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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Schutt Sports College Coaches of the Year

by: Patrick Finley
Photography by Jim Robinette
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Joe Taylor
Hampton

Joe Taylor made a decision last off-season that helped lift his Pirates to the Div. I-AA playoffs. During his regular off-season evaluations – which involves looking at every play of every game, interviewing coaches and writing a letter to his players – Taylor realized his defense needed to change.

“You must look at this as a business,” said Taylor, whose team finished the regular season ranked No. 2 and lost to Richmond in the first round of the playoffs. “If you’re going to be successful, you make to make an assessment in where you are in the program. If you look and see you need to make some adjustments.”

That adjustment, Taylor decided, was to convert to a 3-4 defense. Hampton had athletic linebackers and defensive guards who were quick enough to play defensive end. He also had a new defensive coordinator, former NFL player Jerry Holmes. Holmes, the linebackers coach the season before, played 12 seasons as a pro cornerback and five seasons as a defensive backs coach in the NFL. Holmes had spent time with the New England Patriots coaching staff, and knew the ins and outs of the trendy 3-4.

“This is a copycat profession; you don’t re-invent the wheel,” Taylor said. “When you see a team like New England win three or four championships, that’s what they run.”

Taylor loved the idea of getting better athletes on the field. It paid off – linebacker Justin Durant finished third in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the best defensive player in Div. I-AA. “That’s the sign of a good coach, I think,” Taylor said. “You always look at your personnel before you decide what to do. It came down to the kind of personnel we had.”

OFFENSE: Pro-style
DEFENSE: 3-4
SPECIAL STAT: Only I-AA team to go through the regular season undefeated (11-0)


Chuck Martin
Grand Valley State

Chuck Martin didn’t just stress chemistry this season, he talked openly about it – at every practice, meeting and before every game. The Grand Valley State coach knew he had the talent to be successful; entering this season, GVSU had won two Div. II National Championships in three years. His incoming senior class was 38-4 in three seasons.

“We had a talented team,” Martin said. “The biggest thing we did is focus on team chemistry. At the first meeting, we talked about becoming the best teammates. That was part of our game plan. We had to care about the guy in the locker next to you more than you care about the guy in your locker.”

The Lakers went 13-0, defeating Northwest Missouri State, 21-17, in the championship game. But the close finish – two GVSU players tackled Northwest Missouri’s Rapheal Robinson at the 4-yard line at the final gun – epitomized the Lakers’ season. Despite their impressive record, the Lakers were scared often during the season. The Lakers trailed in eight games, and five times in the second half.

Martin credits his team’s chemistry for giving the Lakers the strength to fight back as a team, not distracted by personal achievements. “When you’ve had success like we have, I think you’ve got to guard against it more,” he said. “A lot of kids might think, ‘We had the team success; now I’m going to worry about myself.’ That’s what creeps up in the kids’ heads – ‘Maybe it’s time to try it my way.’” Martin knew he had the skill players – the missing ingredient was chemistry. By deciding to stress it during the preseason, Martin ensured the talent didn’t go to waste. The results proved it.

OFFENSE: No-huddle shotgun spread
DEFENSE: Multiple
SPECIAL STAT: GVSU has won three of the last four D II Championships


Bob Berezowitz
Wisconsin-Whitewater

Bob Berezowitz struggles when asked if he did anything different this year, when he led his Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks to their best-ever finish. “We stuck with what we had been doing all along,” he said. “But you kinda adjust as the season goes along, based on how your personnel develops.”

For Berezowitz, that personnel told him to throw the ball more than ever. The Warhawks had as many talented receivers as Berezowitz had seen at Whitewater, as well as a stud quarterback, junior Justin Jacobs. “We would have liked to have thrown the ball more in the past, but we didn’t have enough receivers to throw the ball downfield,” Berezowitz said. “The offense is based more on what our receivers and quarterback can do. It helped balance us a little bit.”

