Friday, October 18, 2019

Rutgers and Addazio would be good for each other

I know this sounds like me pushing a used car, but I really think Rutgers should pursue Steve Addazio and that the BC coach should seriously consider going to the Big Ten doormat.

If you believe the coaching gossip, Rutgers is considering a run at Joe Moorhead. There is some boldness in poaching an SEC coach with a buyout, but it also makes sense. Rutgers has hired a lot of coordinators and assistants in the past and the only one to succeed was Greg Schiano. A more established coach with northeast ties is a different approach and might be less risky. Moorhead fits that bill...and so does Addazio. Yet Addazio might be even less risky than Moorhead. Moorhead rebuilt Fordham but hasn't done a rebuild at the P5 level. He also doesn't have as much experience as a head coach at the P5 level. While Addazio might not have the same upside as Moorhead, producing consistent seven win seasons would be welcome at Rutgers.

Why would Addazio want to leave BC? Well, even if he turns this season around, there is a certain stagnation to his tenure. Maybe he survives this year and maybe he takes things to the next level, but the reality is he is more likely done all he can at BC. And the next losing season he has will probably be his last one as a head coach. Going to Rutgers probably buys him another three to five years as a head coach. There is very little downside for Addazio. He gets more money. He gets a fresh start yet can apply much of what he has done at BC and Temple. If he fails, no one holds it against him (everyone fails at Rutgers). If he wins at all, his legacy will be that of a program builder and a guy who stabilized programs.

BC has seen this sort of thing before with TOB's move to NC State. That was a win-win as BC got a shot in the arm with a new coach, and TOB got six more years of coaching that he wouldn't have ever had at BC. Did he change his legacy or NC State's place in college football? No, but he didn't hurt his image or his bank account either.

If this marriage is going to come together, Addazio will have to get to .500. BC hired him off of a losing season at Temple. I doubt Rutgers would do the same.

The fact that Addazio's name has not been floated means this is unlikely to happen, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't. Maybe six weeks from now both sides will realize that they belong together.

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