Temple and the coaching dominoes

Bruce Arians' first HC job was at TU in 1982 and now, 30 years later, gets his next one.

Round and round the coaching Merry-Go-Round goes and where it stops nobody knows.
Well, at least until a couple of hours ago.
For those who have Temple football connections, it appears to have stopped for awhile now.
Former North Carolina offensive coordinator John Shoop is actively seeking a NFL job. If he doesn't get one, he reportedly told Matt Rhule he will accept Rhule's offer to be OC.
Geez, I hope he gets an NFL job because I don't really want someone here who says, "Well, if nothing pans out, I'll have to take the Temple job, honey."

Snow's defenses gave up 44 points per game in 2010 and 38
points per game in 2012.

I'd rather have Marty Mornhinweg. First, he lives here already, his kid went to St. Joseph's Prep and his presence might beget a five-star quarterback named Skyler Mornhinweg, currently at Florida.
When was the last time Temple recruited a five-star quarterback?
(Answer: Paulsboro's Kevin Harvey, recruited by Ron Dickerson.)
Instead, Temple fans will end up with a DC, Phil Snow, whose best days were in the last century at Arizona State. Since 1996, his defenses have not posted a single shutout or had more than three games (in 72 tries) of limiting FBS foes to single-digits. He's lost a lot off his fastball. In Snow, Rhule sees the 1952 Robin Roberts, not the 1967 Roberts, who ended his career with the Reading Phillies. I hope I'm wrong, but I see similar decline in important career numbers with Snow.
I must admit, after hearing names like Bill Cubit, Nick Rolovich and Nick Rapone thrown out there, ending up with Marcus Satterfield and Phil Snow as Rhule's top two lieutenants is a bit underwhelming.

In the pros, former Temple head coach Bruce Arians landed as head coach for the Arizona Cardinals. To me, that's the hire of the NFL year and Bruce having coached at Temple has really nothing to do with it.
Was there a candidate out there with two Super Bowls under his belt as an OC, a reputation of turning young quarterbacks into all-pros and someone who turned a losing culture into a winner as a head coach?

I think Rhule is in love with the 2001 Snow, not the Snow of 11 years later. If you take a step back and look at Snow's resume objectively, he has not done much since 2001. He had a decent year for a non-winning Eastern Michigan team in 2011, but even then the Hurons didn't limit any offense under double-digits.
I think Satterfield could be very, very good but I don't know for sure.
But Rhule built that squeaky bed and now he'll have to sleep on it.
In the pros, former Temple head coach Bruce Arians landed as head coach for the Arizona Cardinals. To me, that's the hire of the NFL year and Bruce having coached at Temple has really nothing to do with it.

"Coaching is relationship-building
not just great players
but ballboys, managers
kids at Temple that I still
stay in touch with today
and they are my family."
_Bruce Arians
head coach
Arizona Cardinals

Was there a candidate out there with two Super Bowls under his belt as an OC, a reputation of turning young quarterbacks into all-pros and someone who turned a losing culture into a winner as a head coach?
Other than Bruce, who got his last full-time head-coaching gig 30 years ago, I know there wasn't.
I can't imagine Chip Kelly bringing much more than suspect college assistants to Philadelphia.
Arians' 20 years of contacts is going to build a solid NFL-ready staff and his first staff member is Todd Bowles, a former Owl player of his, as DC.
Good move by Bruce.
Bowles was unfairly blamed for the Eagles' defensive woes because he inherited a backfield that was on strike and bereft of talent  all season. Bowles will have plenty of defensive talent in Arizona.
Speaking of Bowles, had he been hired as Temple head coach head coach instead of Rhule, his two coordinators would have been Mornhinweg and Rapone. That would have given Temple a guy who posted 11 shutouts since Snow's last one as DC, an NFL OC and (possibly) a five-star QB recruit.
A little birdie, a red one, told me.
Funny what happens on the coaching Merry-Go-Round before it comes to a complete stop.

Eagles search for a coach should end now

Bruce Arians would be a great choice in three important areas.

The only known photo of
Bruce Arians as Temple
coach on the internet.

Driving around Philadelphia every day, I have my radio presets on a few select stations.
Two are the all-sports talk stations in Philly, but I invariably land on WFAN in New York for the best sports talk.
Mostly, I end up on 100.3 or 105.3, music stations. Big fan of Patti Jackson, Lady B and Michael Baisden.
Still, in between commercials, it's amusing to stop on the Philly sports talk stations for awhile to hear them talk about potential replacements for Andy Reid.
I have to shake my head, though. All of these guys are garbage compared to my choice.
There's really only one potential replacement and he should be hired no later than Monday. (If the Colts lose to Bernard Pierce and the Ravens, which I suspect will happen on Sunday.)
His name is Bruce Arians, the former Temple University head coach.
OK, I will admit that I'm biased but some other national guys like ESPN's Dan Graziano (see above) who are starting to come around to my way of thinking.
I don't think his age, 60, should have anything to do with it. Sixty is the new 40 anyway. Tom Coughlin won two Super Bowls after 60. Period, end of discussion.

