01.22.11
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Addazio’s staff: Heater, McGowan, Fyre, Albert




“I’ve been telling the coaches to give you the rock and they look as smart as shit when they do,” New England Patriots’ lineman Steve Manieri seems to be telling The Franchise.
Photo by Ryan Porter

This much I do know.
Steve Addazio’s football staff is beginning to come together.
Justin Frye (offensive line coach), Chuck Heater (defensive coordinator), Sean McGowan (defensive line) and, now, Ben Albert as linebackers’ coach.
I’ve heard very good things about Heater, McGowan and Albert, not so good things about Frye (and I’ve got to wonder why a grad assistant would ever be promoted to line coach).
Of course, Marshall’s Frank Piraino was named strength coach early but, while important, that’s not an on-the-field job.

Ben Albert is Temple’s new LB coach.

That gives me a sinking feeling that Matt Rhule will be named offensive coordinator soon.
Please God (and Steve Addazio), no.
Rhule and tight ends’ coach Ed Foley have been seen around the E-O as recently as yesterday.
If that’s true, I have reason to believe that Addazio has plans to keep both.
Logically, Foley could be slotted back into both of his old jobs _ as recruiting coordinator and tight ends’ coach. Ed is a very personable and capable guy who did both jobs exceedingly well under Al Golden.
Matt is also a personable guy who was Golden’s best linebackers’ coach ever. Since the linebacker’s job is now spoken for, I can’t see a spot open for Rhule other than his old job.
He was also the worst Temple offensive coordinator I have ever seen and it’s not even close.
(That’s a strong statement considering I’ve seen some pretty bad offensive football over the last 30 years.)

The offense was a clusterfuck (excuse my language) from the first play of the Villanova game until the last play of the Miami game

Rhule’s supporters (and there are one or two) keep telling me that it was all Al Golden’s fault, the offense’s lack of execution.
I’m buying a little of it, but not all of it.
The offense was a clusterfuck (excuse my language) from the first play of the Villanova game until the last play of the Miami game.
It never had to be that way.
We’re talking about a team with offensive talent out the wahzoo, a 318-pound (average) offensive line, great receivers like Michael Campbell, Rod Streater, Evan Rodriguez and (if they let them play) Delano Green and Joey Jones, an NFL first-round pick in Bernard Pierce and an NFL third-down back in Matt Brown and a serviceable quarterback in Mike Gerardi.
Rhule never grasped the concept that Brown should have been a third-down back here, too. He never grasped the concept of establishing the run behind a massive offensive line and a great back and then using play-action to keep defenses on their heels.
Brown should have never been on the field when Bernard Pierce was healthy. Rotating those two in was a complete joke. It’s like the Chicago Bears rotating Gale Sayers in on every other play with Rocky Bleier. It’s like the Cleveland Browns taking Jim Brown out every other play for Leroy Kelly. It’s like Bruce Arians taking out Paul Palmer on every other series for Shelley Poole.
It makes as much sense as the Eagles alternating between Michael Vick and Mike Kafka on every other play. (OK, I’m using the literary device called license and exaggerating for effect on that one, but you get the point.)
Some people tell me it was because Brown was a workout freak and that Pierce fell somewhat short in that department. Pierce hit the weight room in the off-season, too, and was praised by Golden for it. You don’t need to bench press 375 to carry a 15-ounce ball. “We gave him the ball 43 times because, you know, he can handle it and it ain’t that heavy,” was Arians’ old quote about Palmer. I don’t think Paul ever hit the weight room like Matty did so, you know, it just is not that important (or important enough to lose the starting job).
Somewhere talent has to be factored into the equation.

It was either Rhule or Golden who never grasped the concept, but Golden’s not here anymore and I don’t want to find out it was Rhule all along

If Temple had given the rock early and often to Pierce, it would have opened the offense up so much for play-action. Owl foes would have been so concerned about stopping Pierce that even the simpliest play fake to Pierce would have been an easy six every time. Temple receivers would have been roaming so free through MAC secondaries, Gerardi’s toughest decision would have been which one to pick out.
(And whose fault was it that it took half the season to find out Chester Stewart couldn’t play quarterback worth a lick?)

