Ex-Georgia coach Jim Donnan has played big role in shaping new Purdue co-DC

MORE: Ex-Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe offers insight on Purdue co-DC Brad Lambert | Report: Purdue tabs Brad Lambert to be co-defensive coordinator/LB coach

No coach arguably played a bigger role in kick starting the career of new Purdue co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Brad Lambert than Jim Donnan.

It was Donnan who helped Lambert get his first job in 1988 as a G.A. at Oklahoma, where Donnan was the offensive coordinator under Barry Switzer.

When Donnan got the head coaching job at Marshall in 1990, he tabbed Lambert to come along. Lambert helped the Thundering Herd win the 1992 I-AA national championship. Donnan left Marshall to take the Georgia job in 1996. And he brought Lambert with him. Donnan and Lambert beat Purdue, 28-25 in OT, in the 2000 Outback Bowl.

After Georgia and Donnan parted ways after the 2000 season, Lambert was hired by Jim Grobe at Wake Forest, where he worked from 2001-10 before becoming head coach at Charlotte from 2011-18. The last two years, Lambert was defensive coordinator at Marshall.

Donnan points out that Brohm and Lambert were head coaches in C-USA together in 2015 and 2016, when Brohm led Western Kentucky and Lambert was coach at Charlotte. They never faced each other, as Brohm left for Purdue after the 2016 season at WKU. Lambert was let go at Charlotte after the 2018 season.

GoldandBlack.com spoke to Donnan to learn more about Lambert.

GoldandBlack.com: How did you first get to know Brad?

Donnan: Brad was recommended to me when I was an assistant at Oklahoma from an acquaintance who said he wanted to get into coaching. So, I checked him out. He was a good young player at Kansas State. We didn't really have a lot of guys outside the family. So, I went and talked to (Barry) Switzer about it and we brought him in there. So, he got some good training there under Gary Gibbs (defensive coordinator) and Bobby Proctor, the secondary coach. And then when I got the Marshall job, he was actually getting ready to go up to Northern Illinois and be G.A. up there because one of our coaches, Charlie Sadler, had gotten a job at Northern Illinois. But I asked him if he wanted to come to Marshall, but I didn't have a full time job. He was a G.A. the first year and then I hired him full-time. He ended up marrying a girl from up there whose dad was a prominent high school coach in West Virginia, so he got some roots in the area. When I came to Georgia, I brought him with me and he did a terrific job, not only coaching, but recruiting a lot of good players here. When it ended at Georgia, I told (Jim) Grobe about him and he got hired at Wake.

GoldandBlack.com: What do you know about his head coaching experience at Charlotte?

Donnan: The thing about the Charlotte job, he got in there on a start-up program. He helped me win a championship at Marshall and was part of some good teams at Wake. At Charlotte, they were starting up. The school decided they wanted to move up their basketball program. So, instead of stay I-AA (FCS) they went I-A (FBS, Conference-USA) in football like in the second or third year, which is unheard of when you hadn't really built up any numbers. He had to start that thing from scratch, build a stadium, buy equipment, do everything. His record (22-48) isn't that great, but really anybody would have the same problem. I'm not being defensive, I'm just speaking reality. He ended up leaving them some really good players. The year after he left, they went to a bowl game (Bahamas). He's a really good coach, a good person. I think Brad developed a relationship with (Brohm) in those (C-USA) meetings and stuff, and then he went after him as a defensive coach.

GoldandBlack.com: What is his defensive style?

Donnan: He basically runs a four-man front most of the time. But everybody nowadays runs some form of a nickel defense. You got to have that hybrid guy, the extra guy, to play the slot. So, it's either gonna be three-men front or four-man front, but you got to be able to play the nickel pretty much every down.

GoldandBlack.com: Have you stayed in touch with Brad?

Donnan: Yes, particularly here in this last couple weeks because he was in the mix for that Marshall job. I was trying to help him talk to some of my old people up there. He was close. I think they got their eyes in the stars with a new president. (Alabama RB coach Charles Huff was hired.)

GoldandBlack.com: Describe his personality.

Donnan: First of all, he's the guy that can walk in any room, whether it's a football room or board room or golf course or whatever it might be, just a very congenial guy that's very genuine. He’s somebody who you would like to be your friend, and your coach. Very calm, but he can get after you, you know, he will definitely do that. He’s really a strict disciplinarian and very technique oriented-coach. He’s a good teacher of the game. I said this to somebody a couple weeks ago: Of all the assistant coaches I have had, he’s in the top three. Just really an outstanding coach.

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