On the Daz front, we're at Dream Job No. 6.

Put aside the Temple connection for a moment and look at it logically.

Culture Change

Bruce Arians took a 2-14 team in Indianapolis and totally changed the culture from losing to winning. He was 9-3 in the 12 games he was head coach, including a win over the Green Bay Packers. That performance has made him the leading candidate for NFL Coach of the Year.
Think there's a pro team in Philadelphia that needs a culture change?
Check.

Developing young quarterbacks?

Admittedly, he did it this year with a good rookie quarterback in Andrew Luck but I think, say, Syracuse's Ryan Nassib has a similar skill set to Luck's and he could do the same with another rookie in Philadelphia.
Also, Arians developed both Peyton Manning at Indy and Big Ben with the Steelers as quarterbacks and, if you don't draft Nassib, he could at least work his magic with Nick Foles.
Check.

Public Relations

This is an important hire for Eagles' owner Jeff Lurie. Does he go the totally unknown route and hire a coordinator like Mike McCoy or hire a two-time Super Bowl winning coordinator AND a guy who is coming off a NFL Coach of the Year Award. When was the last time an NFL team hired an NFL COY from another team? This could be a first and an incredibly easy sell to an otherwise skeptical fan base.
Check.
It's about a big a no-brainer as there is. We shall soon find out if Lurie has at least half a one.

KYW mentions MacIntrye as possible Owl coach

Temple had a shot at Bruce Arians in 2006 and 2011, but virtually no shot now.

WANTED: HEAD COACH, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY _ Large, urban, school in nation's fourth-largest market, seeks HEAD coach for up-and-coming BCS program. School is committed to winning at the highest level of football and a new president is coming on board in January whose stated top two priorities are success at fund raising and winning in the Big East. Successful candidates will have had WINNING seasons as a HEAD coach at an FBS school. Philadelphia-area connections a plus, but not necessary. No current assistant coaches need apply.

When you hire an assistant coach, you are just as likely to get a Ron Dickerson as you are an Al Golden or a Steve Addazio

There's a reason why they call the position HEAD coach.
That's how I see the specific criteria for the next Temple University football coach.
Temple football owes a debt of gratitude to Al Golden, a driven young assistant coach, who built the program.
It owes somewhat less to Steve Addazio, another career assistant, who recruited a fine class last year.
In a way, both were crap shoots because, when you hire an assistant coach, you are just as likely to get a Ron Dickerson as you are an Al Golden or a Steve Addazio.
Now, though, this is the most important hire in the history of Temple University and the school needs a proven winner as a head coach. Remove the guesswork by hiring a guy who has won as a head coach before at the FBS level. Period, end of story.
Current Indianapolis Colts' head coach Bruce Arians would fit the criteria, and was a leading candidate for the Temple job in both 2006 and 2011, but his career has advanced far past Temple's pay grade and I'm afraid he's out.
So it leaves those current hot college head coaches. An assistant would be a big mistake now.
I think it's important Temple work quickly because these guys are being rumored for other jobs.
That narrows the field thusly:

YES TO (in order):

Former Temple assistant Mike MacIntyre

MIKE MACINTYRE, current head coach San Jose State _ MacIntyre, against an impossible recruiting, funding and facilities disadvantage, went 10-2 and has the Spartans  in a bowl game. One of his two losses was to PAC-12 champion Stanford by a 20-17 score. One of the wins was over BYU. Another was a 52-24 pounding of a 9-3 Louisiana Tech team.
MacIntrye has Temple connections and knows all about the program, having been the Owls' defensive coordinator in 1997 and 1998. He had San Jose State, with about as much talent as Temple had this year, playing at a much higher level than Temple. MacIntrye, a finalist for the Temple job in 2011, was the only possible name mentioned as a successor on a 5:45 p.m. KYW report by Temple play-by-play man Harry Donahue. I agree with Harry, who is a very good friend of Temple AD Bill Bradshaw. Great choice. At $450K, makes about half of what Daz made at Temple this year, according to the website coacheshotseat.com.

Kent State's Darrell Hazell

DARRELL HAZELL, current head coach,  Kent State _ Hazell took a team that Temple beat, 36-14, last year (he wasn't head coach then) and beat the living daylights out of a Rutgers' team that blew out Temple this year, 35-10. Hazell had Kent State (remember, Kent State we're talking about here), 11-1 before losing the MAC title game in overtime to NIU. Hazell has Philadelphia-area connections. He's from Cinnaminson, N.J. Currently grossly underpaid at $350K per year. Purdue is rumored to be interested.