Maybe Pierce would have still been hurt but, to me, he’s the kind of back who is more likely to get hurt being jerked around like he was than by staying in there and developing a rhythm.
With that kind of game plan against, say, Villanova, the final score might have been 40-14 instead of 31-24. Might have? Probably would have.
It was either Rhule or Golden who never grasped the concept, but Golden’s not here anymore and I don’t want to find out it was Rhule all along.
I want no parts of Matt Rhule as offensive coordinator.
I’m sure 99 percent of my fellow Owl fans agree.

01.19.11
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The OC: Temple’s next biggest show

Generally speaking, the most popular guy, to fans, on a football team is the backup quarterback.
The most unpopular guy, to fans, is the offensive coordinator.
The offensive coordinator is like an umpire. If he’s good, you don’t know he’s out there.
Still, even with that, I don’t get all the vitriol directed at Steve Addazio when he had that job for half of his six years at Florida.


Give me an older guy type, like Ralph Friegden, as our next OC

 In all my years of following football, I have never heard of an offensive coordinator more disliked by fans that Steve Addazio.
I still don’t get it.
Didn’t Urban Meyer hire Addazio?
Didn’t Urban Meyer take part in the offensive game plan?
Didn’t Urban Meyer show full support for the way Addazio was doing things?
Yes, yes and yes.
Did Urban Meyer turn his back and look into the stands when Florida was on offense?
No.
Yet Urban Meyer must have built up so much street cred that it was Addazio’s fault, not his.
As a Temple fan, I can see where Florida fans were coming from, though.
We all blamed Matt Rhule’s for Temple’s underachieving offense this year, despite top-notch personnel.
Then someone said something insightful.
Isn’t this really Al Golden’s fault?
Doesn’t Al Golden sign off on the offensive game plan?
So, by season’s end, most Temple fans came to that way of thinking.
Golden was the program’s CEO and, ultimately, he was responsible for an offense that failed to utilize more sophisticated weapons (Bernard Pierce, Matty Brown, Michael Campbell, Evan Rodriguez, Rod Streater, Delano Green, Joey Jones, etc.) than the Pentagon had in its arsenal.
That’s why this next big hire, is the most important one.
Give me an older guy, a Ralph Friegden or a George DeLeone type who Addazio respects, over a younger guy that Addazio will want to mold. Now I don’t know that Addazio can sweet talk either one into coming to Philadelphia. I’ve heard rumblings that DeLeone is bound for UConnn and Friegden could be bound for Virginia Tech. However, Philadelphia is a lot closer to Friegden’s Maryland home than Blacksburg is so that could be a consideration for a 63-year-old man.
If not either, I’ll take someone with a simliar long and proven record of turning scoreboards into adding machines.
That way, Addazio can hand over the keys to the tanks and artillery to someone who knows how to use them and he can concentrate on being a good CEO.
I want no parts of Matt Rhule in his old job, though.
DeLeone was so good when he was OC at Temple (also under Golden) I didn’t know he was out there. I can’t say the same for Matt Rhule, even though I blamed Golden for his shortcomings.
DeLeone or Friegden would not be the most popular Owls, but they would do their jobs with the kind of quiet efficiency that would make you think they were not even there.
That’s the OC show I like the most.

