Coaching Candidate Rumors

Tag: Steve Addazio


19Dec 2014
Uncategorized 15 comments

Coaching Candidate Rumors

Jim Harbaugh

Brady Hoke’s firing was publicly announced on December 2, so it has been 17 days since Michigan has had a head coach. Obviously, athletic director Jim Hackett is waiting on Jim Harbaugh, who declined comment about the Michigan job when asked on Thursday afternoon. News leaked – from one side or the other – that Harbaugh had been offered a 6-year, $48 million contract but Bruce Feldman says that figure is inaccurate (LINK).

Rumors persist that Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops would be Michigan’s #2 option, but he might be off the table because someone of his coaching stature would not want to play second fiddle to Harbaugh. I say there’s no shame in being the backup to an NFL head coach who would potentially be coming back to his alma mater. That’s not an insult to Stoops, but hey, the guy has won more championships than Harbaugh.

LSU head coach Les Miles told reporters off the record that he would not be coming to Michigan.

A lot of people have been saying that Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen is not even being considered, but he has yet to sign a rumored contract extension with MSU. He may not be on Michigan’s radar, but he seems like a guy who might be waiting for some dominoes to fall in the coaching world before he marries himself to the Bulldogs for too long (or for too big of a buyout).

Meanwhile, potential Plan C option Steve Addazio signed an extension with Boston College through 2020 (LINK). Another potential coach, Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman, has been hired as Houston’s head coach for five years and $6.75 million (LINK).

With Pitt head coach Paul Chryst taking the job at Wisconsin, the Panthers are now looking for a head coach. While they probably wouldn’t be able to poach an established head coach, they may be able to snag an up-and-coming coordinator or head coach. Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck just signed a contract extension through 2020, but there are still guys like Greg Schiano, Tom Bradley (former Penn State defensive coordinator, current WVU assistant head coach) and Pat Narduzzi hanging around. I could see Schiano or Bradley taking the job, but Narduzzi seems to be holding out for something better than Pitt since he rebuffed UConn last year.

10Dec 2014
Uncategorized 16 comments

Coaching Candidate: Steve Addazio

Steve Addazio

Steve Addazio
Age:
 55
Current position: Boston College head coach
Salary:
Head coaching experience: 14-11 at Boston College (2013-present), 13-11 at Temple (2011-2012), 27-24 overall
History: Addazio was born in Connecticut and played football at Central Connecticut. After some time coaching at a small college and in high school, he got a job with Syracuse in 1995. He then worked at Notre Dame under Bob Davie, Indiana under Gerry DiNardo, and Florida under Urban Meyer, all coaching the offensive line (and occasionally tight ends) through 2008. When Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen left to take the head coaching job at Mississippi State, Addazio was promoted to his spot. The Gators went 21-6 in Addazio’s two years as offensive coordinator, where he worked with Tim Tebow in 2009 and John Brantley in 2010. Tebow was spectacular, while Brantley threw 9 touchdowns and 10 picks. When Urban Meyer “retired” after the 2010 season, Addazio took the head coaching job at Temple. The Owls went 9-4 in the MAC that first year, ranking #1 in the conference in total defense and #7 in offense. When Temple moved to the Big East in 2012, they were last in defense and second-worst in offense on the way to a 4-7 record. Somehow that earned him a promotion to Boston College. His first team saw running back Andre Williams rush for 2,177 yards, but they still finished #11 in the ACC in offense and #14 in total defense. That defense jumped to #3 in the conference in 2014, but the Eagles were still #10 in defense. Senior quarterback Tyler Murphy eked out 1,000 yards rushing on the ground to lead the team, while freshman running back Jon Hilliman managed just 3.83 yards/carry. Both seasons in Boston College have resulted in 7 wins (with a chance to get to 8 this year).
My thoughts: I am thoroughly unimpressed with Addazio’s resume. Addazio’s teams are wildly inconsistent, and the individual successes – Tim Tebow in 2009, Andre Williams in 2013, Tyler Murphy in 2014 – are odd and unreliable, too. Aside from Tebow that first year, the quarterback play has been subpar with his guys totaling 61 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. From what I gather, Addazio is an upstanding guy whose personality would fit in very well with what Michigan wants. That’s the scary part. His record is slightly above .500, which is frighteningly close to Brady Hoke’s 47-50 job before arriving in Ann Arbor. Unfortunately, that comes without the ingrained affinity for the Wolverines and the upward trajectory that Hoke’s Ball State and San Diego State’s teams had. This would be an underwhelming hire, and recruiting would suffer, particularly in the short term.
Likelihood of coming to Michigan: Addazio is getting too many mentions in the media and the Michigan blogosphere to ignore. Likely because of his cultural fit and desire to run the ball, he seems to be on the list. I would assume that athletic director Jim Hackett realizes how disappointing this hire would be, so Addazio seems like an emergency possibility in case Harbaugh, Stoops, Miles, and probably others fall through. Regardless, his name terrifies me and would seem to assure mediocrity for Michigan.

My wish list:
1. Jim Harbaugh
2. Bob Stoops
3. Dan Mullen
4. Jim Mora, Jr.
5. Les Miles
6. Greg Schiano
7. Tom Herman
8. Pat Narduzzi
9. Mike Shanahan
10. Steve Addazio