PETE LEMBO, current head coach, Ball State _ Had Ball State, a team Temple beat, 42-0, last year, go 9-3 and earn a trip to the Beef O'Brady Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. Like Temple, Ball State beat South Florida. Unlike Temple, Ball State also owned a win over a Big 10 team. Knows all about the area having been head coach at Lehigh University. Not a sexy pick (just look at the photo), but the guy is a damn good head football coach and not likely to get outcoached like Daz was in the Maryland game. Since Temple has plenty of talent already in place, Lembo is just the type of guy most likely to get the most out of it. Makes $400K per year.

NO TO:

MATT RHULE, current assistant offensive line coach, New York Giants _ Rhule is an outstanding young man but has no (zero) wins as a FBS head coach. He's a fine recruiter, but would be a crap shoot as a game day coach. Addazio did not think enough of him to make him sole offensive coordinator, instead bringing in Ryan Day from Boston College to be co-coordinator with Rhule. Shortly after that, Rhule left for the Giant job. Temple is too big to be the first head coaching opportunity, especially at the BCS level. I'd encourage Rhule to get a head coaching job at a place like Kutztown or Delaware and work his way up the head-coaching ladder that way. It's obvious he's well-liked at Temple, but the question you have to ask yourself is, "Does he pass the non-Temple smell test?" Would even Kent State or Western Michigan hire him for their head coaching openings? The answer is no. His first head coaching job should not be in the Big East.

TOM BRADLEY, former Penn State defensive coordinator _ Yeah, I know that photo is of Jerry Sandusky but if you hire Bradley he brings all of that Sandusky Penn State baggage with him and that's a headache Temple can't afford. Plus, Bradley is a dead fish personality and not likely to inspire a fan base like Addazio was. While Bradley has recruiting ties to Western Pennsylvania, he has no recruiting ties to Eastern Pennsylvania or South Jersey and that's where Temple needs to win the recruiting wars.

Throwback Thursday: TU beats No. 4-ranked Pitt

... Breaking News: Hawaii players are posting on their Facebook pages this morning that the game with Temple is a "done deal" and they will probably be playing the Owls on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 ... a day that will live in infamy (maybe) ... ...

Program covers have come a long way since this Sept. 25, 1976 Temple vs. Pitt game.

Temple plays Pitt a week after a loss to Rutgers its head coach called "an embarrassment."
October, 2012?
No.
September, 1984.
The difference then was that Pitt at the time was three weeks removed from a No. 4 preseason ranking in the country.
Temple beat Pitt, 13-12, on a field goal by a kicker named Jim Cooper.
Temple will have a kicker named Jim Cooper next year, but more on that later.
The win in 1984 gave Temple a 2-1 record on the way to a winning season under 32-year-old head coach Bruce Arians.

Story in the Allentown Morning Call the week after Temple beat Pitt.

"We were embarrassed at Rutgers, didn't play to our ability at all," Arians said. "We oughta be 3-0 and we know it."
The Owls played the No. 10-toughest schedule in  the country then and its wins over East Carolina (17-0) and Pitt were sandwiched around a one-point loss to Rutgers.

Bruce Arians made a habit out of beating nationally-ranked Pitt teams.

Pitt was coming off an 8-3-1 year and maybe that influenced its inflated preseason ranking in Sports Illustrated. The Temple loss was one of four straight for Pitt (BYU, Oklahoma, Temple, West Virginia) and the Panthers never met their expectations.
At the time, it was the first win for Temple over Pitt in 39 years but Arians made sure it would not be the last.
The next week, Temple was to play Florida State and Arians fully expected to win that game, too.
"Florida State is a great opponent and it is a game we can win," Arians said. "There's no doubt about it. We can take the field anytime, anywhere and we have a chance to win."

Temple's last win over Pitt came 14 years ago.

This week, Temple renews its long-standing "rivalry" with Pitt. It's just a one-year deal since Pitt moves to the ACC next year, but when the teams meet on Saturday it will bring back fond memories of Cooper and Arians for a lot of Temple fans. Arians beat Pitt three out of his five years as Temple's head coach.
Later, he became well-known (and sometimes vilified) in that town as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Still, Arians is mostly fondly remembered in Philadelphia by Temple people as an energetic young coach who did the best he could with the tools he was given.
Beating Pitt in a year it was ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP poll certainly helped foster a positive impression of Arians, who is still helping Temple football today.
Arians figuratively begat then kicker Cooper who literally begat another Cooper by the same name, Jim Cooper, Jr.
Next year, Cooper Jr. will take over the kicking duties for Steve Addazio.
If he beats Pitt, 13-12, like his dad did, it will have to be in a bowl game.
I'm sure dad and son would sign for that now but first both, being long-time Owl fans like the rest of us, just want to win the next one.