01.18.11
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Coach Daz: Meet Ryan Brumfield

Ryan Brumfield would be a great get for coach Daz.
When I went to Temple too many years ago to count, coach Wayne Hardin feasted on foes by getting under-recruited running backs, mostly from the Philadelphia area, who had a chip on their shoulders.
They were really too many to mention here, but I’ll try:

“You hate to say the word ‘unstoppable,’ but that’s what Ryan is. He likes the challenges. The more he gets challenged, the better he plays. But what you like most about Ryan is that he’s a great kid. Here’s a kid that has every right to have an ego, and he doesn’t. He gets along with everyone. It’s why his teammates don’t only want to play with him — they want to play for him.”
_ Tom Barr, head coach, Owen J. Roberts

Kevin Duckett (Northeast), Sherman Myers (Coatesville), Anthony Anderson, Jim Brown (Hardin: “I like that name”), Harold Harmon, Henry Hynoski (Mount Carmel), Zach Dixon, Mark Bright (William Tennent), etc., etc., etc.
It’s funny. The schools who didn’t want those guys could not stop those guys.
Myers scored five touchdowns in a 49-17 win over a Syracuse bowl-bound team (that included future NFLers Joe Morris and Art Monk).
Bright won the MVP in the Garden State bowl against a very good Cal team.
Anderson had a good career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dixon was a 1,000-yard rusher at Temple (and Raheem Brock’s biological father).

All showed flashes of greatness at Temple.
Chip, meet shoulder.
Hardin had great running backs and great quarterbacks.
That’s not the whole key to winning, but it’s a good place to start.
Temple’s got a great running back now in Bernard Pierce.
When he’s on the field, he’s the best Temple running back I’ve ever seen and that includes Paul Palmer, the 1986 Heisman Trophy runnerup (sorry, Boo-Boo).
When he’s on the field, Temple can beat anybody. (I’m thinking Navy last year and Uconn this year.)
When he’s NOT on the field, there aren’t many teams Temple can beat (I’m thinking UCLA last year, Penn State, Ohio and Miami this year). I have no doubt, none, that Temple would have registered a damn historic win in State College on Sept. 25 had Pierce not snapped his ankle. Chester Stewart wouldn’t have thrown those three God-awful picks if Pierce was in the game.
So Pierce hasn’t been on the field enough for my taste and most of it has been bad luck, not Pierce’s fault.
If I had my druthers, he’s be on the field for every offensive snap in 2011. But I don’t want to go through another year when I see him limp off the field too many times.
That’s why Temple needs another Bernard Pierce.
I found him.
His name is Ryan Brumfield.
I’ve covered high school football in Southeastern Pennsylvania for 30 years and saw maybe five dominating running backs on the same level as Brumfield. Kevin Jones (Cardinal O’Hara, Virginia Tech, Detroit Lions) was one. Bill Foley (Father Judge, Southern Mississippi), Barry Compton (Central Bucks West, Pitt) and Pierce (Glen Mills, Temple) all put up staggering numbers.

Our current backup, while good, is 5-5, 150. He wore down last year. Even Stevie Wonder could see that

They were all special in their own way.
Trust me. Brumfield belongs with them and he might be the very best (and I’m partial to old-school guys).
Brumfield is the second all-time leading running back in the history of Pennsylvania. Defenses geared to stop him and they could not.
Yet he’s seriously under-recruited, much like Hardin’s stars were.
His only scholarship offer, so far, is Buffalo.
He is slightly smaller than Pierce (5-10 vs. 6-foot) and lighter (180 vs. 218) but he’s got the same speed (4.4-40), vision and power. He has the talent to make us forget about Pierce (ouch, it hurt typing that because I’m the biggest Pierce fan there is) but AT THE VERY MINIMUM he provides an insurance policy for Pierce we don’t currently have. Most of all, he is a character kid, a wonderful person and teammate.
Our current backup, while good, is 5-5, 150. He wore down last year. Even Stevie Wonder could see that.
This kid, Brumfield, does not wear down.
Unless we sign Bradenton Southeast’s Jared Williams, I don’t know if there is a guy out there who is that insurance policy.
Brumfield would be provide at least that.
Coach Daz, he’s worth a look and a long, hard one at that.

