Meet your new (likely) coordinators


Phil Snow (left) might be looking at Marcus Satterfield to produce gobs of points.


“While at TU, coach Rapone had a string of DBs drafted or going to the NFL. Kevin Ross, Anthony Young, Todd Bowles, Larry Brewton, Terry Wright, Eddie Parker. ‘Nuff said.”
_ Paul Palmer, Heisman Trophy runner-up
Temple University

What if I told you Matt Rhule’s first two coordinators at Temple are responsible for units that allowed and produced numbers of 38 and 28 last year?
“Geez, Mike,” you’d probably say, “I would have liked the defensive coordinator to give up less than 28 a game, but I’m really excited about the OC he’s bringing in who’s putting up 38 per.”
“Try again,” I’d say.
Yeah, it’s the defensive coordinator coming off a season where his unit allowed 38 per and the offensive coordinator who is coming off a 28-point-per-game season.
What’s that Emily Latilla was noted for saying?
“Never mind.”
We’ve gone 2-for-2 with our most recent ahead-of-the-curve hunches (that Nick Rolovich would never show up at Temple and that Chuck Heater would head to Marshall) and, at the risk of sticking my neck out again, I think we’re going to go 4-for-4 in a two-week time frame.
Unfortunately, in this case.
It looks like Marcus Satterfield goes from OC at Tennessee-Chattanooga to the same role at Temple, while Phil Snow goes from Eastern Michigan DC to Temple DC.

Wikipedia is occasionally amusing, as was this last sentence.

I wish I could say Matt was going to do better than 1-for-2 here, but the evidence suggests otherwise.
I’m good with the Satterfield hire. I don’t mind hiring FCS coaches, as long as they are accomplished ones like Marcus Satterfield, who looks like he’s got a solid past and a bright future.
If I were the lone Eastern Michigan fan left, though, I’d send Rhule a thank you card for taking Snow off my hands. Judging from the numbers his most recent team gave up, I think his defensive philosophy is to give up seven as quickly as possible and pray his offense can score eight.
Four-hundred-and-fifty-one (that’s 451) points in 12 games is 38 points a game. OK, make it 37.58 but I’m rounding it out.

Looks like Snow’s defensive philosophy is to give up 7 as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, another FCS coach who is confirmed to have expressed interest in the job, Nick Rapone, probably won’t be hired and the reason we’re told is that Rhule promised the job to Snow, an old buddy from his UCLA days.
I’m all for hiring old buddies, but not old buddies who give up 38 points per game.
Every young man who ever had the good fortune to have played under Rapone at Temple will tell you they love Rapone and Rapone was the greatest Temple defensive coach they ever knew when he was the defensive coordinator for Bruce Arians at Temple. Rapone has continued his stellar coaching at Delaware, being named FCS coordinator of the year as recently as 2010. That was a year his defense gave up 181, not 451 points, in 15, not 12, games.
You do the math.

My fervent hope is that the first time Snow’s defense gives up 38 points, the 25K Temple fans walking out of the stadium that day won’t be saying “we could have had Nick Rapone and instead we have this Eastern Michigan guy”

SINCE he’s a Penn State-person, I’ll give Matt the benefit of the doubt for being, err, Snowed by a bullbleeper. I like Matt. I really do. I freaking HATE this hire. This is not a rah-rah Temple site. I’ll call it as I see it and I just don’t see this. I didn’t see Daz as right for Temple midway through the season and I called it then. I do think Matt can overcome this, but he’ll have to become the DC himself about 2 games into the season. He needs to concentrate on being a CEO and not doing other people’s jobs.
That’s why Rapone would have been perfect. He’s the type of guy you could hire and put the defense on auto pilot. He’s that trustworthy.
It’s a gold mine that Rapone became available for this job. Gold for Temple.
Telling him “I-can’t-hire-you-because-I-promised-the-job-to-a-2-10-coordinator” rates right up there with “the dog ate my homework” on the excuse meter. That’s like Johnny Football reneging on his original commitment to attend Texas A&M to be The Man at Temple, but the coach saying, “Geez, sorry Johnny, we gave our last scholarship to Spencer Reid.”
Rapone is the very definition of Temple-made. Snow is the very definition of bullbleep-made and, as a Temple-made person myself, I have a very good bullbleep-made antenna.