Tomorrow: Fast Forward Friday

Throwback Thursday: RU-TU memories

Bruce Arians was the youngest
coach in college football
when he called a "jailbreak"
blitz that resulted in four straight
Temple sacks of Scott Erney
to end the 1988 game in favor of TU

The headline and lede in story written by now talk-show host Mike Missanelli.

Rivalries are a beautiful thing.

I'm old enough to know when Temple and Delaware were rivals.

One of my fondest days was spent in Newark, Del., when Temple beat Delaware 31-8 in front of a still-record and still-stunned crowd of 23,619.

An even fonder day was Temple's 45-0 win in Newark on another beautiful Saturday. The hot dogs in that post-game tailgate tasted like filet mignon. Delaware went on to win the national Division II championship (which became D1AA which became FCS).

Temple even got grief from the local media for scheduling Delaware.

"I believe in scheduling Delaware...and then beating the crap out of them," was the way Wayne Hardin was quoted in response.

Bruce Arians responds to a text
message congratulatng him on
beating the Green Bay Packers.
BA is still a big Owl fan.

I loved it.

Can you imagine any coach in today's "politically correct" world saying something like that?

Then Temple dropped its rivalry with Delaware and picked up one with Rutgers.

Penn State is supposed to be a rival, but to be one, you've got to prove that you can beat one.

Temple's proven that against Rutgers numerous times, and the proximity of the schools combined with an animosity factor qualifies this as a real rivalry.

You've got to have a little animosity to stir the rivalry pot, and in Rutgers, there's some of that.

Since Delaware, Rutgers has always been Temple's biggest rival.

The rivalry was only further fueled by Rutgers' involvement in kicking out Temple from the Big East. Despite Temple winning four straight games from the Scarlet Knights, Rutgers led the charge to kick out Temple for "non-competitiveness."

"I've never lost to f-ing Rutgers, and I'm not going to end my career losing to f-ing Rutgers." Temple center Donny Klein, halftime of the 2002 game.

So there's some animosity there.

I have some fond memories, too, of some Rutgers-Temple games.

I'm sure Rutgers fans have similar memories as well of games that didn't turn out as well for Temple, but that's what rivalries are all about.

When Bruce Arians was Temple coach in 1988 and Dick Anderson was his opposite number at Rutgers, Anderson had a quarterback named Scott Erney who was killing Temple on the final drive of the game with Temple holding a 35-30 lead over an RU team that beat Penn State.

(Arians is now the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, but he has never forgotten TU, to which he remains fiercely loyal.)

Erney, running a two-minute drill against Nick Rapone's prevent defense, drove RU to the Temple 20 in the game's final minute and appeared to be leading his team to the winning touchdown.

Map and towns by N.J. Schmitty.

Arians then called a timeout, got in Rapone's face, and ordered a jailbreak blitz on the next four plays. "Jailbreak" in those days was the Temple defensive call for eight men rushing, three back in coverage.

"We go jailbreak because we feel you can't block us all," Arians said. "My philosophy, as a former quarterback, is the best pass defense is putting the QB on his ass."

The result?

Four straight Temple sacks, with a defensive lineman named Swift Burch ending the game on top of Erney at midfield. Temple won, 35-30.

"If I was going to go down, it wasn't going to be against a prevent," Arians said, holding the game ball. "I was going to go down with my guns blazing."

With the backdrop of BE explusion, In 2002, at Rutgers in the rain, the Owls trailed at halftime, 14-3.

The Owls, by then, had won three straight over Rutgers, and a senior center named Donny Klein got up at halftime and pounded his helmet on the floor and started an F-bomb tirade. By that year, Temple got kicked out of the Big East and knew Rutgers would be staying in instead.

TU and RU were both 3-1 going into this game.

"I've never lost to f-ing Rutgers, and I'm not going to end my career losing to f-ing Rutgers," Klein said, ending a 10-minute rant that included about 100 f-bombs.

Led by Klein's incredible blocking, a back named Tanardo Sharps rolled up 215 yards on 43 carries, and Temple won, 20-17, on Cap Poklemba's last-second field goal.

The Temple team then ran over to the Big East logo and danced on it, singing the school's fight song in a monsoon.

That's what I would call animosity.

That's what I would call a rivalry.

Temple really hasn't had one of those in long time.

It has now and it's back. I hope these Owls can find a Big East logo and dance on it while singing "T for Temple U" oh, about 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Maybe even Poklemba, who now leads the student cheers as a welcomed "old head", will join in and give dance lessons.

Father's Day tradition continues at TU

Newspaper clipping chronicling Jim Cooper's heroics in Temple's win over West Virginia.