01.16.11
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Addazio making Desmond Blue see Cherry

Bradenton Southeast’s Desmond Blue (10) dislodges ball from Manatee’s Quinton Bundrage (11).
“They want me to play safety up there, and that is fine with me.”
_Desmond Blue

Ask any college football expert and they will tell you that the state of Florida is a gold mine.
Florida produces more Division I talent than the next two states (Texas and California) combined.
Must be all the fresh orange juice.
That’s why it’s important for almost any school to not only have a presence there but someone who is expert in the mining process.
Temple has that in Steve Addazio. You don’t get named national recruiter of the year twice without a solid knowledge of the roads that lead to the gold.
Now Addazio appears to be building a pipeline from Florida to Philadelphia.
It’s only a 22-hour train ride away, two hours by air.
It looks like the first passenger to punch his ticket on Addazio’s underground railroad could be Desmond Blue.
Addazio, due to NCAA rules, can’t talk about it but Desmond Blue can and he’s already seeing Cherry. He looks about to become part of Temple’s football family. (Addazio also locked up Gulliver Prep’s Cedric Walker, but Walker was an Al Golden recruit who was waiting to commit.)
One of the interesting items in that story was that Addazio is already going up against Al Golden for two recruits, Quinton and Chris Pompey.
For his part, Blue appears talented enough to provide immediate help in a secondary that could be hurt by the graduation of senior Jacquain Jarrett.
With all the talent Temple has returning on both sides of the ball, there are only three major holes to fill as I see them: 1) Backup running back to Bernard Pierce (with Pierce ability); 2) Strong safety and 3) Impact defensive tackle to replace Mo Wilkerson.
Of course, I could always use a big-time JUCO All-American quarterback with this kind of talent but I think, with this past year of seasoning under their belts, both Chris Coyer and Mike Gerardi could be championship-level MAC quarterbacks and I don’t think that need is as pressing as it was in past years.
Plus, the JUCO ranks don’t produce a Cam Newton or a Walter Washington every year.

01.12.11
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Addaziogate: Saying nothing says a lot

Now that Temple University, though a football spokeswoman, says it is not going to comment on a published report in the Hartford Courant that Steve Addazio’s “representative” contacted UConn regarding its football opening, that leaves a lot of room for speculation.

Too much room.
My feeling, as stated earlier, was that Addazio had to come out and say the published report was a lie or he was tacitly saying it was the truth.
There’s no wiggle room.
Making a public statement that the Hartford Courant was full of hogwash would have ended the matter once and for all.
Now it lingers and will linger and saying nothing is the worst thing Addazio, Bill Bradshaw and Temple University could have ever done.
Before Temple came out and said it was saying nothing, something had to be said privately between AD Bill Bradshaw and Addazio.
Since they aren’t saying what, we can only guess as to what went down:

BB: Now, Steve, I called you into this meeting today for a reason.
SA: Anything for you Bill. I told you the day I signed here was that we are joined at the hip.
BB: Yeah, about that.. ..
SA: I couldn’t be with a better man, Bill.
BB: Just wanted to ask you about that report in the Hartford Courant that your representative contacted UConn ….
SA: Yeah, I was meaning to tell you about that. Kind of slipped my mind.
BB: There’s no truth to it, right?
SA: Bill, you are a good man so I’m going to come clean with you. Yeah, I did. I didn’t know UConn was going to open up and, yeah, I thought I could maybe slip in the backdoor. It’s my home state and all. Plus, the walk to 11th and Diamond every day looks pretty dangerous.
BB: But what about all that “Destination Temple” stuff you said two weeks ago?
SA: Yeah, pretty good speech, huh? Think I could use it when I get the job up there. I could just change “Destination Temple” to “Destination UConn.”
BB: I heard Mark Whipple was going to get the job, though.
SA: Really? Damn, I must have been too late. I guess I’m stuck, I mean, committed, here.
BB: We should really say something, make a statement that you are committed to Temple and that you never applied for the UConn job.
SA: Now, Bill, why would I do that? You heard me talk about integrity a couple of weeks ago, didn’t you? You wouldn’t ask me to lie, would you?
BB: Yeah, I forgot about the integrity part.
SA: Bill, I got an idea. What if we just said nothing?
BB: You mean, bury our heads in the sand?
SA: Yeah, right, say nothing, bury our heads in the sand and hope this all blows over.
BB: I guess you are right, Steve.
SA: See, Bill, I told you we think alike. We’re joined at the hip, buddy.
BB: I’ll tell the press we’re saying nothing then.
SA: That’a boy, Bill. Anything else?
BB: I guess not.

