at Old Dominion, a truly remarkable record in that ODU is a start-up FBS program. ODU has also offered some of the Owls’ current recruits and Wilder has won several recruiting battles with Rhule already.  Fleck, the Western Michigan coach, is headed to bigger and better things, but P5 openings are running out and he could be attracted to Temple. If the Owls can grab him for a year or two, he will fit Kraft’s “best coach available” checkmark. Despite being in negotiations with WMU on an extension, he certainly deserves a phone call.

TODD BOWLES (B, good)—This only works if the New York Jets fire Bowles in the next week or so and that is doubtful. Bowles is really the only “Temple guy” with winning head coaching experience—he was 10-6 with the Jets last year with a journeyman quarterback–but will be able to pack his staff with extremely qualified Temple guys who understand the Owls’ mission, including Nick Rapone (defensive coordinator), Todd McNair (offensive coordinator), Keith Armstrong (special teams) and Kevin Ross (defensive backs). He would be a solid choice if things break right. McNair and Rapone are already proven recruiters. I understand Temple fans wanting Temple coaches like WMU assistant Kirk Ciarrocca to come to the Owls, but Temple should by now have reached a point where it does not have to hire a MAC assistant coach to be its head coach. If Temple is going to hire a MAC coach, it better be a MAC head coach. Really, of all the coaches with Temple connections, only Bowles has shown he is qualified to be a head coach. Aside to Temple fans thinking a “Temple guy” is more likely to stay. Willie Taggart is a Western Kentucky grad and he quit there to go to USF and now Oregon.

PHIL SNOW (C, satisfactory)—If Kraft has to listen to the players, he could do worse than Snow as a placeholder until the next proven head coaching winner comes along. Snow could stop the bleeding of staff members to Waco, Texas, a God-forsaken place we cannot imagine a whole lot of Temple coaches want to put down roots. He would at least keep the defense in good shape. He, for instance, will know Jacob Martin and Sharif Finch are next year’s starting DEs with Karamo Dioubate, Greg Webb and Freddy Booth-Lloyd holding down the middle. He might even make Nick Sharga’s next year’s Bednarik winner as college football’s next 60-minute man (starting fullback, starting linebacker). At first, I hated the idea. Now, if he keeps Foley from being the face of Temple football, that might not be a bad thing. Snow is great with the media, but I would only go with Snow if the A and B candidates fell through.

GREG SCHIANO AND CHARLIE STRONG (D, not passing the eye test)—Two guys who got it done elsewhere, but Strong has never recruited this area and Schiano strikes me as a snake oil salesman. Temple people can sniff out those types right away. Strong might be a good fit at Louisville, but it doesn’t mean he’s a good fit at Texas or Temple. Plus, he’s probably headed to USF anyway.

ED FOLEY , JOHN DONOVAN (F, no thanks)—Some guys have muckers and career assistants written on their foreheads and Foley is one of the best of them. He’s a good detail guy who is popular with the players. Can he be the face of the program? Err, no, but we hope he joins the staff of Al Golden, Joe Moorhead, Todd Bowles or Phil Snow to ease the transition and keep singing “High Hopes” after wins. Donovan is the “quality control” coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars. His major claim to fame is being the OC who fell victim to 10 Temple sacks on 9/5/15, a day that will live in Penn State infamy. You’ve got to be kidding me with that name.

Monday: Can Temple Screw This Up?

12.08.16
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Finished Business?

fordhamfoley

Not the best day in Fordham football history.

The only way Temple football makes the sports talk radio rounds is if something negative happens to the program.

When the bus from Annapolis on Saturday night dropped me off at the Liacouras Center, I made my way to the parking garage and turned on the radio eager in anticipation of some Temple love coming on 97.5. Instead, all they talked about was Matt Rhule possibly leaving.

That wasn’t the only time in the span of a couple days that sports talk radio about Temple football caused me to shake my head.

That happened on Monday and a former Boston College quarterback named Glenn Foley called in to assure Owl Nation that not all was lost.

“Nothing bad is going to happen, Owl fans,” Foley said. “The program is still going to continue to win and, if they hire my brother, he will do a great job.”

With all due respect, Glenn, a hire like your brother is EXACTLY what I’m afraid of happening at this point. Some people are career lifetime assistant coaches and some people have head coaching stardom written all over them. Foley is the former and definitely not the latter.


I will say this in all seriousness:
If Temple hires Ed Foley or any other
unproven assistant coach with no
winning head coaching
experience, we’re going to pack
it in for Temple Football Forever
and end the website on the day
of the announcement

The best thing I can say about him is that he is a helluva nice guy and sings a mean version of high hopes.

The fairest thing to say about him is that he is not qualified to be head coach at Temple University.

Let’s open up the record books and examine that head coaching record, which is 7-15 over two years, 2004 and 2005.

Before Foley took the head coaching job, a guy named Dave Clawson went 10-3 and 9-3 in the two years prior. After that, Foley went 5-6 and 2-9. Clawson will coach Wake Forest against Foley in the Military Bowl. Joe Moorhead, who coached Fordham between 2012 and 2015, went 12-2 and 11-3 in his two best years there.