"My dad could have gone to USC or Florida or Alabama and I still would be going to Temple. I know it's where I want to be."
_Jim Cooper

Appropriate that Jim Cooper Jr. committed to Temple around Father's Day this year because, if the name Jim Cooper rings a bell, it should.
Jim Cooper Sr. used to kick for Temple in the Bruce Arians' years. Cooper even kicked a field goal to beat West Virginia at Veterans Stadium.
Jim Cooper will kick for Temple again in name only as junior is the son of the senior.
The son also gave the coolest quote so far of any Temple recruit:
"My dad could have gone to USC or Florida or Alabama and I still would be going to Temple," said Cooper. "I know it's where I want to be."
The Mainland (N.J.) Regional kicker enters his senior season with 24 career field goals, just six shy of the all-time New Jersey record for field goals. He should break that this season.
I don't know if any other school has as many father/son connections as Temple University.
Some just off the top of my head:

Dan Klecko

Joe Klecko/Dan Klecko: Joe was an All-American at Temple, but made his fame as the anchor of the New York Jets' fabled "sack exchange." Joe should be in the NFL Hall of Fame. Dan was Big East defensive player of the year at Temple and has three Super Bowl rings as a role player with the Patriots and Colts (three more than his dad). Dan is now a sports talk radio host in Philadelphia.
Zach Dixon/Hassan Dixon: Zach was a 1,000-yard rusher for Wayne Hardin's 1978 team which went 7-3-1. Hassan Dixon is his son and currently listed as a DB for the Owls.

Raheem Brock: representing 

Zach Dixon/Raheem Brock: Yes, the same father of Hassan is also the father of Super Bowl champion DE Raheem Brock and they both played at Temple. Brock was an outstanding TE and DE at Temple and currently looking for another NFL opportunity. He is a successful restaurateur in Philadelphia.

Mark Bright follows his blockers.

Jim Bright/Mark Bright: Jim Bright was a fullback for the Owls in the 1950s. Mark Bright was also a fullback for the Owls, but in the 1970s. Mark was named MVP in Temple's 28-17 win over California in the Garden State Bowl. Mark was one of Hardin's last recruits one year. Jim was the long-time principal at New Hope-Solebury High School. "His dad was a fullback at Temple," Hardin said. "I told him, 'At Temple, we take care of our own.' So I took a chance on Mark. I'm glad I did."

Not a father/son connection, but certainly one worth noting is that current starting Temple quarterback (and New Mexico Bowl MVP) Chris Coyer also has a family tie to Temple. A great uncle, Harry Cochran, was Dean of the Business School at Temple in 1959. Chris is majoring in business.

Now the Jim Coopers become part of the Temple football family once again. It's a nice Father's Day trend worth mentioning.

It all keeps coming back to one guy: Arians



In an NFL town, Bruce Arians (talking to Hines Ward) would bring Super Bowl winning credibility to Temple.



What Temple's checklist should be:
• Proven WINNING head coach;
• Multiple WINNING seasons (not just one);
• Must have proven it at THIS level, not below;
• Knows Philadelphia and suburbs and;
• Immediately recognizable to area high school coaches;
• Working knowledge of Temple and its challenges;
• Would make a splash with Temple fans and alumni

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to purchase a house.
Because I'm middle-aged, I knew it might very well be the last house I purchased and I knew I had to get this right because I would not get another chance.
I had my checklist ready.
I wanted to live in a nice neighborhood, get a single home at the end of a block, with a garage, be near public transportation and within walking distance of shopping options.
I went on ReMax and RealEstate.com, scoured the papers, and did my research.
After seeing about 10 houses, my realtor turned down the street and up the driveway of this one house.
"Wow," I told her.
It was in my price range and I loved it.
"You like it?" she said.
"Yeah."
We saw about 10 more houses, and a lot of them were great, but I kept going back to this one.
When the list came down to five and four and three, I kept comparing it to the one I liked the most and those other houses just did not compare.
I'm living in that house now.
I bring that story up because my search then is a lot like Temple's football coaching search going on right now. Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw has to get this right because he might not get another chance.
There are a lot of names floating around, but there is only one guy I'm am totally 100 percent positive who can do this job at the level I want it done.
Bruce Arians.
Why am I so sure?
He's already done it.
Arians had two six-win seasons when Temple was playing the BYUs, the Georgias, the Florida States in addition to the Penn States, Pitts and West Virginia. That's defending national champion BYU, by the way, which Arians played toe-to-toe and lost, 26-24, before 52,000 screaming Temple fans at Veterans Stadium.
Arians had a six-win season against the 10th-toughest schedule in the nation.

