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The Man Of Steel

Western Michigan\'s Gary Darnell has forged the broncos into a team on the rise
by: Jeff Case
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Back then, Gary Darnell couldn't help but feel like Superman. Darnell, then Kansas State' defensive coordinator, had just helped fly K-State to a new plateau in football success.

Darnell's the current coach of the Western Michigan University Broncos, who in just three seasons at WMU has put together three-straight winning seasons, compiled a 22-12 record and guided the Broncos to a Western Division title in the Mid-American Conference and the MAC championship game. He's seen attendance increase almost three-fold, and directed the renovation of the football facilities to the top of the MAC . But it was a fast start at Kansas State as a young coach that had Darnell thinking he was immune to a let down.

In 1982, the Kansas State Wildcats earned their first bowl game berth in 86 years. Although K-State lost to Wisconsin 14-3 in the Independence Bowl that winter, Darnell couldn't help but think the five years he'd spent at Kansas State had made him bulletproof.

"I was 32 years old and we had taken K-State to it's first bowl game and basically turned a corner on a losing program," said Darnell, who saw K-State go 13-31 from 1978-81 in his first four seasons at K-State, before watching the Wildcats post a 6-5 record in 1982 for the team's first winning season in 12 years.

"I thought I was virtually bulletproof. If we could do what we did as a staff at Kansas State, I could be safe as a coach just about anywhere. I was full of confidence and knew if it was possible there, I could have that kind of program somewhere."

Darnell had reason to believe he was surrounded by success. Among the coaches in that K-State stable of the early 1980s were several future head coaches, including Georgia's Jim Donnan, TCU's Dennis Franchione North Texas' Darell Dickey, Wyoming's Vic Koenning and James Madison's Mickey Matthews.

Soon after the 1982 season, Darnell's phone began to ring, with Division I-AA Tennessee Tech asking for him to replace long time Golden Eagle coach Don Wade. Unlike the situation at Kansas State, Tennessee Tech had enjoyed success during Wade's 15-year tenure, winning Ohio Valley Conference titles in 1960, '61 and '72.

"I had never heard of Tennessee Tech when they called me," Darnell said. "It was a whirlwind process. They called me on Sunday, my wife and I flew to the school on Monday, got back on Tuesday, they made me the offer and on Thursday I had a press conference."

The overnight wooing of Darnell left some things about the Golden Eagle program vague, Darnell said. Fund raising techniques to help the program were hardly discussed, he said, but it was when Darnell asked to see the team's weight room facilities that he learned a valuable lesson for his future.

"If I ever write a book, it's going to be called Ask to See the Weight Room," Darnell says joking, "They didn't have a coach's office when I went on the interview. The coaches' offices were in the locker room. I asked to see the weight room, but the athletic department official fumbled with the keys and said he didn't have the right ones and he'd get back to me.

"I later found out there was no weight room, so I learned that when you take a job, you have to dig into it, find out all you can before you sign on the dotted line."

As he dug into the Tech program, Darnell soon realized he was digging to nowhere. Tech officials had just raised the school's entrance requirements and were pursuing the top 10 percent of high school graduating classes, Darnell said. In addition, the Eagles had just moved into Division I-AA and had made athletic budget cuts.

Despite the odds against him, Darnell was willing to jump in and expected to see results from his hard work in five years. To help raise money for his recruiting budget, Darnell organized events to find money and got Tech alumni to financially support building the team a weight room.

"I'd invite about 12 to 25 people to the local country club where I was a member and I'd tell them what we needed," Darnell said.

"I thought coaching there was great, but one of the things that derailed my plan was the recruiting budget. When you have to raise the budget, you have to be able to win some [games] to get people enthusiastic about the program. I felt like once we got the winning going, it would all fall into place."

But with just three wins in the three seasons at Tennessee Tech, Darnell resigned from his post with the Golden Eagles and moved on to Wake Forest, where he went back to a familiar role of serving as an assistant. After spending the 1986-87 seasons as the Demon Deacons' defensive coordinator, Darnell found himself at the University of Florida, serving as defensive coordinator.