Snow Fun Fact No 1:
Phil’s last shutout as DC was in September, 1996. Chuck Heater had consecutive shutouts for Temple in 2011, while Nick Rapone has pitched six shutouts since 2006

So does every Temple-made person.
Rapone’s only shortcoming in this case was that he didn’t know Matt in the past. That’s Matt’s loss, not  Rapone’s.
If not Nick, why not Tom Bradley who has at least stopped an offense during the last three seasons?
My fervent hope is that the first time Snow’s defense gives up 38 points, the 25K Temple fans walking out of the stadium that day won’t be saying “we could have had Nick Rapone and instead we have this Eastern Michigan guy.”

Snow Fun Fact No. 2:
In the last 70 games Phil has been DC, he’s held FBS teams to single digits just 3 times

Or that the second time Snow gets torched for 38, the 20K Temple fans say the same thing, followed by 15K Temple fans, and 10K Temple fans the third and fourth times.
Don’t blame the kids, either, because Snow will be inheriting the same kids who allowed UConn only 14 points, none after adjustments the DC made at halftime.
Yeah, the same UConn team which beat Louisville and you know what Louisville did.

Former Temple Owls talk Nick Rapone:

Rolovich gone, Heater not forgotten

Nick Rolovich’s decision was a case of Reno 911 meeting 10th and Diamond.

With the announcement yesterday that Nick Rolovich was staying at Nevada comes the news today that Temple defensive coordinator Chuck Heater is leaving for Marshall.
Both developments, while disappointing, are not surprising.
We speculated in this spot a week ago that Chuck was going to Marshall and this is what we said when Rolovich was rumored to come to Temple as offensive coordinator:

I’ll believe Rolovich comes when I see him on North Broad Street. It might be a culture shock for someone who has worked in Hawaii and near Vegas the last two years to work at 10th and Diamond.

I published those words on this site Dec. 28. My instincts proved to be correct.
Rolovich was offered a double-salary pay raise to stay in Nevada.
Good for him. He’s got twins on the way and doesn’t want to uproot his family.
Plus, it’s better he decides now than sometime mid-way through the season. After all, 10th and Diamond isn’t for everybody. Scot Loeffler was the consummate professional while here and did a great job as offensive coordinator in 2011, but I could tell his heart wasn’t into being here.
Fortunately, Matt Rhule’s heart is into it and that should bode well for the make-up of the balance of the staff.

He was one of the best defensive coordinators I’ve ever seen at Temple. Nick Rapone was the best, Chuck was the second, Vince Hoch was the third and Mark D’Onofrio was a distant fourth.

I’m sure Marcus Satterfield will do a fine job as offensive coordinator. There will not be a search for a coordinator on offense. Satterfield will be the guy.
I don’t watch too much television, but one of the few channels I do get is the Comedy one and, while The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (my favorite) was off the air last month, I watched a couple of episodes of (awful) Reno 911.
The only thing that made me laugh about that show was imagining how long those cops would last at 10th and Diamond.
Two minutes.
Maybe.
Chuck, though, was another story altogether.
He loved living in Philadelphia, loved Temple, and was a terrific person to be around.
He was one of the best defensive coordinators I’ve ever seen at Temple.
Nick Rapone was the best, Chuck was the second, Vince Hoch was the third and Mark D’Onofrio was a distant fourth.
Like Nick, Chuck was as humble as they come.
After he made the second-half adjustments to shut out a UConn team that beat Louisville, I found myself standing next to Chuck in the parking lot while waiting for the guys to board the buses. He had a big smile on his face while watching the whole scene.   I turned to him said: “I don’t know what you did or said at halftime, but you are a genius.”
“It wasn’t me,” Chuck said, “It was the boys.”
That will be my lasting memory of Chuck at Temple.