01.11.11
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The Elephant in the Room: Part II



Steve Addazio needs to make a  strong statement  today or leave tomorrow.

Some time ago, I wrote a story about Al Golden’s first dalliances for a new job.
It wasn’t five minutes after he was hired, but too soon for my taste.
I called the post: The Elephant in the Room because a lot of Temple people just didn’t want to talk about it.
Call this one The Elephant in the Room Part II.
A report out of the Hartford Courant newspaper, not some anonymous blogger, links current Temple head coach Steve Addazio’s “representative” contacting the UConn search committee about the current football opening there.
Because this report was in an actual newspaper last night and supposedly confirmed today, I think it might have some legs.
I’m willing to give Addazio the benefit of the doubt, though.
For now and not for long.

If I was UConn, I’d avoid Steve Addazio like the plague. The PR hit the school would take for “stealing” a coach just hired by another school is just not worth it

I just can’t fathom a guy who got up on the podium two weeks ago telling people how excited he was to be here could do such an about-face because another job comes open, even a job in his home state.
I can’t picture how the guy who kept mentioning “Destination Temple” can change that speech to “Destination UConn” so quickly.
If I was UConn, I’d avoid Steve Addazio like the plague. The PR hit the school would take for “stealing” a coach just hired by another school is just not worth it. Plus, Addazio is no more the slam dunk hiring for UConn that he would be here. So far, his OL hiring is a grad assistant and his strength coach is a guy from Marshall, who supposedly made no real positive impact at Marshall. Also, Florida co-DC Chuck Heater, who was rumored to be coming here with Daz, is nowhere in sight nor are any big-time recruits from Florida (the state, not the school) that Daz might have been connected to prior to his hiring.
Something smells like dead fish out there.
Would a guy leave a job he was hired two weeks ago for a similar job 200 miles away?
I don’t know.
Stranger things have happened, though.
This is one elephant that can’t be ignored.
This is one time Temple people can’t stick their heads in the sand and hope the Elephant finds its way out of the room on its own. This is too vital a time for recruiting both coaches and players. This doesn’t need to float out there in cyberspace any more than the 18 hours it already has been out there.
If Bill Bradshaw doesn’t get to the bottom of this today, then Ann Weaver Hart or Lew Katz need to get Addazio to address this right now.
If Steve Addazio doesn’t come out and say this report is totally false and that he is totally 100 percent committed to Temple University, then he should be fired and Temple should feel free to pursue Bruce Arians (the best choice, IMHO) or Tom Bradley, outcome of the UConn search notwithstanding. Even if UConn hires, say, Mark Whipple later this week, this story will be out there and in the folder of every coach who recruits against us this year and next to question Addazio’s commitment here. Addazio might not think he needs to reaffirm it, but he does. That’s the way of life in the real world.
There’s an Elephant in the Room today and the more people ignore it, the more damage it is likely to do.

01.09.11
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Daz sightings: Florida, Texas and North Philly

Steve Addazio would love to see Quenton Bundrage in a Temple uniform.