Darnell also assumed head coaching duties for the Gators after then-coach Galen Hall was forced to resign due to an NCAA investigation into the UF program.

Darnell guided the Gators to a 3-4 record in 1989, but was replaced by Duke coach Steve Spurrier. While Darnell was happy to move to Notre Dame as the Irish's defensive coordinator, where he spent 1990-91, seeing coaches such as Spurrier earn head coaching jobs before him was frustrating to Darnell.

Darnell said he had often been tagged with the title of a defensive coach and with programs looking for offensive fireworks instead of fourth-down stops, he was often on the outside of coaching opportunities.

"It was frustrating seeing other coaches get jobs ahead of me. But my frustration was not having time or taking the time to do the things to get a job profile-wise. I felt jobs would always come to me. I've never gotten a job I've applied for, but I've coached at 10 schools. If I go after a job, then I'm not doing the job where I'm at."

Darnell did the job at Notre Dame, helping the Irish defense hold Colorado to nine points in the 1991 Orange Bowl. Colorado defeated Notre Dame 10-9 to lock up a share of the national title, but not without a fight the Irish committed five turnovers, yet stayed in the game with a tenacious defensive effort.

From the disappointing loss, Darnell accepted a job with John Mackovic and spent five seasons at Texas, helping the Longhorns to the inaugural Big 12 title in 1996. Shortly after that game, Darnell would find the coaching job he had been waiting for: one where he felt comfortable being the coach.

"In the years after resigning from Tennessee Tech, I had a few opportunities to be a head coach," Darnell said. "But I wanted to make certain if I did it again, I had to have the financial and philosophical commitment I needed from the administration."

Commitment came calling in the form of a Bronco. In 1997, then-Western Michigan University athletic director Jim Weaver called a friend to fill a coaching vacancy at WMU. The Al Molde era had come to an end at WMU after nine seasons and Weaver called Darnell, whom Weaver had worked with while serving as the Gators' associate athletic director for nine years.

"I thought he was the right person and he has had been at quality academic institutions and is committed to athletic and academic excellence," said Weaver, who now serves as Virginia Tech's director of athletics. "He understands what it takes to rebuild programs based on his work at Wake Forest and Kansas State. I knew he would create a program where winning would be the theme."

Much to Weaver's delight, Darnell plunged into the WMU job and has been happy ever since. The Broncos have gone 8-3, 7-4 and 7-5 under Darnell, including a nail-biting 34-30 loss to No. 10 Marshall in last season's MAC title game on ESPN.

Despite missing out on a Motor City Bowl berth that would have come by winning the MAC title game, Darnell's success isn't going unnoticed. His 1997 team was voted the Most Improved Team in America by the NCAA and he coached the MAC's 1997 Freshman of the Year, Robert Sanford. Most importantly, Saturday nights at the Kalamazoo-based school are becoming the place to be.

The Broncos set school-records in season ticket sales (4,100) and attendance average in 1999 (26,874) thanks to a style of high-powered, heart-and-hustle football Darnell has instilled in his team.

"We made attendance one of our team goals," he said. "Everything starts with the players. People don't want to come out to watch a bunch of slugs. If you play lazy, you have only yourself to blame for low turnouts.

"If you want people to come, you have to play in a manner that makes them want to come out and see you. People like wins, but they recognize and appreciate effort. So we will always make our team responsible, in both the way we play and the way we conduct ourselves on and off the field."

On the field, WMU has made every effort to show it wants to improve. A vicious non-conference schedule has been the trademark of the Darnell era, including a 55-26 loss to UF last season in Gainesville, Fla. WMU's loss did wonders for the Bronco program, as former quarterback Tim Lester passed for more than 400 yards for the 6th best total ever against UF.

WMU will have two more chances for big time recognition thanks to a 2000 non-conference schedule featuring a game in Madison, Wis., against two-time Rose Bowl Champion Wisconsin and a game in Iowa City, Iowa against the Hawkeyes.

