Purdue needs Darrell Hazell to be a lot of things.
In addition to a damn good football coach, Hazell will be asked to be a magnet, drawing fans to Ross-Ade Stadium; talented recruits to Purdue; and "all-star" ? Morgan Burke's word, not mine ? coordinators and assistant coaches to the offices of the Mollenkopf Athletic Center.
Purdue will need Hazell to be an ambassador, the face of a program that needs a draw and needs an identity and needs to distinguish itself from the crowd around it.
But of all the things Hazell will be asked to be at Purdue, one of them looks like a role he's clearly tailor-made to fill: A uniter.
A program is not just a coach, a staff of coaches, a group of players, and the facilities they go about their business in. Nor is it just administrators and the resources they provide.
A program is a lot of things, a fan base included.
And that's the phase of Purdue's program it needs most right now. Support comes in many forms. Purdue needs it in its most basic form right now.
It's up to Hazell now to inspire and engage his program's following, clearly at the forefront of his mind Wednesday night when he laid down his mandate.
"It's going to take all of us from the Purdue family to win a Big Ten championship as well as a Rose Bowl championship," Hazell said.
Put ticket sales off to the side for a moment. One step at a time.
Purdue just needs an air of positivity on its side as it moves forward under Hazell's direction, a move away from the caustic, bitter in-fighting and venom-spitting that have flooded Internet message boards like our own and social media alike and sparked grumbling among those fans that did show up at games this season.
Purdue just needs someone who's going to make people feel good about its football program again. It needs buzz.
The best cure is winning. Obviously.
But before Hazell can even coach a game, let alone win one, it's imperative that those who care about the program want to like him, that they want to do their part to bridge the disconnect between the program and the people, who've drifted or been driven away for one reason or another the past few years.
Hazell needs, and deserves, a clean slate in that sense, a legitimate chance to win people over.
It's a lot to ask of a coach, to be that guy, that rallying figure, that capturer of hearts and minds and wins.
But you know what? Purdue has that guy.
Of that, I'm convinced.
After spending the past 36 hours learning about Darrell Hazell, then hearing him own his introductory press conference, that's the first impression.
In Hazell, Purdue has a charismatic face, a professional, presentable, personable and polished presence.
He's accomplished and more than qualified, even if he does only have two seasons of head coaching experience.
I love the fact Purdue made a minority hire.
Someday very soon hopefully such things no longer have to be considered significant, but, yes, it matters for Purdue to become a little less homogenous, a little more welcoming, on its surface, to all people.
With that in mind, race played no role in this, I'm quite certain.
Hazell earned his shot at the Big Ten.
White, black, yellow, camouflage or taupe, coaches should be judged solely on their ability to win games; identify and recruit talent; graduate players and help them become highly functional adults; and represent their employer in a squeaky-clean and professional manner.
Again, Purdue has that guy.
Hazell's background is rich in success and a diversity of experience.
He comes from proven coaching stock, the product of a coaching tree that knows how to win. They've literally written the book on it ? Jim Tressel's famed "Winner's Manual."
At Ohio State, coaches live like Caesar, but at a cost. To stay, you must recruit against the best, beat the best and be judged on championships at college football's highest levels.
At Kent State, coaches make the best of it, in a job long considered one of the worst in college football.
Head coaches have to be able to handle situations. Prior to this season, Hazell showed his coaches "Moneyball" to underscore the need to make more out of less.
He's coached at every level, encountered every situation by now.
He seems to get it.
And he's shown he can win.
Understand this: Getting Kent State to within a point of the BCS is not all that unlike getting Butler basketball to within a single shot of a national championship. Or at least it's equally improbable.
For Kent State, Hazell was that guy, in more ways than one.
The outpouring of love for him you've seen from that end of this transaction has completely belied the usual resentment that comes when kids lose their coach and revealed a certain sense of gratitude from Kent State folks that they knew what they had and are grateful for having it at all.
Anecdotal evidence abounds that that love was mutual.
Hazell doesn't have to coach that team in its bowl game. Hell, how many coaches would? It speaks to the loyalty Hazell has to those Kent State kids and the commitment he's made to them.
In a situation where a lot of coaches would have just slipped out, Hazell is bending over backwards.
Hazell was signed and sealed for Purdue at around 9 p.m. last night.
It might have happened earlier had idiots on Twitter not thrown their darts, compelling Hazell to manage the situation for his players to minimize the trauma on them.
"I don't know who it was, but there was a (report) put out that we'd hired him," Burke said. "We hadn't hired him. That slowed him down, because then he's got to go back and backtrack with his players. So that took another hour."
When things got done doesn't matter anymore. All that does matter is that they did.
This hire is one of critical importance to Purdue.
It had to get the right guy.
It did.
