It is way too early to tell what Purdue is going to do about filling its coaching staff for next season.
The process to replace offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach John Shoop, defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach Greg Hudson and defensive line/defensive tackles coach Rubin Carter only now begins, all while there's a lot of other stuff - i.e. recruiting - going on.
So we can't tell you with any certainty what Darrell Hazell is going to do about those positions. We can, however, take a look at some names who have been in play before, some names of some coaches who Hazell knows well and some candidates for promotion on the current staff, if promotion from within is an option considering Purdue's stated goal to "make some significant changes."
So here goes …
INTERNAL POSSIBILITIES
Certainly the notion of promoting from within on a staff that's won only six games the last three seasons may seem counterproductive.
But, at least, there are current members who have prior experience and others who could be valuable to retain from a recruiting/rising-coach perspective. Perhaps the only way to do the latter would be to dangle the coordinator carrot. But we shall see.
A closer look at the possibilities:
Tight ends coach Terry Malone: From an experience perspective, Malone certainly has the resume to merit a look for the offensive coordinator spot, having held the same role twice in his coaching career. During his four-year stint as OC at Michigan, Malone was a finalist for the Broyles Award for top assistant coach in 2003, the same year the Wolverines had one of the top offenses in the country, ranking No. 12 in scoring, 15th in total offense and led the Big Ten in passing. Malone also was a coordinator at Bowling Green from 1986-95.
Malone also spent his first season with the Boilermakers up in the box during games, sitting alongside John Shoop. It's likely he offered some input at points, when asked, as the coaching staff often talked about its "collaborative" nature. Whether Malone came to Purdue knowing he could have another OC option in mind, not sure. He probably came to the Boilermakers because it was, simply, <i>an opportunity</i>. But, generally, his players seem to respect him and appreciate his wealth of knowledge.
Receivers coach Gerad Parker: It's clear that Parker's insertion as receivers coach this season not only made the players in the room better but also fostered a culture among the group of confidence, expectation, encouragement and loyalty. He's a coach players seem to respond to. Those ingredients need to be team-wide, and, if nothing else, that could be a reason to give Parker a chance as the head of the offense.
Parker has experience as a "passing coordinator" from UT-Martin, and it's clear that Purdue's current quarterbacks value his insight. Oftentimes during games and sometimes even during practices, the QBs would grab Parker's ear, and he seemingly had a productive, critical relationship with those guys, who he wasn't even directly coaching.
He's incredibly important as the team's recruiting coordinator, as well, and keeping a young, enthusiastic, passionate coach on staff might be a must if this is going to get fixed.
Linebackers coach Marcus Freeman: One of the most respected coaches on the staff by players and other coaches, Freeman has inspired players in his room despite demanding much and, even, preaching "perfection" - they actually talk about it a lot. But he's able to do so because of his genuine approach: Players know without a doubt he is behind them, will support them and will fight for them. There's a give-and-take that's healthy and imperative in a leader.
Purdue can ill-afford to lose Freeman, one of the young, feisty, attentive coaches on a staff that needs more of them, and, maybe, the only way it can keep him is by extending the coordinator job.
It is pretty fair to say that Freeman has generally been viewed as a coordinator or head coach in the making, whether it be at Purdue or elsewhere.
Freeman has a history with Darrell Hazell from Ohio State, and Hazell hired Freeman at Kent State before bringing him to West Lafayette and, knowing Freeman's value, it'd seem like a logical move for Hazell if he was staying in-house with the hire. It'd seem to be hard for Freeman to turn down, even if other jobs are calling.
Secondary coach Taver Johnson: With already having coordinator experience at two places, including Miami (Ohio) from 2005-06, Johnson could get a look to move up with the Boilermakers.
Johnson has coached all the defensive positions, as well as valuable experience with the Buckeyes, at Arkansas and in the NFL. (Stacy Clardie)
EXTERNAL POSSIBILITIES
Shoop was one of a couple of NFL-seasoned coaches considered last time around, another being Matt Cavanaugh, who's bounced around the league and is now with the Washington Redskins. He is believed to have legitimately considered the job back then after being on the outs with the Jets. But a job with the Bears opened up and he took that instead. Whether he ultimately would have accepted the Purdue job, we have no idea.
We have outlined some of the challenges Purdue may face in hiring coaches right now and there's no sense in rehashing them, but suffice to say, coaches with clear job security in their current positions could have concerns about the situation in West Lafayette and that might entirely change the way a coach like Cavanaugh looks at things. We have no reason to think Purdue will re-target him, but just throwing out some context here.
