For Gene's consideration, Part IV: NFL Assistants

Gene Defilippo’s legacy will be our move to the ACC. However, Football is our flagship sport and we are at a crossroads. The decisions Gene makes over the next few weeks are critical. No one from BC has asked for my advice, but think these are the paths we could and should follow. Regardless of which pool or path you want, I think the new head coach needs two traits.
1. Has to believe BC can win an ACC championship. Not every year but occasionally.
2. Has to respect and support BC’s belief in the student athlete. The focus on graduation predates TOB. I think we have used it as a crutch for bad losses, but I don’t want to see the philosophy trashed. Wake Forest proved you can graduate players and compete.


Some fans are worried that we will never find another coach like TOB. BS. Numerous guys can get us into the Tire Bowl every year. There are only 119 head jobs out there and thousands of assistants looking for their shot. We can find a good Head Coach. I have broken down the pools of candidate into a series of posts.

Part IV: NFL Assistants

Hiring NFL guys is tricky. They often loathe recruiting and are often only using the college job to improve their chances at a top spot in the NFL. I have no problem with this, but if BC hires an NFL guy they need to be prepared to go through the coaching search process every four or five years.

Dante Scarnecchia. Offensive Line Coach, New England Patriots.
Pros: Deep roots in New England. Respected teacher and offensive mind.
Cons: Hasn’t coached college since the 1970s. Is getting a little old.
Bottom Line: I don’t even know how interested he would be.

Mike Sullivan. Wide Receivers Coach, New York Giants.
Pros: A Couglin disciple. Has recruited at schools with academic restrictions. Also has defensive experience. Works closely with Gene’s son.
Cons: No head coaching experience. No ties to BC.
Bottom Line: I think this would be a very good hire. But most BC fans would say: “who?”

Todd Grantham. Defensive Coordinator, Cleveland Browns.
Pros: Fairly recent college experience at Virginia Tech and Michigan State. Looking for a head job at the college level.
Cons: The Browns are not playing so well lately. No ties to BC. Never recruited at a school like BC.
Bottom Line: He was supposedly set to take the Michigan State job, but something fell apart. Would he want to go down the path with BC?