ESPN makes subliminal Daz comment in promo

BREAKING NEWS: Nick Rolovich to remain at Nevada. More tomorrow but this means Marcus Satterfield will probably be promoted to coordinator… Notice the Owl decided against the run play that didn’t work the first time, while BC kept charging up the middle for no gain. Hmm. There’s got to be a subliminal message in there somewhere about the diversified Temple offense in the future compared to what is going to happen at BC. Inadvertent or not, the comment is right on and this is a brilliant ESPN production. The Daz irony in this one is deep. If this is an accident, it’s a helluva accident. The only way this would be better is if the two birds were carrying footballs. Very proud of my fellow Archbishop Ryan grad and former girls’ basketball hoop standout Chris McKendry, who appears in this video.

The complete Reece/Rhule sit-down interview

Beasley Reece interviews Matt Rhule.

Root for old Notre Dame
To me, the rooting interest for tonight’s National Championship game is a clear choice.It really should be for every Temple fan.
Root, root, root for old Notre Dame.

Why?

Imagine the buzz around Philadelphia should Temple knock off the unbeaten national champions in the 2013 opener?Much more electricity in that scenario for Temple than it would get coming off an upset of a ND team which lost to Alabama.

It seems like only yesterday Beasley Reece interviewed a young guy getting his first opportunity to be a head coach.
Afterward, Reece reached out his hand to the young man and shook his head approvingly, “Coach, you sold me. Where do I sign?”
“We’d love to have you,” was the reply.
The coach was Al Golden.
The year was 2005 and it SEEMED like yesterday.
That worked out pretty well for both coach and school.
Hopefully, was really DID happen yesterday, a sit-down interview with another young guy in the same position, Matt Rhule, will end up with similar on-field results.

Love the way Matt mentioned a 3-4 defense, even in passing. Means the thought has at least crossed his mind. Shows me he is using his head already. Temple has never played a 3-4 defense before, but the Owls have found themselves with personnel best-suited for it due to some unforeseen over-recruiting at the linebacker position by the recently departed head coach and suspension circumstances along the defensive front.
Those hard decisions should be addressed in the period between signing day and the the March opening of spring practice.
As usual, Beasley does his usual great job with the questions and Matt was every bit as impressive with his responses as Golden was way back when.
It’s worth six minutes of your time.

Eagles search for a coach should end now

Bruce Arians would be a great choice in three important areas.

The only known photo of
Bruce Arians as Temple
coach on the internet.

Driving around Philadelphia every day, I have my radio presets on a few select stations.
Two are the all-sports talk stations in Philly, but I invariably land on WFAN in New York for the best sports talk.
Mostly, I end up on 100.3 or 105.3, music stations. Big fan of Patti Jackson, Lady B and Michael Baisden.
Still, in between commercials, it’s amusing to stop on the Philly sports talk stations for awhile to hear them talk about potential replacements for Andy Reid.
I have to shake my head, though. All of these guys are garbage compared to my choice.
There’s really only one potential replacement and he should be hired no later than Monday. (If the Colts lose to Bernard Pierce and the Ravens, which I suspect will happen on Sunday.)
His name is Bruce Arians, the former Temple University head coach.
OK, I will admit that I’m biased but some other national guys like ESPN’s Dan Graziano (see above) who are starting to come around to my way of thinking.
I don’t think his age, 60, should have anything to do with it. Sixty is the new 40 anyway. Tom Coughlin won two Super Bowls after 60. Period, end of discussion.

On the Daz front, we’re at Dream Job No. 6.

Put aside the Temple connection for a moment and look at it logically.

Culture Change

Bruce Arians took a 2-14 team in Indianapolis and totally changed the culture from losing to winning. He was 9-3 in the 12 games he was head coach, including a win over the Green Bay Packers. That performance has made him the leading candidate for NFL Coach of the Year.
Think there’s a pro team in Philadelphia that needs a culture change?
Check.

