First of all, we have all sorts of layers of confirmation that the current roster of assistant coaches on the job right now sits at five, so there are no coaches in place that we don't yet know about.
To recap, it is Greg Hudson, Jafar Williams, Marcus Freeman, Kevin Sherman and Jon Heacock.
Why these hires haven't been announced yet, we don't know, but can only guess that Purdue may wait to announce all of them at once. It doesn't matter. The new coaches are on the job and will be on the road recruiting beginning tomorrow.
Is it cause for worry that the staff is just over half full? It's not ideal - again, recruiting travel starts Monday and recruits are going to wonder who's coaching them - but, again, the emphasis has to be on getting the right people and that shouldn't be compromised.
I want to underscore the right people and not the biggest names. It is imperative that Darrell Hazell gets the coaches he wants, the coaches he knows and the guys he thinks will do the best job for him. These should be his calls and his calls almost unilaterally.
He has to assemble the best staff for him, no matter what their resumes say, just like Joe Tiller did in '97, when he brought a staff of no-names who worked incredibly well together and proved over time to have been a cast of just outstanding young coaches at that point in time.
Now to those notes …
We have confirmed that Heacock will coach the secondary, not the defensive line. He's done both in his career but will coach defensive backs for Purdue.
Purdue did have a sixth coach lined up informally, as Hazell offered a position to former FIU coach Mario Cristobal and, we're told, would have gotten him had Miami not come up with something for him. He's accepted a position as associate head coach and tight ends coach with the Hurricanes.
Really the move was a no-brainer. Cristobal doesn't even have to move, and his ties to the Miami program and the city in general run deep.
Hazell worked with Cristobal at Rutgers. Thus the connection.
Cristobal would not have been Purdue's coordinator, a source said. He's never called plays.
It probably would have been an assistant/associate head coach deal with a position, maybe tight ends, tackles or both, from what we're told.
There is no offensive coordinator in place, but we do now at least have a name of someone Hazell has at least had discussions with.
According to a source, Purdue's new coach has spoken with New York Jets quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh about both its coordinator and quarterbacks coaching roles.
Cavanaugh's mostly been an NFL guy in his career, having worked for Arizona, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore and now the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.
But he did work at Pitt in the college ranks for a few seasons under Dave Wannstedt, so he has some college experience.
It's tough to get guys to leave the NFL usually, then sometimes even harder to keep them when you do, but given the uncertainty around the Jets' staff right now and what Cavanaugh has to work with there in terms of personnel, you never know.
Cavanaugh is originally from Youngstown, so he fits the prerequisite of having Ohio ties (we're of course kidding) and did graduate from and work at Pittsburgh, where Hazell worked for a while.
That's the closest thing we can find to specific "ties."
Purdue now has four spots left on its staff.
With Heacock now confirmed for the secondary, the following roles remain unfilled or, at least for us, unknown: defensive line, quarterbacks, OC, offensive line and special teams.
Asterisk: We don't know if DC Greg Hudson will coach a position. He is a linebackers coach by trade, but Freeman will fill that role. Unless Hudson is assigned to the D-line or the secondary is divided between him and Heacock, then our assumption is that he'll serve as a walk-around coordinator.
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1/13 7:53 PM | IP: Logged
Thanks for the update Brian!
1/13 10:06 PM | IP: Logged
Any OC that can win games and a Superbowl with a QB crew of Redman, Boller, Grbac, Dilfer, Banks, Mitchell, and Stoney Case is fine by me. Also has two Super Bowl rings as a player
I read Jim Bollman is the new Offensive Line coach
1/13 11:28 PM | IP: Logged
That would be great!
1/14 12:18 AM | IP: Logged
Originally posted by BishopBoiler: That would be great!
Agreed, would also make a ton of sense, so long as he isn't demanding the offensive coordinator position as well (unless as Brian states, Hazell takes over a lot of the OC duties).
1/14 12:30 AM | IP: Logged
Purdue's potentially targeting an NFL OC. That would certainly make some ripples in the pond if they could get Cavanaugh away from the Jets.