You could make one of those “Where’s Waldo” maps, substitute Steve Addazio for Waldo and put push pins all over the place.
Today’s confirmed sighting, via twitter, for coach Daz is Dallas, where the coaches convention is.
Makes sense in that is where most of the nation’s coaches are and Daz needs some coaches, specifically coordinators.
Earlier this week, Daz was in Florida to watch new Temple commit Cedric Walker earn the MVP in the Dade/Broward County All-Star Football game.
That’s important because old Temple coach Al Golden was also at the game.
Golden initially recruited Walker for Temple and Daz was in Florida to seal the deal.
After the game, Daz used his Florida connections to pursue Manatee (Fla.) WR Quenton Bundrage (not Brundage), who has an Iowa State visit coming up. If Daz lands Bundrage, that will be the first time a sole Daz target has made its way to Temple.
Also, Daz was in North Philadelphia earlier this week to make a couple of hires, including OL coach Justin Frye. Now if you do a google search on Justin Frye you will find a guy who made a sex tape with Kendra Baskett (before she was Kendra Baskett). That’s NOT our Justin Frye, who has an, err, fuller face and wider frame.
Temple’s coordinator search took a big hit when Chuck Heater decided to wait on Michigan and UCLA and the Miami Dolphins failed in their pursuit of Jim Harbaugh. If the Dolphins landed Harbaugh, that meant longtime Daz friend and current Dolphin TE coach George DeLeone would be free to take the OC job at Temple.
Now he’s pretty secure on South Beach for another 12 months.
Hmm. South Beach or North Philly?
That’s a tough one.
I’ll have to get back to you on that.
If K.C. Keeler goes to UConn, as rumored, then Nick Rapone is out for a similar DC job at Temple. Believe me, Nick Rapone would have been a great DC at Temple as he was under Bruce Arians. His daughter currently is a student at Temple.
It’s all a cluster bleep as far as coordinators right now.
Maybe Daz is setting up one of those tables with a “Help Wanted” sign in Dallas.
Don’t laugh.
That’s how Vince Hoch was hired by Wayne Hardin.
Hoch walked up to Hardin at a convention, introduced himself, took out a napkin and started drawing defensive schemes and formations and Hardin hired him on the spot. The two developed instant chemistry.
Hoch later became the greatest defensive coordinator in Temple history.
Back to recruiting, though.
Other recruiting targets for Daz, reportedly, include a first-team all-state linebacker from Roman Catholic (about a mile from Temple’s main campus) and a running back from Texas named Dickerson, who is a JUCO and would provide immediate front-line insurance should Bernard Pierce go down next year.
I like running backs from Texas named Dickerson.

01.05.11
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The Gator With the Heater

The real Geator with the Heater, a TU football fan?

After Al Gore invented the internet (tongue firmly implanted in cheek here), newspapers followed, maybe,  five minutes behind.
It took about two years, though, before the best of the journalism followed that _ comments below the stories.

The Gator With the Hooter ….
… and the Heater

Comments, for me, are often better than the stories themselves.
So there it was after the Steve Addazio hiring story, when a guy who purported to be Philadelphia radio and TV icon Jerry Blavat said simply this:
“Welcome to Philadelphia, coach Daz. I know you are going to do a great job.” _ Jerry Blavat.
Now I’m not naive enough to think that was actually Jerry Blavat. I have no way of knowing that. I’m also not cynical enough to think that it wasn’t the real Jerry Blavat, you know, “The Geator With the Heater” and the “Boss with the Hot Sauce.”
(For all of you people living outside Philly, Jerry Blavat and Dick Clark, fast friends to this day, were equally big in this town with the “yon teens” at about the same time. Clark left Philly to amass his fortune elsewhere. Blavat remained and amassed his here.)
Boss with the hot sauce didn’t stick, but Geator with the Heater certainly did.
In a roundabout way, Geator With the Heater’s comment stuck with me today because it’s Wednesday and our new Gator head coach, Steve Addazio, still hasn’t brought his Heater to Philadelphia. That’s Chuck Heater, the Florida co-defensive coordinator, who was reported to be following Addazio on the same flight to Philadelphia to take the Czar of Temple Defense job.
The Gator Without The Heater in this case.

“Welcome to Philadelphia, coach Daz. I know you are going to do a great job.” _ Jerry Blavat.