Purdue has a long history hiring coaches away from Marshall and Hazell does have a long history and a relationship with Thundering Herd coordinator Bill Legg, a former Purdue assistant coach and coordinator under Joe Tiller. He might have been a consideration back in 2013 if not for a desire for bigger-name coaches.
Hazell and Legg worked together in the past at Eastern Illinois and West Virginia and Legg has done good work running a pass-happy offense at Marshall.
The thing now, though, is Legg's at a point in his career where he's comfortable and may be risk-averse from a security standpoint, if he'd even be interested in coming back to Purdue if sought after. He is a West Virginia native and while Marshall is typically a launching-pad spot for coaches to better jobs, he may not be a motivated mover even if a move back to Purdue appealed to him. But if Purdue dangles the $400,000ish salary it paid to Shoop, you never know.
Jim Bollman is a coach Hazell has long held in high regard from their days together at Ohio State. He was on Purdue's staff for like a month as O-line coach before Michigan State offered a co-coordinator title. If his situation with the Spartans should change for whatever reason he might be a consideration.
Another former Purdue assistant coach, Brian Rock, was Hazell's offensive coordinator at Kent State and remained there after Hazell went to Purdue, though didn't last. He's now the OC at Holy Cross.
He would likely be an easy hire, but whether that's a direction Purdue would want to go now, well, we don't know. Not sure he met the criteria for staff hires at Purdue at the time, at least not at the coordinator level. Kevin Sherman was hired quickly to fill Purdue's wide receivers position, closing that door, though Rock has coached all over the offense in his career.
Long shot, but hell, you never know: Texas wide receivers coach Jay Norvell is a long-time major-college coordinator and NFL assistant. After being let go by Oklahoma he landed with the Longhorns as a position coach. Maybe he'd be interested in a coordinator position. And it's not like the Texas staff's on rock-solid ground right now, either.
Norvell was one of the coaches Purdue interviewed for its head coach-in-waiting opening in 2008. Bill Polian was an advocate for him back then, if memory serves correct. Norvell worked for the Colts for a while.
Defensive coordinator, there aren't many compelling readily apparent names, but in the unlikely event that Kent State fires Hazell's successor with the Golden Flashes, Paul Haynes, after three seasons, you never know.
Haynes is Hazell's former Tressell-staff colleague at Ohio State and one of the guys Purdue was hoping it could get when it hired Hazell, he and Taver Johnson alike. Purdue got Johnson but not right away.
The Haynes angle is beyond premature to bring up, but it might bear monitoring should something surprising occur.
Kent State defensive coordinator Brian George was Hazell's defensive line coach during his time there before being elevated to coordinator when Haynes was hired. He is also a D-line coach, so he'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. George has Big Ten experience from his time at Indiana from 2005-11. He would have worked with Johnson, too, during his prior stint at Miami (Ohio) from 1999-2004, so there's some familiarity in place with the whole defensive staff as it stands today.
That said, Kent just went 3-9, so that one might be a hard sell. Maybe more of a position coach candidate than an coordinator possibility.
Former Purdue DBs coach Jon Heacock - who was Hazell's secondary coach in 2013 after serving as his coordinator at Kent State - did a tremendous job as Toledo's DC this year, such a good job it helped head coach Matt Campbell get the Iowa State job.
The overwhelming likelihood, though, is that Heacock will be a candidate at Toledo and if he doesn't get that, will have a coordinator job waiting for him at Iowa State. Stacy would know better than me on that one, but that's what the situation would seem like from afar. He left Purdue after one season to become a coordinator again.
As for the defensive line, we haven't dug too deep into Hazell's history, for whatever that's worth, but a name that bounced around last time was that of Jappy Oliver, a Purdue alumnus who's been at Notre Dame and South Carolina, among other places, during his long career. He was most recently at Virginia, where head coach Mike London just resigned.
Randy Melvin, now in limbo after spending this season as Miami's defensive line coach, is a former Tiller staffer years ago. There was some reason to believe that if the timing of his departure from the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers worked out back in 2013, he might have been part of Hazell's first Purdue staff, but that did not happen.
And George could be a consideration.
Something to keep in mind is that we don't know yet what Purdue wants, if there are going to be any sort of over-lying criteria for these hires, whether they be system-driven, experience-driven or whatever else.
We really don't know anything at this point, but we've presented here is merely some dot-connecting and background on some coaches who've been considered or pursued for openings in the past. (Brian Neubert)
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Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2015. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.
