Friday, February 05, 2016

Post Signing Day staff shakeup

Todd Fitch and Ben Albert are gone. Paul Pasqualoni and Rich Gunnell are on board. With the announcement coming just a day and a half after Signing Day, you have to infer that all of this has been in the works for a while. As soon as Addazio demoted Fitch, there were rumblings he was unhappy. Despite his shortcomings as an OC, Fitch was a very good recruiter, so it was important for him to stay on until all LOIs were signed.

I am not sure why BC waited on Albert. Like Fitch, there was gossip he would be gone for weeks. Unlike Fitch, he wasn't critical to recruiting.

In their places come two familiar names. Paul Pasqualoni gave Addazio his first big break in college and has served as a long-time mentor. Hopefully he can help Addazio through this rough stretch. He's overqualified as a Defensive Line coach and should be a good local recruiter. Rich Gunnell will now be Wide Receivers coach. Since wrapping up his playing career, Gunnell spent time as a GA at BC, a DLine coach at Tufts and a Head Coach in High School. He's an unknown at this level. But the staff needs youth and someone who can connect with recruits.

The school also announced that Ricky Brown will be a recruiting coordinator/quality control coach. This is more administrative and does not count towards the NCAA ten staffer limit. I am sure Brown will be helpful, but he will not be on the road recruiting and has some limitations with player interactions.

All in all, I think Addazio upgraded. He removed an underperforming recruiter, added some youth and added a mentor/game manager. Maybe 3-9 was the turning point.

20 comments:

Kash86 said...

Completely agree. Net/net today was a major positive. Fitch will be missed for his presence in Florida, but Brian White can assume that role.

Again, as had been said countless times, the position coach role is primarily about recruiting. You get the chance to bring in a 30 year old, black, BCFB alum with NFL playing experience, its a no brainer

EL MIZ said...

agree with prior posts - i think the coaching changes are all in all a step forward for BC. losing Brown was inevitable given the year we had. to bring back two alum is really good for the school going forward.

Brown is from Cincinnati, so he brings his contacts from the great state of Ohio. also, he was the "Defensive Administrative Assistant" last year for Southern Cal, so maybe he made some contacts in that part of the country. i am sure there are some good catholic HS football programs there that we could find a scholarship player or two at every season.

i like that Washington is going to DL, that's where he played and that always seemed like the most logical place for him to coach. he gets to essentially train under Pasqualoni.

i have the coaching staff as follows:

HC : Addazio
OC/QB: Loeffler
OL: Frye ("run game coordinator" whatever that means)
RB: White (recruiting focused on FL)
WR: Gunnell (from NJ, wonder if he'll focus there)
TE: Leonard (assistant HC)

DC/LB: Reid
DL: Pasqualoni (New England?)
DL/ST: Washington (seems to be focused in GA and FL)
DB: Campinile (recruiting focused in NJ)

Recruiting specialist: Ricky Brown (presumably will focus in OH)

also, former player Tymeer Brown is now a Grad Assistant according to BC's roster.

Unknown said...
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Hoib said...

Big fan of Gunnel, he has plenty to teach these receivers about, maybe he can take Robinson under his wing and make a productive player out of him. Loved the way he took on that jerk Clawson. We need that kind of attitude around here.

mod34b said...
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mod34b said...
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CT said...
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EL MIZ said...

Mod34B - Pasqualoni was a DL coach in the NFL for the past 2 seasons. now he is the DL coach at BC. i'd agree with you if he had been out of football for a while or something, but we found a position coach from the NFL to coach the same position at BC. i'd say all in all that's a win.

CT said...

Slow down on the gin.

mod34b said...
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Hoib said...

Let's see how Pasqualoni does before we write him off. The same criticisms that are being directed towards him were also made about Wade Phillips. Old, canned as Dallas DC, well his D is #1, and the primary reason his team is in the Super Bowl. Allot of ageism on the board, you'll be old some day too.

mod34b said...
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EL MIZ said...

Come on Mod, for someone who must spend hours digging up stats on where BC ranks compared to the ACC, P5 and all of D1, a quick google search would reveal some facts re: our new DL coach.

Pasqualoni was not fired by the Chicago Bears - "He most recently was the defensive line coach in Chicago. The Bears fired several coaches last week after John Fox was hired to be the new coach, but Pasqualoni was not among them."

http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootball/index.ssf/2015/01/houston_texans_hired_ex-syracuse_coach_paul_pasqualoni_to_coach_defensive_line_j.html

Pasqualoni voluntarily left the Texans, or at least thats how his departure was described two weeks ago (when presumably Addazio agreed to bring him aboard) - "According to the Houston Chronicle's John McClain, the team's defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni resigned to move back eastward closer to his family."

http://hou.247sports.com/Bolt/Houston-Texans-searching-for-new-defensive-line-coach-43024786

i like two things about the Pasqualoni hiring. one, Addazio started off coaching for PP at West Connecticut, then coached for him at Indiana. if anyone can get Addazio to calm the hell down on the sideline and maybe tweak his approach, i would think its his old mentor and guy he learned under. probably just wishful thinking.

second, Al Washington will be the "co" DL coach with Pasqualoni. given Pasqualoni's age, i would think this is going to be a brief stay on the staff before he decides to retire for good. i like that Al is coaching the position he played, and will be able to take that over (and maybe ultimately DC or HC) once PP is gone.

EL MIZ said...

*daz coached for PP at cuse, not indiana.

JBQ said...

@Hoib: You are right. Richie G has "fire in the belly". I remember when he took on Clausen. Gunnell was being interviewed after the game with ND. Clausen walked right up to him and interfered with the interview. Gunnell shoved him. He was also quite a receiver. Good for him. Someone higher up is making these moves. Actually, I wonder just who it is. I hope that it is Bates but I don't think so. The moves are good and stabilizing an unfortunate situation. Pasqualoni actually could have been brought in to serve as an interim coach if and when Addazio is given his walking papers.

EL MIZ said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J5A5dfDc1M

video of the Gunnell/Claussen incident.

mod34b said...
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Lenny Sienko said...

Coach P. was well known for being a hard worker at S.U.; i.e., he had a cot in his office during the season and seldom slept at home. He was an innovator with the "read option" well before others were using it.

PP is a "class act" and deserved better from Syracuse.

I expect our D-line to be prepared with PP as coach.

Knucklehead said...
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Knucklehead said...

Where are all the loser assholes saying the Board isn't committed to the football and basketball programs. Pasqualoni, Loeffler Spinelli and Heath are not cheap and show commitment far beyond anything our programs have ever seen. Tell me the last time that our programs have had assistant coaches with headcoaching experience. These hires also covered by main gripe that there are not enough eagles on the staff.

I am happy to see two successful recent grads are happy to come back. Some authentic school spirit will be useful longterm.

Now we need a QB and an offensive-line