Friday, December 14, 2012

Rhule to be named head coach

BREAKING NEWS: As of Saturday night, Matt Rhule officially accepts offer to become Temple's 26th head football coach ... press conference on Monday ... I already updated Temple football Wikipedia page ...
Matt Rhule motions to his PSU teammates to get a good look at the worst
helmet in the history of college football after a sack of a Temple QB.

Some people dream about Jessica Cristobal, I dream of Matt Rhule.
(Hey, I can't pick my dreams, they just happen.)
In this latest one (true dream, not a made-up one), Rhule is addressing a group of Temple supporters and members of the press at his "introductory" press conference in the Howard Gittis Room at the Liacouras Center.
The team is going wild in the background and all during the conference nobody can hear what Rhule is saying because of the noise the group is making amongst themselves.
Jessica, we hardly knew ye
The newspaper and TV guys along the first row are shrugging their shoulders and pointing to their ears.
Suddenly, Bill Bradshaw goes to the podium, takes the microphone from Matt and says: "Guys, I know you are excited but please give Matt a chance to talk. This is his day. It's rude to be talking while he's talking. OK, Matt."
Then Bradshaw hands the microphone back to Rhule and a spitball flies by Bradshaw's ear.
Then I wake up.
Unless Temple re-opens its coaching search, something like this will happen on Monday around noontime, with or without the noise or the spitballs.
This just  in: Temple won't be re-opening the coaching search and Matt Rhule will be named head coach on Monday. Rhule is the current assistant offensive line coach of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
Just as there were red flags surrounding past hirings (like Jerry Berndt going 0-11 before he was hired and DC Ron Dickerson giving up 55 points in his last game), a coach this well-liked being hired is a huge red flag to me.
I would like someone to ask Bradshaw why Temple didn't reach out to Ball State coach Pete Lembo (it didn't), but I doubt that question is going to come up or be answered on Monday.
"The biggest thing I would say: I am blessed to be at Temple and I love Temple"
_ Matt Rhule
I'd rather have an ass-kicking Bill Belichick-type than a "players' friend" Andy Reid-type any day of the week.
People tell me Matt can be quite the disciplinarian but I will have to see that for myself in the next few months.
I keep hoping something good comes out of this. Maybe Matt brings in Adam DiMichele to be his QB coach. Maybe he brings back Bruce Francis to show the wide receivers how it is done. Maybe he can convince DC Chuck Heater and Heater's son-in-law, Sean Cronin, to stay. Give Heater Kevin Newsome to play free safety and Heater becomes the best DC in the country again and Temple gets another first-round NFL draft pick.
Still, it all comes down to winning. To me, that's all that matters.
I felt even in Steve Addazio's final days that nothing short of seven wins in 2013 was acceptable.
I'm holding Matt Rhule to those same standards. I hope he holds himself to that standard.
I hope he holds the players to those standards.
To me, the success or failure of Matt Rhule's selection as next Temple coach rests on that record. Nothing else.
Until then, when it comes to Matt Rhule, I've moved from Northeast Philly to Missouri: Show me.
Jessica Cristobal, we hardly knew ye.