So you have a guy in Foley who couldn’t get it done from a head coaching perspective at Fordham sandwiched between a couple of guys who had enormous success at the same institution.

I understand Glenn is family and he has got to stick up for his brother, but Temple has got to look at the cold, hard facts and say no to a permanent Ed Foley candidacy. Now Ed would be great to join a possible Al Golden staff with George DeLeone and Adam DiMichele, but he is not cut out to be a head coach.

I will say this in all seriousness: If Temple hires Ed Foley or any other unproven assistant coach with no winning head coaching experience, we’re going to pack it in for Temple Football Forever and end the website on the day of the announcement. There will just not be any point in going on and providing a forum to discuss Temple football with that bleak backdrop facing it. This hire is going to have to have some juice and it will have to be a guy with a history of winning seasons for multiple years as a head coach. There are plenty of such candidates out there who want to coach at Temple and will hit the ground running.

One has even proven he could win as a head coach at Temple.

Coaches like Al Golden, current Old Dominion head coach Bobby Wilder, Moorhead and former FIU head coach Mario Cristobal certainly have those qualifications. From what we hear, all of them would love the opportunity. Guys like Ed Foley do not possess the minimum requirement of winning head coaching experience, no matter how much love he gets from his brother on the radio.

Saturday: Rating The Candidates From A to F

12.06.16
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Departures And Arrivals

There have been two visceral reactions to my learning of the departure of the last two Temple head football coaches and both occurred while listening to the radio and driving in my car.

The first came when Steve Addazio left and Harry Donahue broke in with the news on the 5:45 p.m. sportscast at KYW with these words: “There has been a coaching change at Temple … “ That perked me up a little because there is never a coaching change at Temple. I thought it might be Tonya Cardoza or some other minor sports coach moving on but instead Harry followed that slight pause with “Steve Addazio is headed to Boston College.”

GettyImages-499079194

Hiring an assistant can go one of two ways.

As I made the left turn on Susquehanna Road near the Rydal train station, reaction was pure joy, pounding on the steering wheel and yelling, “Yes, yes, yes!!!”  That also had something to do with Temple never firing head coaches and I felt that Addazio would have to have many 4-7 seasons, not just the one he was coming off of, to be let go at Temple.

I did not want to live through that misery again, and Addazio’s future at Temple had a Ron Dickerson, Jerry Berndt and Bobby Wallace type quality written all over it.

On Tuesday, though, turning into the parking lot at work, the guy on one of the sports talk radio stations said at 11:40 this morning: “This just in:  Philly.com is reporting that Matt Rhule is leaving for Baylor.” The reaction had nothing to do with joy or sorrow and was just a knowing sigh.

waco

I knew this was going to happen last year with the Missouri dalliance when Rhule said he will always listen. I knew it was going to happen when he told a reporter who goes by the name “New Jersey Mike” in June that he cannot make promises, ostensibly to stay at Temple, and I really came to grips with it on Saturday when he told a press conference this telegraphed sentence: “It was a pleasure to have coached these kids.”

Notice the “have coached” part of that statement, which meant, at least to me, that he was not coaching the bowl game.  That’s OK, too, because the sanctions under which he will have to work with are crippling enough. He needs to recruit for Baylor and someone else needs to keep the current Temple recruiting class together (maybe Francis Brown).

I wrote Matt an old-fashioned handwritten letter upon returning home from work and placed it in the neighborhood mailbox after working out at the gym. I hope he gets it:

Dear Matt,

Thank you for giving me last Saturday, the very best of many great days I have spent as a Temple football fan over the last 40 or so years. Thank you for the way you and your wonderful players represented this terrific university and I wish you and your family many similar joyous days like Saturday in the not-too-distant future.

Good Luck,

Mike Gibson

That deals with the departure part of it, and now we get to the arrival area. To me, the university needs to no longer roll the dice with the hiring of an assistant coach. Being an assistant is not the same as being a head coach. It is a totally different job. You can be a great assistant and a terrible head coach. The world is littered with such examples. UConn found that out the hard way by hiring the “hottest” assistant coach available in Bob Diaco and that hiring turned out to be a train wreck.

NO MORE ASSISTANT COACHES. I don’t care if they are hot assistants, cold assistants, lukewarm assistants. Temple University should hire a proven winning head coach who has done it for multiple years at the FBS level, preferably at Temple University.

Al Golden, who has won here as a HEAD COACH, knows how to win and recruit here, is available and the current tight ends coach with the Detroit Lions. Ask yourself if you would rather coach the tight ends at the Lions or be head coach at Temple. He was 32-25 as a head coach under brutal sanctions at Miami and got fired for not achieving unrealistic expectations. He, above all other people, knows the grass is not always greener on the other side of the 10th and Diamond fence. If Golden can make written assurances with an astronomical buyout that guarantees a longer second stay, he is, as Bill Bradshaw wrote on that yellow legal pad in 2005: “Our guy.”

Thursday: Finished Business