Developing young quarterbacks?

Admittedly, he did it this year with a good rookie quarterback in Andrew Luck but I think, say, Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib has a similar skill set to Luck’s and he could do the same with another rookie in Philadelphia.
Also, Arians developed both Peyton Manning at Indy and Big Ben with the Steelers as quarterbacks and, if you don’t draft Nassib, he could at least work his magic with Nick Foles.
Check.

Public Relations

This is an important hire for Eagles’ owner Jeff Lurie. Does he go the totally unknown route and hire a coordinator like Mike McCoy or hire a two-time Super Bowl winning coordinator AND a guy who is coming off a NFL Coach of the Year Award. When was the last time an NFL team hired an NFL COY from another team? This could be a first and an incredibly easy sell to an otherwise skeptical fan base.
Check.
It’s about a big a no-brainer as there is. We shall soon find out if Lurie has at least half a one.

What’s Up With Chuck and Marshall matters?

Doesn’t seem right if Chuck Heater goes from Temple to Marshall.

Over the past few days, we’ve heard some positive developments along the coaching front at Temple University.
Matt Rhule became a full-time coach four days ago and that’s a big plus, a couple of days after hiring an offensive coordinator, Nick Rolovich, who many believe will be a future great head coach at the BCS level.
That leaves me with one question and one question only:
What’s up with Chuck?

Marshall website added this tidbit four hours ago.

Temple has, in my mind, the best defensive coordinator in the country in Chuck Heater and Rhule would be wise to keep him. Hopefully, he’s working on that now and that will be wrapped up in a couple of days.
I’m getting a little nervous because I saw running backs coach Tyree Foreman and Ed Foley at the Rhule press conference and  I did not see Chuck Heater.
Usually, that’s a bad sign but Steve Addazio hired Don Brown to be his defensive coordinator and Heater is a defensive coordinator and I’d doubt he’d go to BC to take a demotion.
From all accounts, Heater loves Philadelphia and loves Temple.
Still, Heater has plenty of contacts in the business who would like to lure him elsewhere.
One of those is Marshall head coach Doc Holliday, who worked with Heater in Florida.

Temple has, in my mind, the best defensive coordinator in the country in Chuck Heater and Rhule would be wise to keep him

Holliday tried to get Heater when Daz took him the first time and now it looks like, according to a Thundering Hurd website, the doctor has written a prescription with Heater’s name on it again.
Can’t blame Chuck for wanting to work with a guy who he worked a long time at Florida with but Chuck also worked with Matt for a year and Temple and knows that Matt is a tremendous guy, too.
Whatever happens, and we hope Chuck stays, we wish him the best. Unlike Daz, who I won’t miss even a little bit, I will miss Chuck Heater a lot. Always a great guy to talk with at any Temple function and  I really enjoyed talking with him in the parking lot after the UConn game.
If Chuck leaves, though, hopefully Rhule takes a serious look at current University of Delaware DC Nick Rapone, who is past FCS coordinator of the year and a former DC at Temple under Bruce Arians. The bright lights and the big city and big-time football won’t affect Rapone, who has coached not only at Temple but at Pitt. He’s also written six books on defensive football, all available on DVD.
Plus, if you are going to have a Nick as OC you might as well have one as DC.
Rapone’s daughter currently is a college student.
Where?
She could have gone anywhere, but she’s at Temple.

Former Temple Owls talk Nick Rapone:

Matt Rhule becomes TU’s full-time coach today


A hybrid helmet between the old (left) and the new would be the best in college football.

Matt Rhule
Head Football Coach
Temple University

Dear Matt,
Let me officially be among the first to welcome you to the job full-time as Temple football coach now that the Giants have been eliminated.
I know you’ve been working hard for Temple since being hired, but it’s nice to get your full attention now.
I wish you nothing but the best. These players deserve a coach who will stay here and win for a long time.
First, thanks for bringing back the forward pass and Nick Rolovich to Temple. We’ve missed aspect of the game since the New Mexico Bowl.
You weren’t around at the end of the first half versus Maryland when the fans chanted in unison “Throw … The .. Ball.”
 It’s just as well.