Arians chewed MAC winning teams and spit them out. He was 5-0 against MAC winning teams. Al Golden, on the other hand, was 0-14 against winning MAC teams

Arians chewed MAC winning teams and spit them out. He was 5-0 against MAC winning teams. Al Golden, on the other hand, was 0-14 against winning MAC teams.
Arians never had a $521 million stadium to play in, never had a $7 million facility to practice and never had a university with 12,000 kids living on campus (only about 1K lived there then) and the university infrastructure he has now.
When my younger friends mention that he did this 22 years ago, I reply that it's easier to do it now than it was 22 years ago.
I mention that Temple's two best hires were guys they hired in their 50s: John Chaney and Fran Dunphy.
Arians is a real person, like Chaney and Dunphy, not a snake-oil salesman.

If Bill Bradshaw wants crowds of 5,000 at Temple home games next season, he will go ahead and hire a guy like Frank Cignetti, Paul Guenther, Dave Wannstedt, Randy Shannon, Matt Rhule, G.A. Mangus or Bob Davie

A quarterback at Virginia Tech, Arians will develop quarterbacks at Temple and move the ball and score touchdowns. If Bill Bradshaw wants crowds of 5,000 at Temple home games next season, he will go ahead and hire a guy like Frank Cignetti, Paul Guenther,  Dave Wannstedt, Randy Shannon, Matt Rhule, G.A. Mangus or Bob Davie. If you are going to think about guys like that, then ask permission to talk to Western Michigan's Bill Cubit. He's a Philly guy who's beaten MAC teams regularly and has never lost to Temple.
Why not go for the best, though?
If he wants an attacking style of football and a name Owl fans can get behind, he will hire Bruce Arians. I knew Al Golden and I know this man and he's a better coach and a better person than Al Golden can ever hope to be.
On defense, one of my favorite Arians' stories happened at Rutgers.
With 1 minute, 46 seconds left and Temple holding a 35-30 lead, a quarterback named Scott Erney moved the Scarlet Knights down the field against a Temple prevent defense to the Owls' 30. When Rutgers called its last timeout, Arians got in the face of defensive coordinator Nick Rapone and told him to do something.
Rapone called "jailbreak" which was the terminology for eight-man blitz.
The result was four straight Temple sacks and the game ending with an Owl lineman named Swift Burch landing on top of Erney at the 30 _ the Rutgers' 30.
Afterward, Arians explained the change of heart.
"If I was going to go down, I was going to go down with my guns blazing," he said, holding the game ball.
I've had several ex-Temple players tell me they walked in unannounced to Arians' office at the Steelers' practice facility and he has two things on it _ a calendar and an old Temple helmet.
Arians would bring blazing guns, a knowledge and love for and loyalty to all things Temple, and a buzz back to our fanbase.
If we can get him, and I think we can, that's our guy.

The next Temple coach: A proven winner

What Bradshaw should be looking for:
1) Proven WINNING head coach;
2) Multiple WINNING seasons (not just one);
3) Must have proven it at THIS level, not below;
4) Knows Philadelphia and suburbs and;
5) Immediately recognizable to area high school coaches;
6) Working knowledge of Temple and its challenges;
7) Would make a splash with Temple fans and alumni

When Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw is not lamenting the fact that he's shorter than 6-feet-tall, he tells some pretty good stories.
Ask him sometimes about the tosses that LaSalle University starting baseball shortstop Fran Dunphy would make to starting second baseman Bill Bradshaw back in the day.
Pretty funny stuff.
I'm partial to one Bill Bradshaw story, though.
It talks about his first meeting with future Temple football coach Al Golden.
Bradshaw got back in the car for the long drive to Philadelphia, sat down in the passenger seat and scribbled a few words at the bottom of his notepad.
This is our guy.
So he was.
No one knows what was at the top of that notepad, but I assume it was a series of qualifications Bradshaw was looking for in the next Temple head coach.
Finding a guy who can do the job here is both tough and easy.
Tough because there are so few of them.
Easy because you can narrow the list of special people down to three or four and target those.
All you have to do is look at history.
There are three Temple coaches who have done anything worth a damn here in my lifetime and Bradshaw would be wise to look for similar qualities in the next Temple coach as the following three:

Joe and Wayne

Wayne Hardin _ Was 80-52-3 at Temple. No one ran a more innovative offense. No one was smarter. No one made Temple look better on game day than Hardin did. Hardin is a genuis and he toyed with the overmatched mind of the coach on the other side. Allentown Morning Call columnist John Kunda said it best when an undermanned Temple team was beating a vastly more talented Penn State team in State College. "Hardin's outcoaching Joe again." The entire press box roared laughing because they knew it was true. Hardin's teams were always better-prepared than the teams they were facing. When Hardin had nine days to prepare for his team's most important game, you would never see Temple line up in an illegal formation on the first play of the game (I wonder how that's going to go over at The U this fall?). When Hardin came to Temple he was already a proven winner on this level as a head coach (he was head coach at Navy when it was No. 2 in the nation) and had a knack for developing quarterbacks (Roger Stabauch and Bob Broadhead) and knew the Philadelphia area (he was head coach of the Continental League champion Philadelphia Bulldogs). When he got to Temple, the Owls were disciplined and some of his quarterbacks were Doug Shobert, Steve Joachim, Marty  Ginestra, Terry Gregory, Frank DiMaggio and Brian Broomell. Al Golden only had one quarterback of similar ilk: Adam DiMichele.