Had a thought on a potential D-Line coach. Terrill Williams. The Raiders aren't the most stable place to be and with the tragedy with his son last year, sometimes a change of scenery would be beneficial. Obviously, he knows what it's like to be at Purdue and has coached alongside Heacock at Youngstown State, so there's some familiarity with the new staff.
One of the things I remember about Williams was that he was in the middle of recruiting Gaston to Purdue when he left for TAMU yet got on the phone with Gaston and told him why he should stay committed to Purdue. Class act IMHKO.
1/14 1:10 AM | IP: Logged
Would be AWESOME to get Terrill Williams back to Purdue. However as was reported by GBI when he left for A&M...it's only a matter of time before he goes to the NFL. That was always his dream job. Now I guess it's possible he's changed his mind, but I would be shocked if he wanted to leave the NFL now. Always worth a call, but would seem to be a extreme longshot to get him back as a position coach.
1/14 2:14 AM | IP: Logged
Cavanaugh was already fired by the Jets. Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez tend to make QB Coaches and OCs look bad in the NFL. Tony Sparano will get fired soon enough by the Jets.
1/14 5:53 AM | IP: Logged
Sparano was fired last week.
1/14 7:26 AM | IP: Logged
Cristobal as a position coach would have been an amazing hire. Just a few years ago I would have liked him for our head coach.
1/14 8:37 AM | IP: Logged
Appreciate the update and certainly respect the notion that the HC should build his own staff finding the individuals that will work best for him, the envisioned system, and maintain Purdue values. The near term issue is recruiting and our Boilers are WAY BEHIND (and have been for four or five years). The HC is going to have to hit the road himself as he may be the only one who can speak with credibility to the few quality players who have not already verballed.
1/14 8:53 AM | IP: Logged
Hers's my two cents on Cavanaugh... I can tell you Cavanaugh was pushed out of Pitt by the administration due to the lack of productivity (or more to the point, the boring nature) of the Pitt offense. Now, he never had a solid QB and Wannstadt being Wannstadt, ran a pretty conservative offense (which was even more conservative without a decent QB).
His offesnes (as a cordinator) weren't very good in Chicago or San Fran. Where he has had huge success is as a QB coach.
I agree that getting him will help recruiting and would be a boost to Purdue but I do worry that over time, he would be really conservative running an offense. He is a run first, pass 2nd guy... always has been no matter where he's been.
Just my thoughts.
1/14 10:13 AM | IP: Logged
Originally posted by MonvalleyJ:
Hers's my two cents on Cavanaugh... I can tell you Cavanaugh was pushed out of Pitt by the administration due to the lack of productivity (or more to the point, the boring nature) of the Pitt offense. Now, he never had a solid QB and Wannstadt being Wannstadt, ran a pretty conservative offense (which was even more conservative without a decent QB).
His offesnes (as a cordinator) weren't very good in Chicago or San Fran. Where he has had huge success is as a QB coach.
I agree that getting him will help recruiting and would be a boost to Purdue but I do worry that over time, he would be really conservative running an offense. He is a run first, pass 2nd guy... always has been no matter where he's been.
Just my thoughts.
My only thoughts about his play calling due with the players he had to work with. As i stated above, his QB's for the most part were Kyle Boller, Chris Redman, Tony Banks, Anthony Wright, and a Superbowl with Trent Dilfer. The receiving corp was worse: Marcus Roberson, Quadry Ismal, Kevin Johnson, Travis Taylor, Clarence Moore, Germaine Lewsi, and Brandon Stokely. His tight ends were his best weapons (Sharpe and Heap), but running backs duing those times were Priest Holmes and Jamal Lewis. So it seems to me that his personal favored a run first type offensive plan.
1/14 11:17 AM | IP: Logged
I'm thinking Hazell might be the OC, why pay that money to someone else when he's planning on calling the plays himself. That would enable him to pay the position coaches more and be able to keep them unless they can get a coordinators job at a BCS school.
1/14 11:50 PM | IP: Logged
That's the way Kelly operates in Eugene, though the QB coach is described as the OC.
1/15 9:36 AM | IP: Logged
Looks like Hazell is in Ga today the PU jet (N400PU) went to Atlanta early this morning and is still there.
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We have confirmed that Heacock will coach the secondary, not the defensive line. He's done both in his career but will coach defensive backs for Purdue.