Worst. Helmet. Ever. (Sorry, Chonn.)

You’ve come a long way since the last time we crossed paths and exchanged pleasantries while jogging at Mondak Commons in Upper Dublin Township a few years ago.
In the year since you’ve been gone, a few things changed that you might or might not know about. I’m sure you know coach Addazio changed the helmets. That was not a popular move to former players, who preferred the TEMPLE spelled out, as do most Temple fans (the results of a poll overwhelmingly favored the old Temple helmet).
Yet I realize branding the ‘][‘ is important, too. To me, the perfect compromise would be just that, a compromise, splitting the helmet down the middle with TEMPLE on one side and the T on the other side. To me, that would be the most distinctive and best helmet in college football today.

Nothing would please Dynamo Hyno more than a return to the TEMPLE helmet.

I know it’s not important in the overall scheme of things, but I hope you consider at least going in the direction of changing the helmets back to the Golden Era variety since that call was on Golden and Daz in the past.
It is now your call.
No biggie, since we survived the awful Owl helmet era and the attitude inside the helmet is more important than the lettering on the outside of it.
Also, you might have noticed in the Army game, we have an abundance of BCS-level linebackers and a dearth of depth at DE. Hopefully, some serious consideration is given to switching at least temporarily to the 3-4 until some big-time Adrian Robinson-type pass rushers can be recruited at the DE position.
I think Temple football will be the most exciting sports ticket in Philadelphia soon due to the changes you have already implemented.
I know the best is yet to come.
Good luck and Go Owls!

Sincerely, 
Mike Gibson
Editor and Publisher
Temple Football Forever

Rhule’s complete staff is …

BREAKING NEWS: Nick Rolovich accepts position as Temple offensive coordinator as of 6:30 p.m. Saturday night … as Tyler Haddock-Jones might say … #geniuses ..

The Wisconsin football website “Bucky’s 5th Quarter” has high praise for Rolovich.

Nick Rolovich

The most agonizing thing out of Matt Rhule’s first few days as Temple head coach has to be the delay in the staff hiring announcements, which has to be expected.
The fans want to hear who now and that’s just not happening.
After all, Rhule’s got a job to finish at New York first.
Yet, if we are to believe the recruits, they seem to know who the assistants will be and they are not telling.
One of them, Tyler Haddock-Jones, used the hashtag #geniuses to describe the staff Rhule is assembling (see post below). He tweeted that he got off the phone with Rhule at 1:23 on Sunday afternoon and that Rhule told him what the staff would be then.
Haddock-Jones must have been impressed or maybe he’s just easily impressed.
We should find out one or the other in the next few days.
So far, two assistants have been named and while both appear to be solid hires, I wouldn’t use the hashtag #geniuses next to either one. Brandon Noble is going to be defensive line coach, while Rhule hired a guy from Tennessee Chattanoga, Marcus Satterfield,  to be an offensive coach in some capacity.
Of course, there are more announcements forthcoming and I would use the hashtag #geniuses next to these two:
CHUCK HEATER (DC) and NICK ROLOVICH (OC).

Genius, miracle-worker, same thing.

Heater, for obvious reasons well-documented here. He’s been an outstanding defensive coach everywhere he’s been and his 2011 Temple defense might have been one of the school’s best ever. It’s not his fault two of his starting defensive linemen were suspended or that his defensive ends lacked closing speed on the quarterback. A 3-4 defense utilizing linebackers as pass rushers would fix that problem until the Owls can recruit some stud sackers. Love to see Heater retained.
Rolovich’s pistol offense would work well at Temple. Chris Coyer was not the same quarterback in 2012 as he was in 2011 simply because Scot Loeffler wasn’t around to utilize he talents.
If Coyer can get out of a pass rush and throw on the run, that makes him a more effective dual-threat. The same can be said for Juice Granger and Kevin Newsome, who have similar skill sets.
I’ll believe Rolovich comes when I see him on North Broad Street. It might be a culture shock for someone who has worked in Hawaii and near Vegas the last two years to work at 10th and Diamond. Still, it can’t be too different from the Gainesville to Philly trip Heater enjoyed and, from all accounts, is apparently enjoying.
We don’t know yet if Rolovich and Heater are in the fold or will be in the fold, but if they join Rhule the staff IQ goes up exponentially and Haddock-Jones can use that hashtag without fear of contradiction.

