CC: Addazio - I believe we missed a realistic, plausible, good(?) option in the CC parade
After seeing the Lance Leipold post, I should preface this post by saying that I did as complete a search as I could and did not find Boston College HC Steve Addazio mentioned as a CC topic and he wasn't even covered in Ron Utah's and Alum96's lists. He was mentioned in comments from time to time but I think he's worth a serious look and find it odd he's been overlooked.
In my various comments I've been one of those guys (similar to Brian) saying there's Harbaugh, Harbaugh, Miles, Mullen, then abyss ... but if there was a "solid, second teir" of choices I think Addazio belongs on that list more than anyone else (such as Butch Jones, case and point).
Addazio has some obvious and glaring connections to names already mentioned throughout these CC posts: Brad Bates, Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen; and also other less-discussed guys with UM ties like Scot Loeffler and Chuck Heater.
If Boston College's Brad Bates were selected as AD, Addazio's name would obviously vault to the top of the list by default, and this wouldn't be a bad thing. Having an AD and HC who have worked together before would be beneficial.
Addazio cut his teeth on the ND staff as OL coach, abeit during Bob Davie's tenure '99-'01. He then went to Indiana for a couple years and was DiNardo's OC. Neither program had much success but they at least give him some familarity with the midwest.
Addazio then became the OL coach for Florida. It looks like he started with Zook and remained on staff with Meyer, where he eventually became co-OC with Dan Mullen and eventually assistant head coach to Meyer, including the (edit) '06 and '08 NC years.
The rest of his career up through Temple and Boston College are all documented here of course, so no need to keep loading up this post http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Addazio but he did lead a mild turnaround including a bowl win during his brief stint as Temple HC and is now holding his own in the ACC, including a nice home win against USC. He did get, however, housed by RichRod's Wildcats in the bowl game last year, fwiw.
I'd love to see Addazio's name added to another edition of Ron Utah's "where we stand" and also to Alum96's ultimate matrix. It seems like he'd score solid B's on track record, recruiting, and roster fit; probably lower than B on Michigan ties but if you factor in Brad Bates that becomes an "A" -- and his former DC Chuck Heater is a former Wolverine and is currently DC for undefeated Marshall, which is tantalizing. His familiarity with Urban Meyer can only be of help, as well.
Also factoring in Bates, I think he'd score an "A" for chances/loyalty, and I also really like his tough and smart demeanor from what I've seen. Below are some video snippets including a pregame speech that evokes a little bit of Hoke (not a bad thing, from the current players perspective), and a LOT of Bo Schembechler at the end.
And this clip is your moment of Zen: Addazio is a former big-time OL coach and OC...
What do we think?
October 19th, 2014 at 11:12 AM ^
roundtable group on ESPN2 that did live commentary during the national championship game last year. Was a great was to watch the game, and he was joined by Kevin Sumlin and Todd Graham. He definitely held his own in the commentary, extremely articulate and knowledgeable. I commented on here during that telecast that I couldn't imagine what Hoke would have to contribute to such a conversation, and got torn apart.
Yeah, the CSU loss is disappointing. There's alway going to be something on these second-teir guys. That's why they're second-teir guys.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
Anybody criticizing you for making that simple and accurate observation about our HC was an idiot, as subsequent events have borne out.
October 19th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^
My feelings were awfully hurt. LOL
October 19th, 2014 at 1:34 PM ^
Addazio would be a great O-Line coach at Michigan. He is articulate at football but there was a reason why fans in both Florida and at Temple were glad to see him gone.
The guy is not in Michigan's league.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
13-11 at Temple is very impressive, including only their second bowl win ever. BC was 6-18 the two years before he got there. I think McElwain is a btter candidate, but Addazio's record at those two schools has been impressive.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:31 AM ^
I heard the same thing about Hoke and his sub-.500 record. How it was really impressive if you consider....
Enough of that nonsense. The next coach needs to have a real track record that includes championships at any level, or win % that is extraordinary. If you go the coordinator route they better have several years of the top rated defense or offense and championships as the coordinator under their belt.
If they are barely .500 as a head coach they can earn there stripes somewhere else! There needs to be real demonstrated success, not the stretch we got with Hoke!
October 19th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
You obviously have no idea how bad Temple has been. I don't think he is a top choice, but you can't bury him for his record at Temple. To expect someone to win more than he had at Temple is just not realistic.
