- Florida OC Steve Addazio was successful at Florida, but can he replicate his offensive ingenuity as a head coach at Temple?
Temple made a bold move with the hiring of Steve Addazio, but is he the right man for the job? There is no question that Addazio has good pedigree and brings unparalleled coaching experience to Temple; however, Temple fans better be patient, because it’s a lot easier to accomplish great things when you are backed by a school rich in football history that budgets for success.
While at Florida, Addazio was an exceptional recruiter reeling in top talent throughout the country year after year. But it’s a heck of a lot easier to sell sunny Florida than the mean streets of Philadelphia. Addazio has to compete against some top programs, namely Penn State. Also in the wings are Pittsburgh and Rutgers. These three programs undoubtedly will take players away from Addazio. Sure he can flash his SEC hardware, but in the MAC, that doesn’t really mean much.
Addazio’s challenge is tempered with his Northeast roots. After all, he was an assistant at Syracuse (1995-1998) and he coached at Indiana and Notre Dame (1999-2001). However, in his 15 plus years of coaching, he was never a head coach (outside of Connecticut’s Cheshire High School where he was 61-12-2 with 3 Class L titles) so this will be a new experience for him.
Unfortunately, Addazio’s name is scarred in the Sunshine State full of criticism for his lack of productivity which may follow him to Temple. Fans were calling for his head because of the Gators offensive flaws and poor play calling. As Addazio moved up the coaching ladder, the team’s offense sputtered. The final straw was when Florida announced Texas’ Will Muschamp as Meyer’s replacement. Addazio had no choice but to pack his bags and Temple came calling at the perfect time.
It’s going to be tough to replace Al Golden. He returned Temple football to relevance. He took a program that was 3-31 the three seasons prior to his arrival, and turned it around to win 26 games in the past four years and 17 wins in the last two seasons. His tremendous success afforded him the opportunity to coach at the University of Miami.
Under the circumstances, the Owls didn’t have a lot of options so they nabbed Addazio when the window opened. Just like Golden, coaches go to Temple to garner experience and then move on. Addazio will hang around Temple (he agreed to a 5 year deal) until the greener pastures of the SEC or Big 10 come calling. But while Addazio is an Owl, fans are certainly in for a treat. It just may take some time, so be patient.
Addazio is officially going to be named the head coach later this week, but he will continue to coach at Florida until the conclusion of the Outback Bowl featuring two head coaches who may be coaching in their final game.