By having a passing threat, the Warhawks were able to run the ball with aplomb. Replacing their leading rusher from the previous season – who had to retire because of concussions – the Warhawks never missed a beat on the ground. Sophomore halfback Justin Beaver led Div. III in rushing with 2,295 yards and 23 touchdowns. The Warhawks advanced to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, losing the championship game to Mount Union, 35-28. The Warhawks defeated the previous two Div. III champs, Linfield and St. John’s, in the playoffs.

Wisconsin-Whitewater finished 14-1, surpassing the school’s previous wins record of 10. The Warhawks set school records for touchdowns, points, first downs, total yards, pass completions, passing yards and rushing yards.

“You’re only as good as what the players understand,” he said. “We try to adjust to the players and their talents and what they can do.”

OFFENSE: Multiple.
DEFENSE: 4-3, mostly zone coverage.
SPECIAL STAT: Halfback Justin Beaver ran for a D III record 2,295 yards


Patrick Donley
Saint Francis (IN)

Kevin Donley’s St. Francis (IN) football team needed some motivation over the summer. For the NAIA school, a Division I-AA opponent provided just that. The spark led the Cougars to a 13-1 record, their only loss coming in the national championship game to Carroll (MT) College.

Donley was looking for a larger school to play at the beginning of the season, figuring his team needed something to focus on over the summer. He booked a game against Div. I-AA Indiana State.

“That was something that was really good for our team motivation,” said Donley, whose team went 13-1 and lost to Carroll in 2004, too. “We got stronger than ever, because we had early-season motivation. We knew we were going to be challenged the first game of the year by an opponent that we probably shouldn’t beat. We had a lot of kids stay and work out through the summer months. When camp started, that’s when the chemistry really came together.”

Then came the unthinkable – the Cougars, playing a fully-funded Div. I-AA team for the first time in school history, walked away with a 42-10 victory. “I thought we’d have to play a pretty much perfect game to win,” Donley said. “But that was a great start to our season. That’s what was different from the year before – it made us come together. In our case, it was a real confidence-builder. If we can handle a I-AA team like this, we’ve got a pretty good shot of getting into the championship game.”

It was also a financial boom to the school. The financial guarantee aided Donley, who also serves as the school’s AD.

“I thought it’d create a sense of urgency,” he said. “We had to get ready, fast.”

OFFENSE: Run ‘n’ Shoot
DEFENSE: 4-4
SPECIAL STAT: St. Francis has reached the NAIA title game the last two years


Joe Kersting
Glendale Community College

The most important coaching move of Glendale (AR) Community College’s season came before the games even started.

Coming off a 6-4 season in which the Gauchos were pounded with the run, head coach Joe Kersting’s staff searched the country for a way to stop the rushing attack with an undersized defense. The result was an 11-0 season, capped by a national title and a Valley of the Sun Bowl victory over Grand Rapids (MI) CC.

Defensive coordinator Mickey Bell talked to coaches at Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and the University of New Mexico about the team’s major problem – being steamrolled by larger offensive linemen.

“We’re firm believers that you’re either getting better or getting worse,” Kersting said. “The only way you get better is by working harder, and talking to other people.” The Gauchos installed a 3-3 defense, daring opposing teams to attack open areas and stunting linemen, linebackers and safeties to fill the hole.

“If we’re not going to have the size to play a traditional-type defense, the thinking was, ‘Let’s put as many talented players on the field as possible,’” Kersting said. “We had to free up linebackers and safeties so they could make plays.”

The result was Glendale’s third national championship since 1988, Kersting’s second year on the job. Kersting, who is 105-42-2 in at Glendale, credits his coaching staff for consulting with other teams before the season started. “It was really good stuff for us,” Kersting said. “That had a major impact on our success.”

OFFENSE: I-formation / 4-wide shotgun
DEFENSE: 3-3
SPECIAL STAT: Kersting has more wins (105) than any JC coach in Arizona history






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