Schools aim for stability with succession plans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Now that Danny Hope is Purdue’s football coach, he finally gets a chance to breathe.
Besides putting in 60 hours a week as the Boilermakers’ offensive line coach this past season, Hope also took the lead on any issue that concerned the 2009 team – from recruiting to academics.
” ’09 was always getting here in a hurry,” Hope said. “The closer you got, the fuller your plate got.”
The life of a coach-in-waiting isn’t so much waiting as it is preparing. Hope rejoined Joe Tiller’s staff a year ago knowing he would succeed Tiller at the end of the season. While coaching the line in ’08, Hope kept one eye on ’09.
“It allows you to do inventory of every phase of the program,” Hope said. “You see it from in-house. That’s one of the top benefits of being a coach-in-waiting.”
Successful tenured coaches aren’t just leaving legacies at their schools – they’re leaving successors. Florida State (Jimbo Fisher), Kentucky (Joker Phillips), Oregon (Chip Kelly) and Texas (Will Muschamp) already have announced their intentions to promote an assistant once their current coaches retire.
foxsports.com
1/28/09