The prospect of leading a team such as Western Michigan to new ground, including to its first MAC title and bowl game since 1988, is keeping Darnell motivated. After seeing the fruits of hard work pay off at Kansas State by turning the Wildcats' around, Darnell can't wait to relive those feelings at WMU.

"When I was at Texas, when you'd win a title, it was just another title for them," Darnell said. "They had a standard title ring and it had a standard shape, they just changed what it said each year. But when you take someone who hasn't played in a bowl game or played this kind of schedule we're playing and win, it can't get more rewarding than that."

As for his failures at Tennessee Tech, many in the industry believe Darnell might as well have coached the Eagles in the 1880s instead of the 1980s. Known to those whom he worked with as a players' coach and problem solver, Darnell's former colleagues are not surprised the man with the will of steel has survived.

"I've been pleased with his success and followed him closely and been up there to visit him," said John Mackovic, who served as Texas' head coach from 1992-97. "Western Michigan is fortunate to have him and he learned from his experiences at Tennessee Tech and went on to coach at strong programs. He has enthusiasm and a coach without that isn't much of a coach."

Weaver, who also has closely followed Darnell's success, says Tennessee Tech was "almost 20 years ago and you have to look at the environment and level he was at. I'm not sure the commitment was as present at Tennessee Tech as it is at Western Michigan."

Next season could be WMU's breakout year in the MAC. Marshall is depleted, losing star QB Chad Pennington to the NFL and returning only 12 starters from last year's 13-0 Thundering Herd squad. Although Toledo and Akron are also considered top contenders for the MAC crown, Darnell isn't spending his time worrying about the Joneses in the MAC.

"Once you get into that bowl, there's no limit for your program," Darnell said. "If we had been in any other conference the last three years, we'd have been in three bowls because we've been bowl eligible. If we can win the MAC, it changes everything for us. We haven't scratched the surface yet and there's still more things to be seen."

While Darnell no longer considers himself a bulletproof man, he knows the shots he took early in his career at Tennessee Tech have healed. The wounds may have healed for Darnell, but the scars serve as an ever-present reminder to him.
Gary Darnell

Darnell... in just three seasons at WMU, has put together three-straight winning seasons, compiled a 22-12 record, guided the Broncos to the Western Division title in the Mid-American Conference...

"Be The Leader"
Tips For Building A Successful College Program

by Gary Darnell

It's that time of year. Time for the hundreds of people who make up your football program ­ the players, trainers, coaches, support staff, business and logistical managers, key advisors and boosters ­ to help make good on "your" promise to the community that this will be a successful season.

For every person who has high expectations, it seems, there are butterflies in their stomachs. What other profession in the world ­ save the general who must send his troops into battle ­ is more results-driven than a coach? Every game day, we put it on the line.

To prepare for this season, I went on a personal retreat hoping to find the inspiration to take our program at Western Michigan University to the "next level." That inspiration came from a lot of personal reflection about working 30 years in this business. Over that length of time, you come to understand and appreciate the role that every person in the program plays in an organization's success.

As the people in our program assemble in the coming weeks, we all will know our mission and our responsibilities. As the head coach, I accept the responsibility of leadership and what that means to the team, the school and the community. As I have in my first three seasons here, I am fully intent on keeping my pledge to build this program. It means driving a dream that includes winning football and an improved image of Western Michigan University within a strong community.

Last summer, I ventured outside the ranks of coaching ­ business, government and the military ­ to look at models of success.

I had the fortune to hear Army Gen. H. Norman Schwartzkopf talk about leadership. Gen. Schwartzkopf won the affection of the American public as commander of Operation Desert Storm. Like a much-traveled coaching assistant, Schwartzkopf served his country in Grenada, Europe and all over the United States. He took two separate tours of duty in Vietnam and was wounded twice. Without a hint that he would ever be a decorated celebrity, he was known in the profession as a man of character who fearlessly and repeatedly put his life on the line. His hero was Civil War-era Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, not only because of Grant's accomplishments, but also because Grant was what Schwartzkopf calls "a dirty boot soldier."

