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Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Aaron S. Lee
(800) 537-4271, ext. 329
Aug. 26, 2003

82 Coaches Make AFM's Annual 'Hot List'

Every year certain coaches separate from the pack ... and according to American Football Monthly's August 2003 issue, this year will be no exception. The football-coaching trade magazine recently named 10 coaches in each division from high school to college that it considers will make such an impact in 2003 that they will be on everyone's short list in 2004.

"These are the guys that could become the next generation of football coaching legends," said AFM managing editor Aaron S. Lee. "These coaches are perfect examples of what it takes to be a great coach. His motivation and dedication to both his job and his players are paramount."

For the past nine years, AFM’s primary goal is to showcase the nation’s top coaches at all levels. This year, an unprecedented 82 coaches from high school, junior college, NAIA, Division III, Division II, Division I-AA, Division I-A and the pros made its annual ‘Hot List.’
" Obviously, a list of this magnitude could include a vast amount of names," said Lee. "Names like Jon Gruden, Larry Coker and Bob Ladouceur are without a doubt very hot coaches right now. However, we already consider them to be very established and respected coaches in the industry. None of those names are going to sneak up on anyone. So, each year we try and showcase a handful of coaches that have the potential to become the next Frank Lenti or Frank Beamer."

The list:

DIVISION I-A
Dan Hawkins, Boise State
Gary Pinkel, Missouri
Gary Patterson, TCU
Jim Leavitt, South Florida
June Jones, Hawaii
Tyrone Nix, Southern Miss
Norm Chow, USC
Randy Shannon, Miami
Bob Elliott, Kansas State
Urban Meyer, Utah
Les Miles, Oklahoma State
Darrell Dickey, North Texas
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

DIVISION I-AA
Mike Ayers, Wofford
Dick Biddle, Colgate
Alvin Wyatt, Bethune-Cookman
Doug Williams, Grambling State
Dave Clawson, Fordham
Tommy Tate, McNeese State
Bobby Lamb, Furman
Andy Talley, Villanova
Don Brown, Northeastern
Mike Sewak, Georgia Southern
Don Patterson, Western Illinois

DIVISION II
Brian Kelly, Grand Valley State
Chris Hatcher, Valdosta State
Clint Conque, Central Arkansas
Willie Fritz, Central Missouri
Dale Lennon, North Dakota
Randy Awrey, Saginaw Valley State
Bob Nielson, Minnesota-Duluth
Bryan Collins, C.W. Post
Frankie DeBusk, Tusculum
Randy Hedberg, St. Cloud State

DIVISION III
Joe Loth, Otterbein
Kevin Ricca, Hampden-Sydney
Tim McNulty, KingÅfs Point
Mike Sirianni, Washington & Jefferson
Scott Westering, Pacific Lutheran
Joe Perella, Case Western Reserve
Matt Kelchner, Christopher Newport
Bob Colbert, Bridgewater (Va.)
Erik Raeburn, Coe College
Scott Pingel, Westminster (Mo.)

NAIA
Paul Mierkiewicz, Hastings College
Paul Troth, Missouri Valley
Bill Cronin, Georgetown
Mark Peach Campbellsville
Mike Feminis, St. Xavier
Garin Higgins, Northwestern Oklahoma State
Jeff Olson, Southern Oregon
Peter Shinnik, Azusa Pacific
Chuck Morrell, Sioux Falls
Mike Craven, St. Francis (Ind.)

JUNIOR COLLEGE
Bob MacDougall, Joliet (Ill.)
Jimmy Rieves, Kilgore (Texas)
Jeff Scurran, Pima (Arizona)
Michael White, Reedley (Calif.)
Dennis Greene, Erie (N.Y.)
Carl Beach, Chaffey (Calif.)
Chuck Lyon, College of the Canyons (Calif.)
Craig Rigsbee, Butte College (Calif.)
Scott Maxfield, Blinn (Texas)
John Rossetti, Dodge City (Kan.)

HIGH SCHOOL
Rick Darlington, Valdosta (Ga.)
Bill Blankenship, Tulsa Union (Okla.)
Rob Melosky, Parkland (Allentown, Pa.)
Tommy Knotts, Independence (Charlotte, N.C.)
Raul Lara, Long Beach Poly (Calif.)
Gordon Wood, Helix (La Mesa, Calif.)
Todd Dodge, Southlake Carroll (Texas)
Kelly Donohoe, Blue Springs (Mo.)
Dan Burke, Palm Bay (Melbourne, Fla.)
Brent Pearlman, Prospect (Mount Prospect, Ill.)

FIVE PROS TO WATCH
After 21 seasons in the NFL, Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator Monte Kiffen is becoming a household name ... Bill Parcells is back on the job, this time under Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones - this could be fun to watch ... Butch Davis is quietly building a program in Cleveland and this year the Browns' bite could be worse than their bark ... Marvin Lewis will finally get a chance to live up to the hype, but can the defensive genius take the Bengals from worst to first ... Was Oakland's Bill Callahan just that good in 2002 or was he a beneficiary of the hard work left behind by Jon Gruden in 2003 _ you decide.

FORMER HEAD COACHES THAT STILL HAVE IT (and still want to use it)
John Cooper: In the years 1995-1998, Cooper's teams helped establish OSU as one of the premier programs in America as the Buckeyes won at least ten games for four years straight. Finished with an overall record of 111-43-4 (.702) ... R.C. Slocum: Never suffered a losing season during his 14-year career at Texas A&M and finished with a record of 123-47-2, trailing only Florida State's Bobby Bowden and Penn State's Joe Paterno for the most coaching victories since 1990 ... Steve Logan: Basically put East Carolina on the map after 11 seasons with a 69-58 record, which included wins over Miami and Virginia Tech ... Bruce Snyder: Snyder took the Sun Devils within one win of the national championship in 1996, followed by three more bowl games ... Curley Hallman: Made a living by defeating SEC teams while compiling a 37-37 overall record during stints with Southern Miss and LSU ... Art Shell: still waiting to even be interviewed for a second head coaching job in the league despite a 56-41 record during his time with the Raiders. ... Dennis Green: During the 1990s, Green had one of the most successful coaching records in NFL history, with the best League record from 1992-2000 of 92-52 (.639) with the Vikings ... Woody Widenhofer: Won four Super Bowl rings after masterminding the Steel Curtain defense in Pittsburgh _ 'nuff said.

*Compiled by David Purdum, Aaron S. Lee, Richard Scott, Jamie DeMoney (The Forbes Report/PrepNation.com), Pat Coleman (d3football.com), Brandon Misener (d2football.com), Jason Dannelly (naiafootball.net) and Kevin Lustgarten (jucofootball.com).