Bruce Arians

 Bruce Arians _ Led Temple to two winning seasons against top 20 schedules. One of his teams was 6-5 against the 10th-toughest schedule in the nation. (By comparison, Golden was 8-4 this year against the 112th-toughest schedule in the country.) Under Arians, the Owls beat West Virginia twice and Pitt in three of five seasons. Arians, from York, also knew the area and was a great recruiter. A former quarterback at Virginia Tech, Arians developed Tim Riordan, Lee Saltz and Matty Baker and a guy named Ben Rothlisberger. Knows Temple inside and out. Gets Temple. Loves Temple.  If you think Golden was a good recruiter, you should have seen the talent Arians brought to North Broad Street. On the day Arians was mistakenly  fired at Temple, quarterback Glenn Foley and defensive lineman Alonzo Spellman de-committed from the Owls and signed with Boston College and Ohio State. That's recruiting.

Al Golden

Al Golden _ Succeeded here because he knew the  recruiting footprint and was a tireless worker. Never developed quarterbacks like Hardin or Arians, but his emphasis on defense more than made up for it. Great recruiter, but failed to identify talent at the quarterback level post-Adam DiMichele and that cost him a bowl game and possible double-digit back-to-back winning seasons.

There are also three Temple coaches who failed to achieve sustained success here and Bradshaw would be wise to avoid this type:

Jerry Berndt _ Was 0-11 as a head coach at Rice before coming to Temple. A huge red flag that Temple ignored at its own peril. Could coach Arians' talent to a 7-4 record, but could not recruit at this level afterward. What should Temple learn from this: Don't hire a head coach who hasn't posted multiple (that's more than one) winning seasons at THIS level (i.e., avoid Ron Vanderlinden like the plague, who hasn't even had one winning season at this level).
Ron Dickerson _ Was hailed as the "greatest defensive coordinator in America" by Penn State coach Joe Paterno before Temple hired him. On game day, he looked lost out there. Hey, Paterno never said he could be a head coach. What should Temple learn from this: Avoid coordinators who have not proven they can win as a head coach with this next hire because Temple can't afford to get this wrong.
Bobby Wallace _ Posted multiple winning seasons at the Division II level, but had no recruiting footprint in the northeast and had no passion to live here and did not connect with the high school coaches here. A bad hiring on so many levels, you can write a book about it. What Temple should have learned from this: No more lower-level head coaches, please.
So who is our guy?
The list of people who "can do this" becomes very small, but manageable:


Bill Cubit, Philly through and through

 1) Arians The guy performed at a higher level than Golden with 1/10th, maybe 1/100th of Golden's facilities. You can talk him into leaving the Steelers now. He's got a head coaching, not an assistant's, mentality. Age? Look what Dunphy's done and Dunph is older. There are 49 Division IA (FBS) championship coaches older than the 58-year-old Arians now and most of those guys are doing good jobs.
2) Bill Cubit, Western Michigan He's a Philly guy, knows the area, and comes in with a proven track record as a winning head coach with, say, 1/2 of Temple's current talent. He, unlike Golden, knows how to beat Big 10 teams. At Western Michigan, he's beaten Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana. You can convince him into coming home because he would automatically triple his current salary by getting the Temple job. On the day he beat Temple at Lincoln Financial Field, Cubit walked over to Citizens' Bank Park afterward and watched his beloved Phillies clinch the NL East.
3) A unnamed head coach in D1A/FBS (not D1AA/FCS) who was or is a proven winner AT THAT LEVEL and knows Philadelphia and the suburbs and would be welcomed with open arms. Who is that guy? Well, it's definitely not Ron Vanderlinden and it's definitely not Andy Talley or K.C. Keeler (the FBS part) and it's definitely not Mike Leach or any coordinator in college football today. They all meet some criteria, but not all.
Is that third guy out there?
I don't know. I don't think so.
So there's your list.
I told you it takes a special person to do this job right.
So go get him.
These kids deserve nothing less.

Thanks for a nice season, everybody

"And that's the way I used to play linebacker."
"But, coach, I'm a QB."
"Oh yeah, I forgot."