Five things I want under the E-O Tree

According to at least one recruit, Matt Rhule is putting together an all-star staff.

Hate to make rash judgments, but I saw enough of Nick Foles over the last few weeks to know one thing: The guy would make a good NFL backup, but he’s not a starting quarterback in this league.
Nick Foles can’t play.
He reminds me of a more polished Vaughn Charlton.

Owls need a DE with a game to
match a game face.

 Saw enough of him that I was jumping around on the TV at the gym yesterday and settled on the movie “Lord of the Rings: Helms Deep.”
Then I saw exactly what the Temple defense needs: An Aragorn. The guy chopped off more heads than King Henry VIII and that was just with one swing.
That’s just the type of defensive end Temple football needs right now, a Warrior who doesn’t use excuses like “getting injured” or “lack of foot speed” for not getting to the quarterback.
If I had a dollar for the “almost” sacks of John Youboty, I’d be a rich man. Youboty was a split-second late on a lot of would-be sacks that became touchdown passes (Matt McGloin’s long one in the PSU game immediately comes to mind).

 Temple needs a DE, preferably two, who routinely chops off quarterback’s heads, at least figuratively.

Mum is the word with Tyler Haddock-Jones, but
he’s excited about the new staff after talking with
Matt Rhule  at 1:22 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

I’m starting to warm up to the idea of Matt Rhule as Temple’s head coach because the recruits and other coaches like him so much and because he’s so connected to the available talent out there. If Rhule has to dip into the JUCO ranks to get a guy with an Aragorn motor, so be it.
 I don’t think the kid currently is on the roster.
 Four other things I want to see under the Edberg-Olson Football Complex tree soon:
2) A practice bubble
 It’s ridiculous that Temple has to travel to the Nova Care Center to practice in inclement weather. Here’s hoping a temporary structure at least can be put up immediately until funds for a more permanent one can be located. The week before the Louisville game, the Owls missed a whole day of practice time due to Hurricane Sandy and that certainly didn’t help.
 3) Chuck Heater wrapped up as DC
 I know a lot of people were down on him at the end of the season, but he had absolutely no pass rush and, without a pass rush, you can’t have a pass defense. When you look at his body of work wherever he’s been, if he’s not the best defensive coordinator in the country he’s right up there. Indications, though, are that Heater will be around. One of the Temple recruits tweeted that he “talked to coach Rhule about the staff” and he’s stoked about Rhule’s impeding announcements, calling the group “geniuses.” Genius is always the first word that comes up in my mind when I think of Chuck Heater.
 4) Size on the lines 
Steve Addazio did a lot of things half-hazardly as Temple’s head coach, but none more than recruiting. He would recruit an inordinate amount of small guys and that really took its toll on the field of play this year with bigger lines pushing the Owls around. It’s nice to get smaller-size guys with heart, but it’s even nice to get larger-size guys with heart. Something tells me Rhule will restore some sanity to the overall recruiting model.
5) Another quarterback 
Right now the Owls are down to one recruit, P.J. Walker. P.J., I think, is going to be a great one but consider this: He’s the only true QB in the entire program after the 2013 season. The Owls need to sign another big-time arm now.

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas everyone and wouldn’t it be great if the football team could do to Notre Dame what the basketball team did to Syracuse?
(Nah, I haven’t been dipping into the egg nog early, if that’s what you are thinking.)