October 19th, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^
"To expect someone to win more than he had at BALL STATE/SAN DIEGO ST. is just not realistic." I know you don't see it that way, but the it's same thing.
October 19th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^
Thank you.
I was in Philly during Addazio's tenure. Temple blogger Mike Gibson at Temple Football Forever, quite accurately, stated the following about Addazio after he left:
Truth is, Addazio is a stubborn former offensive lineman who always wants to run the ball. He was that way at Florida and (sans Scot Loeffler’s one year as OC) was that way at Temple and probably will be that way at BC.
After that UConn win, he went back to pounding his head against the wall and about 20,000 of my fellow Temple fans joined him.
Now we can get back to watching football.
There’s a lot we don’t know about Matt Rhule but he does believe in making defenses defend the whole field and, for that alone, we know he will do a better job that Daz did.
My blood pressure will be better off now that Daz is gone and hopefully that means my life expectancy has just been extended by a couple of years.
http://templefootballforever.wordpress.com
OP's defense of/advocacy for this guy is delusional.
October 19th, 2014 at 8:12 PM ^
teh purpose of the post was to add a viable name to the conversation that I thought we may have missed. A couple contributors to this conversation, including yourself, were in places like Philly and Gainesville have given us some perspective that I wasn't able to. So, I think you simply enjoy opportunities to call people delusional.
October 19th, 2014 at 8:44 PM ^
...and I hadn't called a poster delusional all day until then. I'd say just aim a bit higher in coaching pedigree, OP.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:08 AM ^
I think that Addazio is somebody who has been flying under the radar but is definitely a name to keep any eye on......especially if Bates ends up at Michigan. Boston College plays tough, competitive football. That's what Michigan will be looking for.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^
Addazio's first and only full year at BC was 2013, and his season was "good" but a little spotty. He lost to USC on the road, played NC Florida State competitively at home, and also lost to UNC on the road, Orange Bowl champ Clemson, Syracuse on the road, and the aforementioned bowl game against Arizona. They lost badly to UNC which seems "ugh," but were competitive against Syracuse. Also got blown out (as mentioned again) by RichRod.
But still seems like a guy up for the challenge on several fronts.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:14 AM ^
...he eventually became co-OC with Dan Mullen and eventually assistant head coach to Meyer, including the '08 and '10 NC years.
Florida's NC seasons were '06 and '08. Addazio replaced Mullen in '09, and was widely regarded by Florida fans as a disaster in his two years as solo OC.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
I didn't realize the issues in '09 and beyond. That's the kind of feedback I was looking for that I may have missed ... is this a little too good to be true to be flying under the radar. Thanks again.
October 19th, 2014 at 1:40 PM ^
That is true.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^
the type of guy we should splurge to get as our OL coach.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:35 AM ^
Addazio assistant HC and OL coach. Loefler QB's (worked with Addazio at Temple) and Heater as DC (also at Temple).
October 19th, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
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October 19th, 2014 at 2:47 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 8:42 PM ^
Well seeing as VT had 4 offensive linemen, a RB (1st round) and WR drafted by the NFL the from the season before Loeffler took over, it's not surprising that Thomas's statistics went down that year.
October 19th, 2014 at 4:29 PM ^
with buckets of raw natural ability who never really developed the ability to read coverages and who got worse at those skills under Loeffler. I hope he put those on the resume.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
knowing he will do what is best for this program. After watching football yesterday, it was so frustrating to watch so many teams play at such a high level and know that our team couldn't last one half against most of them. It is so sad to know that MSU is where we used to be and OSU had one down year and are on a second string QB (that never played before this season) that is light years ahead of our QB, who has been a starter for more than 2 seasons and hasn't improved one bit since he began.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
him leaving MSU. He has everything he wants and needs down there. He has 100% support from every fan, student and e,mployee ist MSU. You can't guarantee that he would have that here.The biggest problem this program has is that there are three factions (in-fighting) that is tearing this program apart. The BS between the bo-era players vs the LC-era players vs the AD. This a drama that has to be fixed before any great coach will come here. It starts with the AD. If I was Mullen, I wouldn't leave the best conference in the country (by a long shot) and the best recruiting bed in the country (the south) to come up here and deal with all the bullshit and the weather and small recruiting bed. Doesn't make any sense, and there is no way that Michigan could offer him more money than MSU would. They would pay him whatever we offer + to keep him.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
Every coach has that when they are undefeated. The fact is that before this years there were whispers about his future there. He's in a division with Alabama and Auburn. Being in the Big10 or for that matter being at Florida gives him a much better chance to win a title.