The process to replace offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach John Shoop, defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach Greg Hudson and defensive line/defensive tackles coach Rubin Carter only now begins, all while there's a lot of other stuff - i.e. recruiting - going on.
So we can't tell you with any certainty what Darrell Hazell is going to do about those positions. We can, however, take a look at some names who have been in play before, some names of some coaches who Hazell knows well and some candidates for promotion on the current staff, if promotion from within is an option considering Purdue's stated goal to "make some significant changes."
So here goes …
INTERNAL POSSIBILITIES
Certainly the notion of promoting from within on a staff that's won only six games the last three seasons may seem counterproductive.
But, at least, there are current members who have prior experience and others who could be valuable to retain from a recruiting/rising-coach perspective. Perhaps the only way to do the latter would be to dangle the coordinator carrot. But we shall see.
A closer look at the possibilities:
Tight ends coach Terry Malone: From an experience perspective, Malone certainly has the resume to merit a look for the offensive coordinator spot, having held the same role twice in his coaching career. During his four-year stint as OC at Michigan, Malone was a finalist for the Broyles Award for top assistant coach in 2003, the same year the Wolverines had one of the top offenses in the country, ranking No. 12 in scoring, 15th in total offense and led the Big Ten in passing. Malone also was a coordinator at Bowling Green from 1986-95.
Malone also spent his first season with the Boilermakers up in the box during games, sitting alongside John Shoop. It's likely he offered some input at points, when asked, as the coaching staff often talked about its "collaborative" nature. Whether Malone came to Purdue knowing he could have another OC option in mind, not sure. He probably came to the Boilermakers because it was, simply, <i>an opportunity</i>. But, generally, his players seem to respect him and appreciate his wealth of knowledge.
Receivers coach Gerad Parker: It's clear that Parker's insertion as receivers coach this season not only made the players in the room better but also fostered a culture among the group of confidence, expectation, encouragement and loyalty. He's a coach players seem to respond to. Those ingredients need to be team-wide, and, if nothing else, that could be a reason to give Parker a chance as the head of the offense.
Parker has experience as a "passing coordinator" from UT-Martin, and it's clear that Purdue's current quarterbacks value his insight. Oftentimes during games and sometimes even during practices, the QBs would grab Parker's ear, and he seemingly had a productive, critical relationship with those guys, who he wasn't even directly coaching.
He's incredibly important as the team's recruiting coordinator, as well, and keeping a young, enthusiastic, passionate coach on staff might be a must if this is going to get fixed.
Linebackers coach Marcus Freeman: One of the most respected coaches on the staff by players and other coaches, Freeman has inspired players in his room despite demanding much and, even, preaching "perfection" - they actually talk about it a lot. But he's able to do so because of his genuine approach: Players know without a doubt he is behind them, will support them and will fight for them. There's a give-and-take that's healthy and imperative in a leader.
Purdue can ill-afford to lose Freeman, one of the young, feisty, attentive coaches on a staff that needs more of them, and, maybe, the only way it can keep him is by extending the coordinator job.
It is pretty fair to say that Freeman has generally been viewed as a coordinator or head coach in the making, whether it be at Purdue or elsewhere.
Freeman has a history with Darrell Hazell from Ohio State, and Hazell hired Freeman at Kent State before bringing him to West Lafayette and, knowing Freeman's value, it'd seem like a logical move for Hazell if he was staying in-house with the hire. It'd seem to be hard for Freeman to turn down, even if other jobs are calling.
Secondary coach Taver Johnson: With already having coordinator experience at two places, including Miami (Ohio) from 2005-06, Johnson could get a look to move up with the Boilermakers.
Johnson has coached all the defensive positions, as well as valuable experience with the Buckeyes, at Arkansas and in the NFL. (Stacy Clardie)
EXTERNAL POSSIBILITIES
Shoop was one of a couple of NFL-seasoned coaches considered last time around, another being Matt Cavanaugh, who's bounced around the league and is now with the Washington Redskins. He is believed to have legitimately considered the job back then after being on the outs with the Jets. But a job with the Bears opened up and he took that instead. Whether he ultimately would have accepted the Purdue job, we have no idea.
We have outlined some of the challenges Purdue may face in hiring coaches right now and there's no sense in rehashing them, but suffice to say, coaches with clear job security in their current positions could have concerns about the situation in West Lafayette and that might entirely change the way a coach like Cavanaugh looks at things. We have no reason to think Purdue will re-target him, but just throwing out some context here.