Exchange between Idaho fans on Scout.com board:

Dead period: We’re still alive

Whoops.

“What are you doing here?” Coughlin asked Rhule. “Go home.”
“Well, coach I have a lot of things I have to do yet.”
“No, go home. Your family comes first.”

Is it the end of the world if there is no Temple football news?
No, thank God.
Fortunately, as we learned this morning, the abacus used by the Mayans for their calculations was just a little, hopefully a lot, off.
On Monday, Temple head coach Matt Rhule said this would be a “dead period” but he was referring to the recruiting world. No contact with recruits is allowed until the end of the holiday period.
I love reading the gossip column by Dan Gross in the Philadelphia Daily News but his last column of the calendar year was Dec. 15. Since Tom Cushman, Mark Whicker, Gary Smith, Ray Didinger and Stan Hochman left the DN, Gross’ column is the first thing I turn to in my DN.
There’s nothing grabs my attention in that sports section anymore.
If they were on top of things, and they aren’t, they’d interrupt eight pages of their non-stop ad naseum Philadelphia Eagles’ coverage for a story on Rhule’s developing staff.
In the absence of hard news, substantive rumors will have to suffice.
The latest “Gross-like” gossip is defensive coordinator Chuck Heater stays in his current position and adds the title “assistant head coach” to the job description. I think that’s quite likely and Heater’s retention would be welcome news. The first sign that was going to happen was that Chuck remained at Temple to both interview for the head coaching position and keep the recruits together.
Like most things he does, Heater performed those duties flawlessly.

Bill Cubit made it to the semifinals in 2010, not the finals.

The second sign was that Steve Addazio hired Don Brown as his defensive coordinator. Hopefully, Heater told Daz he was planning to stay at Temple before that.
When Temple beat UConn, 17-14, and shut out the Huskies in the second half, I found myself standing next to Chuck by one of the buses post-game.
“I don’t know what you did or said at halftime, but you are a genius,” I told him.
“No, it wasn’t me, it was the boys,” Heater said. (Yes, Chuck did use the word boys.)
In my mind, Heater was the best defensive coordinator in the country in the 2011 season. Temple finished third in the nation in scoring defense, behind only Alabama and LSU. Temple did not have Alabama and LSU talent.
I saw a lot of Temple’s defensive problems in 2012 as being Daz-oriented.
A nonsensical run-first, second and third approach resulted in a lot of three-and-outs and a tired defense. Two suspensions to linemen gutted front five depth. Daz kept the team’s potentially best defensive player (in my mind, at least) on the bench as a Scout team quarterback.
Bringing Heater back and giving him Kevin Newsome and allowing him to work out the X’s and O’s of a 3-4 defense would be a big plus for Temple.

Future Owl kicker Jim Cooper, Jr. in this week’s SI.

Another lively development in the dead period was future Owl kicker Jim Cooper, Jr. featured in this week’s Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd. He’s the first  future Temple football player featured there since Kevin Harvey played at Paulsboro. You are not likely to read about that development in the Daily News, either.
The latest offensive coordinator rumor has former Western Michigan head coach Bill Cubit, the former OC at Rutgers, coming home to Sharon Hill and helping Rhule out. I like that move, if it happens.
Cubit is an offensive mastermind and would allow Rhule to concentrate on being team CEO, which is really a full-time job.
Speaking of that, hate to say it, Matt, but I’m rooting against the Giants the next two weeks.
In the presser Monday, Rhule told a story about his wife getting sick and Giants’ head coach Tom Coughlin telling him to leave and go home.
“What are you doing here?” Coughlin asked Rhule. “Go home.”
“Well, coach I have a lot of things I have to do yet.”
“No, go home. Your family comes first.”
Well, Temple is his family now.
Somehow, I think the Giants can get along for the final two games without an assistant offensive line coach. Heck, the Eagles fired almost their entire staff over the last few weeks and they seem to be doing just fine.
Err, maybe that’s a bad example but you get my drift.