That had me a little concerned on Monday and I emailed one of the Florida newspaper guys who reported that Heater was likely headed for Temple.
He got back to me today.
“Coach wants to hear about another job first,” he said.
I can’t say I blame Chuck Heater, the current Florida defensive coordinator who might be up for that same job in places like Michigan and UCLA.
Michigan and UCLA pay more than Temple.
I want Chuck Heater to be Addazio’s next hire, but more than that I want Chuck Heater to want to be here.
Heater would bring an impressive resume to Temple and I’m confident he would have this current defense in the right position to do as well or better than Mark D’Onofrio’s defense did last year.
There’s a comfort level with Addazio than can’t be underestimated that might not exist, say, with Rick Neuheisel.
Imagine the publicity Addazio and Heater would get if they beat Penn State and Maryland, win the MAC and get the automatic qualifying non-BCS spot in next year’s BCS bowl picture?
Nothing Heater can do at Michigan or UCLA next year can match the level of satisfaction that Temple accomplishment would bring him.
Yet if there is no Gator With the Heater, there are capable guys, like Delaware DC Nick Rapone, who would take the Temple job in a heartbeat.
It just doesn’t have the same ring as The Gator With the Heater.
I’m crossing my fingers for that pairing.

01.04.11
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Addazio’s staff starting to take shape



Frank Piraino

 There’s this Planet Fitness commercial going around these days with a muscle-bound guy with a German accent getting a tour of the gym and repeating (apparently) the only English words he knows:
“I like to lift things up and put them down.”
The tour guide then shows him the door.
I used to look at strength coaches pretty much the same way until I met Dr. Linc Gotschalk, Bruce Arians’ guy at Temple.
Gotschalk had strength and the art of weightlifting down to a science long before his time. He could quote Shakespere and military history. A smart guy who had his Temple teams fit.
When Temple played Rutgers, for instance, Temple guys would hit the RU guys and they would routinely be carried off the field.
The same wouldn’t happen to Temple guys, who bounced off similar hits.
Linc Gotschalk would just smile.
He was one of a kind and Bruce Arians’ guy. Temple won 15 national powerlifting championships under Gotschalk, who is now at  Hawaii.
Strength coaches and football coaches have a similar bond.
Tony Decker was a good guy, but he wasn’t Steve Addazio’s guy.
Addazio has made two hires so far, Frank Piraino as his strength coach and Justin Frye as his offensive line coach. All I know about Frye is that he was a grad assistant at Florida. Geez, I’d like a guy with a little more than GA experience coaching my offensive line, but Addazio was the best offensive line coach Florida ever had so he might know a little more than I do about this.
I don’t know Jack (or Frye or Piraino) about both, but I know they are both Addazio’s guys and that’s important.
I’m hoping for Chuck Heater to be my defensive coordinator and maybe Ralph Friedgen or George DeLeone as my OC so maybe I’ll  have something to be more to be excited about in the next few days. But more than me being excited as a fan, they have got to be guys Addazio is comfortable with and loyal to him.
To succeed, you have to have your team in place.
It’s OK to borrow a player or two from another guy’s team (say Matt Rhule from Golden’s team to be LB coach), but it’s got to be largely your guys.
We’ll be getting more Addazio guys in here over the next few days.
Then it’s time to rock and roll.

01.02.11
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The Addazio Era Begins Today

Coach Daz takes his sunny disposition of positive attitude here today.

A sportswriter I know, who is the best at covering high school sports maybe in the country, has this habit of talking to himself.
Or at least I thought it was to himself.
He has one of those little machines, not quite a tape-recorder, but the functionality of which is to make those little mental notes to yourself permanent.
I haven’t gone that far but, for the past few years at least, I’ve become a list-maker.
I carry a little book around in my pocket and, when I have to remember something, I write it down.
The Steve Addazio Era Begins today at Temple and I hope he’s making his list and checking it twice.
Who knows what’s on it?
One the plane ride up today, Addazio is probably making this list:

Chuck Heater: Just call him Mother (Teresa)

