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| It's particularly sunny in Dazadelphia these days. |
Forget Jeremy Lin and Linsanity.
I'll take Steve Addazio and Dazmania any day over Lin.
At least in Dazadelphia because, even in this dead period of the offseason, I've never been more convinced that Steve Addazio is the guy to lead Temple to some, err, dazzling heights.
The first sign was Daz turning down Rutgers the way Steve Carlton used to shoo off reporters _ with a disinterested wave. The guy before Daz would have milked every ounce of the attention. Not Daz.
Addazio's turning down of Rutgers and his No. 1 recruiting class in the MAC, what he called "the best recruiting class in Temple history" were two breathtaking buzzer beaters but, for me, nothing made me admire Addazio more than his recent hiring of Ryan Day as offensive coordinator to replace Scot Loeffler. Day comes from Boston College, as does former BC offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers.
I would say "Thank, God" but that thanks is reserved for Daz.
In about one month's of work, Addazio gave his Temple employers this impressive trifecta of accomplishments:
1) He turned down RU right away;
2) He produced the No. 1 recruiting class in the MAC;
3) He didn't hire Matt Rhule as OC.
I was cringing at the prospect of Daz promoting Matt Rhule into the offensive coordinator spot he held in 2010 under Al Golden.
It would have been the easy pick.
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| Ryan Day turned out to be that somebody else. |
It also would have been the incorrect one, in my mind.
In my 30 years of being a Temple season-ticket holder, I have never seen a more ill-conceived and mismanaged offense as I did for the 2010 Owls.
With a big, mean and nasty offensive line and weapons like Matty Brown, Mike Gerardi, Rod Streater, Joey Jones, Evan Rodriguez and Alex Jackson, Rhule's offense produced a total of three points in an important game at Miami (Ohio) in 2010.
Three points.
That's borderline comical, if it wasn't so sad.
Against Ohio, with 10 days to prepare, Rhule's first offensive play was an illegal formation. So what if the player lines up in the wrong formation? It's the coach's responsibility to drill into that player and the other 10 players what the formation is, ESPECIALLY on the first play of the game. That's what 10 days of practice are for.
Now many say it wasn't Rhule's fault, that it was Al Golden micromanaging things.
That could have been true, but I'm a fact guy and not a theory guy.
FACT: The 2010 offense sadly underperformed visa ve their level of talent.
FACT: Rhule was sole offensive coordinator in 2010.
THEORY: Golden's micromanaging MIGHT have had more to do with the non-production than Rhule's leadership.
It could have been Golden's fault. It could have been Rhule's fault.
If it wasn't Golden's fault, I did not want to find out the hard way in 2012 and, thanks to Daz, I won't have to.
FACT: The 2011 offense click on all cylinders, especially the last five games of the season.
Loeffler called the plays last year and the improvement was noticeable. Auburn noticed enough to hire Loeffler. Notice they did not hire Rhule, who has done an outstanding job as a recruiter and a linebacker's coach at Temple in the past. Just because you are a great recruiter and linebacker coach doesn't mean you will be a great OC.
People ask me what I have against Rhule and my answer always is one word: Nothing.
That's a fact. I just don't want him as my OC.
Rhule is a great guy and big asset to the staff. Day and Rogers are great guys and big assets to the offense.
It's all good now.
Day slides into the Loeffler spot and Rhule stays in the Rhule spot.
Works for me and I think that is the way it will work best for the Owls.
My admiration of Daz, which was already at the top of the chart, went off the charts with his recent restructuring of his coaching staff that served as the Cherry on top of a desert that included a spotless handling of the recruiting class and the RU situation.
Dazmania is the best word to describe it.
Or Dazzling.
I could care less about the Knicks, but I can't wait until Cherry and White Daz.
I mean Day.