Purdue has a long history hiring coaches away from Marshall and Hazell does have a long history and a relationship with Thundering Herd coordinator Bill Legg, a former Purdue assistant coach and coordinator under Joe Tiller. He might have been a consideration back in 2013 if not for a desire for bigger-name coaches.
Hazell and Legg worked together in the past at Eastern Illinois and West Virginia and Legg has done good work running a pass-happy offense at Marshall.
The thing now, though, is Legg's at a point in his career where he's comfortable and may be risk-averse from a security standpoint, if he'd even be interested in coming back to Purdue if sought after. He is a West Virginia native and while Marshall is typically a launching-pad spot for coaches to better jobs, he may not be a motivated mover even if a move back to Purdue appealed to him. But if Purdue dangles the $400,000ish salary it paid to Shoop, you never know.
Jim Bollman is a coach Hazell has long held in high regard from their days together at Ohio State. He was on Purdue's staff for like a month as O-line coach before Michigan State offered a co-coordinator title. If his situation with the Spartans should change for whatever reason he might be a consideration.
Another former Purdue assistant coach, Brian Rock, was Hazell's offensive coordinator at Kent State and remained there after Hazell went to Purdue, though didn't last. He's now the OC at Holy Cross.
He would likely be an easy hire, but whether that's a direction Purdue would want to go now, well, we don't know. Not sure he met the criteria for staff hires at Purdue at the time, at least not at the coordinator level. Kevin Sherman was hired quickly to fill Purdue's wide receivers position, closing that door, though Rock has coached all over the offense in his career.
Long shot, but hell, you never know: Texas wide receivers coach Jay Norvell is a long-time major-college coordinator and NFL assistant. After being let go by Oklahoma he landed with the Longhorns as a position coach. Maybe he'd be interested in a coordinator position. And it's not like the Texas staff's on rock-solid ground right now, either.
Norvell was one of the coaches Purdue interviewed for its head coach-in-waiting opening in 2008. Bill Polian was an advocate for him back then, if memory serves correct. Norvell worked for the Colts for a while.
Defensive coordinator, there aren't many compelling readily apparent names, but in the unlikely event that Kent State fires Hazell's successor with the Golden Flashes, Paul Haynes, after three seasons, you never know.
Haynes is Hazell's former Tressell-staff colleague at Ohio State and one of the guys Purdue was hoping it could get when it hired Hazell, he and Taver Johnson alike. Purdue got Johnson but not right away.
The Haynes angle is beyond premature to bring up, but it might bear monitoring should something surprising occur.
Kent State defensive coordinator Brian George was Hazell's defensive line coach during his time there before being elevated to coordinator when Haynes was hired. He is also a D-line coach, so he'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. George has Big Ten experience from his time at Indiana from 2005-11. He would have worked with Johnson, too, during his prior stint at Miami (Ohio) from 1999-2004, so there's some familiarity in place with the whole defensive staff as it stands today.
That said, Kent just went 3-9, so that one might be a hard sell. Maybe more of a position coach candidate than an coordinator possibility.
Former Purdue DBs coach Jon Heacock - who was Hazell's secondary coach in 2013 after serving as his coordinator at Kent State - did a tremendous job as Toledo's DC this year, such a good job it helped head coach Matt Campbell get the Iowa State job.
The overwhelming likelihood, though, is that Heacock will be a candidate at Toledo and if he doesn't get that, will have a coordinator job waiting for him at Iowa State. Stacy would know better than me on that one, but that's what the situation would seem like from afar. He left Purdue after one season to become a coordinator again.
As for the defensive line, we haven't dug too deep into Hazell's history, for whatever that's worth, but a name that bounced around last time was that of Jappy Oliver, a Purdue alumnus who's been at Notre Dame and South Carolina, among other places, during his long career. He was most recently at Virginia, where head coach Mike London just resigned.
Randy Melvin, now in limbo after spending this season as Miami's defensive line coach, is a former Tiller staffer years ago. There was some reason to believe that if the timing of his departure from the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers worked out back in 2013, he might have been part of Hazell's first Purdue staff, but that did not happen.
And George could be a consideration.
Something to keep in mind is that we don't know yet what Purdue wants, if there are going to be any sort of over-lying criteria for these hires, whether they be system-driven, experience-driven or whatever else.
We really don't know anything at this point, but we've presented here is merely some dot-connecting and background on some coaches who've been considered or pursued for openings in the past. (Brian Neubert)
-------------
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2015. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.