1) Hire an offensive and defensive coordinator _ Florida defensive coordinator Chuck Heater is available and would be a great get for Addazio and Temple. All indications are that he will get the job as early as Monday. Heater has been such a miracle worker with Urban Meyer defenses in several stops along the way that Meyer calls him “Mother Teresa.” Ralph Friedgen of nearby Maryland is available for the OC job. He’s getting paid by Maryland even if he takes the Temple job (via buyout) and can be sold on giving Maryland some serious payback in a game between the Owls and Terps in Sept. A guy who was fired after being named ACC coach of the year can’t be too happy with Maryland right now. If he’s not interested, former Addazio coaching mate George DeLeone probably would be. These guys (Addazio and Heater at least)  are national championship-caliber coaches. Imagine Temple being run by offensive and defensive coordinators with national championship experience at the highest level? It can’t get any better than that.
2) Talk Muhammad Wilkerson out of going pro _ This could be tougher because it appears Big Mo had his heart set on going pro a few weeks ago. Bad move for Big Mo because his stock could go up significantly with another year at Temple and he’s likely to be no higher than a third-round pick this year. That’s not guaranteed money. In fact, there’s no guarantee that there will even be an NFL next year due to the messy contract negotiations ahead and the possibility (probability?) of a walkout. Give Big Mo the Vitamin A and Destination Temple speech. Getting Big Mo to stay here would be like landing a five-star recruit.
3) Lock up the current Temple recruits. If a current Gator recruit is wavering, convince him to get on the plane for the Destination Temple ride up north.
4) Investigate getting a blue-chipper, like Quinton Alston, a linebacker from South Jersey, who has de-committed from Pitt and now is open. I talked to Alston’s coach two years ago about a running back named Najeem Gibson. He told me to forget Gibson but that he had a “stud linebacker, a big-time linebacker” who “loves Temple.” That big-time linebacker was Quinton Alston. Give him the Destination Temple speech. Shake the bushes for similar guys, guys with BCS-level talent. That’s how to make Temple the TCU of the East. Get BCS-level talent.
5) Look into keeping a member or two of the current staff, like tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator Ed Foley, to ease the transition. Foley is a good guy, a consummate professional, who is easy to get along with, the fans like and who would be a positive part of the new team. He knows the Temple ropes and the current Temple targets.
6) Keep the support staff, like video coordinator Fran Duffy (not to be confused with Temple basketball coach Fran Dunphy) _ Al Golden said “there is no better video coordinator in the business” than Fran Duffy. I totally agree with Al Golden on this. In fact, anyone who has watched  the pre-game and the banquet videos produced and shot by Duffy has to agree.
That’s just part of the list.
Crossing items off that list will be tasks for the days and weeks ahead.

TFF’s winning Mega Millions numbers:
Tuesday’s Mega Millions is an estimated $290 million.
If these numbers (11, 6, 30, 12, 13, megaplier No. 9) come up, I win, and Temple gets a fully-paid-for
no-frills, 46K-seat, football-only (meaning the fans are right on top of the field, no track surrounding it) stadium to be called, simply, Temple Stadium.
11 _Big East Player of the Year Walter Washington
for the 2004 Owls. Despite getting kicked out of the BE, the voters could not deny Temple had the best offensive player in the league.
6 _ Paul Palmer, 1986 Heisman Trophy runnerup. You finish second in the Heisman Trophy balloting playing for Temple and that’s got to be a lucky number.
30_Bernard Pierce, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner (I hope). He’s got that kind of talent. He’s faster than Palmer, just as shifty, and can knock over D-backs and LBs better than Boo-Boo ever did. What he hasn’t been able do to as well as Boo-Boo is stay on the field. All he has to do is that, get 20TDs and 2,000 yards and lead Temple to an 11-1 record or better and the Heisman is his. (Also a tribute to 1979 Garden State Bowl MVP Mark Bright, another No. 30.)
12_Brian Broomell, led the nation in passing efficiency in 1979.
13_Adam DiMichele, heck with the stats, the kid was tough as nails and a winner. Probably my favorite Temple quarterback of all time.
…. and the winning Megaplier goes to No. 9, Steve Joachim, the only Temple quarterback to win a major award as college football player of the year (Maxwell, 1974).
There you have it. If those numbers come up, I will walk away with $290 million. (Unless you play them and it’ll be half that and the best I’ll be able to do is a 23K stadium.)