The title of Schwartzkopf's best-selling book, It Doesn't Take a Hero,is built upon the premise that it's the collective effort of the troops, not the commander, which spells victory. Assembling an army, after all, is a mediocre accomplishment. Leading the troops to victory is another matter entirely. I was particularly struck with what Schwartzkopf feels is the essence of leadership: "getting people to do willingly what they would ordinarily not do."

That begins with tremendous empathy for the troops and the commanding officers that have specific responsibilities. Whether it's a supply lieutenant, a plant manager or a line coach, a team player provides a vital link between performance and the mission. Those of us who spent a fair amount of time on the front lines feel we have a special understanding of how the parts make up the whole.

So, when we as coaches are given the chance to build a program, we have to rise above the fundamental mechanics of the program. We have to gain a greater appreciation for the challenge of leadership. We meet the challenge of getting people to do willingly what they would not ordinarily do by making it clear to individuals that their actions will not only make a difference, but will also be noticed. That raises the level of importance of individual actions, and THAT improves performance.

And, if leadership has a pivotal point, it is performance. The common characteristic of unsuccessful coache is that they wait for things to happen. Successful coaches drive performance through the take-charge actions of leadership. As the head coach, you have an obligation to reach into the organization and even into the community to make it clear that your program is not just about playing 11 games in the fall. It's about defining success through inspired actions, competition, character and drive. It's about emotion that can only come through teamwork.

Your athletes inspire their friends, classmates and supporters. Your teams inspire communities. Colleges and universities are centers of excellence to begin with. It's no coincidence that great universities have great sports teams. And it's no coincidence that the quality of life and economic performance of college towns are rated higher than in communities without colleges and universities. If you're having lunch with the president of the chamber of commerce (and as a coach who makes things happen, I assume you will), tell him or her that your program can be a magnet for success.

In many ways, the coaching community has the best of both worlds. In addition to our kinship with one another, we are able to enjoy an immediate acceptance into our respective cities when we take new coaching jobs. In addition to those benefits, my wife Sandra and I have developed long-lasting friendships in every corner of the country, something that makes our travels more interesting.

Three years ago it was our good fortune to come to Kalamazoo, Mich., and it has proved to provide us with a lesson in leadership. We came to Kalamazoo at a time when the two dominant corporate forces removed their headquarters from the community. It was a time of great concern, a time when people felt a sense of loss, despite the presence of tremendous cultural institutions and other strong businesses.

The timing revealed to us the opportunity for a football program to re-capture the imagination of a community. We learned anew that the networking and camaraderie associated with college football, the grandeur and enthusiasm of game day, and the linkage between the campus and neighborhoods provide a community spirit that little else has the potential to inspire.

We were blessed by generous alumni and corporate helpers to enable us to build great facilities. We were fortunate to have a business community that created new programs and sponsorships for us. We were thrilled to have fans that broke conference attendance records, not once, but three times. And we were amazed how one success could lead to another. For instance, those great facilities have helped us in recruiting.

While someone originally suggested that Kalamazoo is in the "Bermuda Triangle" of college football ­ that is, within a short drive of Notre Dame, Michigan and Michigan State ­ we have created our own triangle of support ­ Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Grand Rapids ­ to bring pride and hope to our school.

Because our program and university is starting to make waves on the Division I scene, I was asked to share some lessons of how we've come this far.

It's pretty simple, really. We brought with us the lessons we learned at the hands of the fine coaches we've worked for: take charge, do what's right, accept responsibility, communicate clearly, promote teamwork, create a vision, demonstrate confidence, share your knowledge and experience with those who are now doing what you did 10 years ago, trust others, respect others. Most of all, do your job.

To young assistants and coordinators who are getting their first shot at building a program, I would offer the idea that there is a lot more swirling around college ball than what you might have seen from the sidelines. The people who put you in charge are expecting you to think big and perform big. That means incorporating the important lessons of leadership into your personal game plan.






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