Hazell's that guy.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2012. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
In addition to a damn good football coach, Hazell will be asked to be a magnet, drawing fans to Ross-Ade Stadium; talented recruits to Purdue; and "all-star" ? Morgan Burke's word, not mine ? coordinators and assistant coaches to the offices of the Mollenkopf Athletic Center.
Purdue will need Hazell to be an ambassador, the face of a program that needs a draw and needs an identity and needs to distinguish itself from the crowd around it.
But of all the things Hazell will be asked to be at Purdue, one of them looks like a role he's clearly tailor-made to fill: A uniter.
A program is not just a coach, a staff of coaches, a group of players, and the facilities they go about their business in. Nor is it just administrators and the resources they provide.
A program is a lot of things, a fan base included.
And that's the phase of Purdue's program it needs most right now. Support comes in many forms. Purdue needs it in its most basic form right now.
It's up to Hazell now to inspire and engage his program's following, clearly at the forefront of his mind Wednesday night when he laid down his mandate.
"It's going to take all of us from the Purdue family to win a Big Ten championship as well as a Rose Bowl championship," Hazell said.
Put ticket sales off to the side for a moment. One step at a time.
Purdue just needs an air of positivity on its side as it moves forward under Hazell's direction, a move away from the caustic, bitter in-fighting and venom-spitting that have flooded Internet message boards like our own and social media alike and sparked grumbling among those fans that did show up at games this season.
Purdue just needs someone who's going to make people feel good about its football program again. It needs buzz.
The best cure is winning. Obviously.
But before Hazell can even coach a game, let alone win one, it's imperative that those who care about the program want to like him, that they want to do their part to bridge the disconnect between the program and the people, who've drifted or been driven away for one reason or another the past few years.
Hazell needs, and deserves, a clean slate in that sense, a legitimate chance to win people over.
It's a lot to ask of a coach, to be that guy, that rallying figure, that capturer of hearts and minds and wins.
But you know what? Purdue has that guy.
Of that, I'm convinced.
After spending the past 36 hours learning about Darrell Hazell, then hearing him own his introductory press conference, that's the first impression.
In Hazell, Purdue has a charismatic face, a professional, presentable, personable and polished presence.
He's accomplished and more than qualified, even if he does only have two seasons of head coaching experience.
I love the fact Purdue made a minority hire.
Someday very soon hopefully such things no longer have to be considered significant, but, yes, it matters for Purdue to become a little less homogenous, a little more welcoming, on its surface, to all people.
With that in mind, race played no role in this, I'm quite certain.
Hazell earned his shot at the Big Ten.
White, black, yellow, camouflage or taupe, coaches should be judged solely on their ability to win games; identify and recruit talent; graduate players and help them become highly functional adults; and represent their employer in a squeaky-clean and professional manner.
Again, Purdue has that guy.
Hazell's background is rich in success and a diversity of experience.
He comes from proven coaching stock, the product of a coaching tree that knows how to win. They've literally written the book on it ? Jim Tressel's famed "Winner's Manual."
At Ohio State, coaches live like Caesar, but at a cost. To stay, you must recruit against the best, beat the best and be judged on championships at college football's highest levels.
At Kent State, coaches make the best of it, in a job long considered one of the worst in college football.
Head coaches have to be able to handle situations. Prior to this season, Hazell showed his coaches "Moneyball" to underscore the need to make more out of less.
He's coached at every level, encountered every situation by now.
He seems to get it.
And he's shown he can win.
Understand this: Getting Kent State to within a point of the BCS is not all that unlike getting Butler basketball to within a single shot of a national championship. Or at least it's equally improbable.
For Kent State, Hazell was that guy, in more ways than one.
The outpouring of love for him you've seen from that end of this transaction has completely belied the usual resentment that comes when kids lose their coach and revealed a certain sense of gratitude from Kent State folks that they knew what they had and are grateful for having it at all.
Anecdotal evidence abounds that that love was mutual.
Hazell doesn't have to coach that team in its bowl game. Hell, how many coaches would? It speaks to the loyalty Hazell has to those Kent State kids and the commitment he's made to them.
In a situation where a lot of coaches would have just slipped out, Hazell is bending over backwards.
Hazell was signed and sealed for Purdue at around 9 p.m. last night.
It might have happened earlier had idiots on Twitter not thrown their darts, compelling Hazell to manage the situation for his players to minimize the trauma on them.
"I don't know who it was, but there was a (report) put out that we'd hired him," Burke said. "We hadn't hired him. That slowed him down, because then he's got to go back and backtrack with his players. So that took another hour."
When things got done doesn't matter anymore. All that does matter is that they did.
This hire is one of critical importance to Purdue.
It had to get the right guy.
It did.
Hazell's that guy.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2012. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