Goodnight and good luck.
I think that was Edward R. Murrow's line, but I was too young to remember him.
Let's face it.
The season is over, thanks to the BCS schools who derailed the teams-with-worse-records-can't-be-chosen-over-better-records rule at the end of last season. That means eight-win teams with small fan bases are in jeopardy of getting shut out this year.
Last year, no eight-win team could have been taken over nine-win Temple (excluding bowl tie-ins). This year, any six-win team can be taken over eight-win Temple.
The BCS schools pushing that rule change through is another example that big-time college football is corrupt to the core. The rich get richer. The poor get poorer.
If you think anybody is going to bend over backwards to invite an eight-win Temple team to a bowl, your thinking process is all wrong.
The only bowl that would want us, The Military Bowl, is spoken for with two tie-in participants eligible.

Geez, I hope Al Golden decides to stay at Temple but my gut tells me he's gone

Why would the Military Bowl want us?
That was the former Eagle Bank Bowl and we helped them out big-time by putting 20K fannies in the seats last year vs. UCLA.
Can we even put 1K fannies at any other bowl?
No.
It's all about the Benjamins in college football, in case you forgot.
It was a nice season, not a great season, not even a good season.
Why?
Because you can't return 21 starters at 16 positions and not improve from 9-3 to 10-2 or better.
And you certainly can't go from 9-3 to 8-4.



Bruce Arians, the only logical choice as next Temple coach.

 It's a nice season, not a good one, and it represents a regression from a year ago.
So there is blame to be assessed (in this order):
1) Matt Rhule. Sorry, Matt, you do not deserve to be back as offensive coordinator. You are a defensive guy, a career linebacker and a career linebacker coach. There are way too many weapons (Rod Streater, a 318-pound average offensive line, Michael Campbell, Bernard Pierce, Matt Brown, Delano Green, Erod, AJax, etc.) for this team to struggle putting points on the board. There already is an accomplished offensive coordinator on the staff. His name is Rob Spence and he turned scoreboards into  adding machines at places like Clemson and Syracuse. He deserves at least a chance to move up and show what a lifelong offensive mind can do.

Why do we consistently make slow, white quarterbacks look like Fran Tarkenton? Because we don't blitz anywhere near enough to sack these guys 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, like we should

2) Mark D'Onofrio. Why do we consistently make slow, white quarterbacks look like Fran Tarkenton? Because we don't blitz anywhere near enough to sack these guys 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, like we should. We should punch these guys in the mouth (figuratively, of course) early and often and make them uncomfortable back there.
I've been a big Mark D'Onofrio supporter to take over Al Golden's job once Al Golden leaves.
No more.
I'll take a 57-year-old Bruce Arians, a guy who is not afraid to blitz, over Mark D'Onofrio any day of the week. I've never seen a more passive defensive coordinator when it comes to attacking the other guy's quarterback.
Fifty-seven is not old anymore.
I never thought it was.
When I was 21 and working at the Doylestown Intelligencer, I wrote a column that Temple should hire John Chaney as its new basketball coach.
I got called into the office of the Managing Editor, Jim McFadden.
"Mike, don't you think 50 is a little old for a new basketball coach?" he said.
"Fifty's not old," I said.
My boss smiled.
"You get a raise," McFadden said.
He was 50, too.
The point is if you can do the job, it doesn't matter how old you are.
Bruce can do the job.
Bruce can recruit. He knows Temple. He loves Temple.  He will put other quarterbacks on their asses and make them give the ball to us early and often.
He's a Super Bowl winner.
An NFL pension is no longer an issue with him, like it was last time. He's making $600,000 and his boss is Mike Tomlin. At Temple, he would be making $1.2 million with no boss.
This move makes sense for both Bruce and Temple,
If there ever was a time for Bruce Arians at Temple, it is now.
Do I think Al Golden is leaving?
Geez, my heart says he stays but my head says he's gone.
If my heart was right tonight, we would have won, 23-3, instead of lost, 23-3.
So I think my head is right this time, too.
The tug might be too strong this year.
Yes, he's as good as gone. Benjamins also figure into the Al Golden saga. We don't have them. Other schools do.
I salute him.
What a terrific job he's done here and I can't thank him enough.
If he failed this year at all, it was sticking with his Penn State boy, Rhule, for way too long.
Golden proved that you can win at Temple, just like Arians did some 20 years ago.
When Al leaves, let's keep this momentum and move forward with the only other guy who's proven he can win here. I don't want to go back to the days that existed between those two regimes. Hiring Jerry Berndt, Ron Dickerson and Bobby Wallace was a crap shoot. I don't want any more crappy crap shoot hirings.
I want a sure thing next time and Bruce Arians is the only sure thing out there right now. He's the round peg that fits nicely into Temple's round hole.