Also to say that Michigan can't out pay Miss St. is crazy.
The SEC may be the best conference, but certainly not by a long shot. FSU beat Auburn and OK smoked Alabama in the BCS games last year. West Virginia and Kansas St. both stayed very close to Bama and Auburn this year as well.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^
You hate the redneck RR and want him gone no matter what to replace him with a Michigan Man who is less eloquent than the redneck
October 19th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
Somewhere, Spencer Hall just burst out laughing hysterically and he doesn't know why.
October 19th, 2014 at 1:21 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 1:28 PM ^
I've seen others post something along these lines, but myy list of desirable head coaches goes:
- Harbaugh
- Harbaugh
- Mullen
- Miles
- Sumlin
- OSU's OCoordinator (I forget his name)
- Hoke
I don't want to make a change just to make a change. I think Hoke - a guy who loves Michigan and has recruited extremely well. Yes, we should be much better we still do have an objectively young team - in year 5 would be better than another guy with a Hoke-level resume. I think we took a short term step back by firing Borges (hopefully Nuss gets us going very soon) and without making a slam dunk hire, what's the point? We're just that disgruntled where we'd take BC's mediocre head coach instead of our own mediocre head coach? The CC posts have been underwhelming in my opinion.
October 19th, 2014 at 4:55 PM ^
Outside of Hoke, that entire list is completely unrealistic. Let's go after Vince Lombardi and Yost while were at it.
October 19th, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^
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October 19th, 2014 at 1:57 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 8:16 PM ^
And no I didn't see his offenses at UF. That's partially why I made the post, to open discussion and see if I was missing something. Obviously I was ... wait, sorry ... Obviously, I fucking was, for fuck's sake.
October 19th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
I don't think his Michigan ties grade goes from low to an A based on his boss. One of the main reasons to want Michigan ties is their value in recruiting.
Along the same lines, I don't see it as a big plus if Bates is his AD here. I'm sure there's some upside to it, but it's going to make it harder to sell him to the Michigan community. It would remind me of Hoke or RR bringing along their assistants because they're familiar with them, not because they were searching for the best candidates. That's standard for assistants, but we've also seen the criticism it engenders when the team struggles.
October 19th, 2014 at 8:17 PM ^
And I appreciate the low occurrence of f-bombs in your reply. Not that they bother me personally, but they dilute credibility a bit.
October 19th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 3:12 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 4:29 PM ^
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October 19th, 2014 at 4:33 PM ^
Than Petrino would be. Rodriguez left his alma mater due to its mismanagement of its athletic department. Petrino has snaked every employer he's ever worked for, and left every job he's ever had in flames.
I'd rather have Nick Saban's hair dresser coaching the team than turn the keys of Michigan over to Bobby Petrino.
October 19th, 2014 at 5:48 PM ^
Start up the Flight Tracker!!!
October 19th, 2014 at 4:52 PM ^
That's the most absurd thing I've heard. This job is toxic, there is no way we get a sure thing. Why would any coach in the country want to come here and deal with this culture, fanbase, and "Michigan Man" crap? The Michigan job is nothing but a future black spot on a coach's resume. It's going to take an Saban-esque coach to turn this tire-fire around and I can't imagine anyone of that caliber from division 1 football willing to sign up this train wreck. We're going to have to take a flyer on a D2/D3 coach.
October 19th, 2014 at 5:01 PM ^
If Michigan didnt cheap out on assistants so they could get Casteel to run the 3-3-5, Rodriguez would still be in Ann Arbor.
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October 19th, 2014 at 8:19 PM ^
For this.
October 19th, 2014 at 4:24 PM ^
than quite a few names I've heard thrown around. Like if Mullen ends up at Florida, Miles decides he's too old, and the Harbaughs stay in the NFL, he immediately becomes one of your better fall back options. No, his record isn't what you'd want. But it's not 2011 when Hoke got hired with all these awesome coaches out there at mid majors.
If you ask me to choose between him and some lifelong NFL assistant with minimal coordinator experience, I pick Addazio every day and 5 times on Sunday. Hell, at least the OL will be good.