Steve Addazio

When he was hired I said Addazio would turn out to be a "rah rah" version of TOB. He never even did that. The coach deserves our thanks for rebuilding after the Spaz disaster, but we had passed the time to move on. BC can be great and can certainly be better than we've been. It is up to Martin Jarmond and our new coach to get us there.

AB is done but BC isn't

As speculated, Anthony Brown is done for the season. BC was light on specifics, only mentioning that it was leg-related and he would have surgery soon. The official announcement of the injury shifted the talk on BC twitter and message boards to whether this excuses Addazio's season and if it buys him more time. In my opinion, it does neither. And I also feel this season is salvageable.

Addazio can't blame anything that happens on Brown's injury. With Brown, BC was already floundering at 3-3. Brown provided some explosiveness, but he was hardly carrying the offense. If anything, Brown had missed his fair share of passes that could have changed outcomes. Plus, Brown has a very clear injury history. If Addazio didn't have a plan for the offense without Brown, than that is on him. Coaching college football is not just X&Os during the game. It is also managing the entire program. One of Addazio's biggest failures is his inability to develop backup QBs. Hopefully Grosel will prove the exception.

Although I called for the end of the Addazio era after the Kansas loss, I still think this team can get to six regular season wins and a bowl game. Grosel is not the second coming of Doug Flutie, but he seems serviceable. The Oline is very good and we still have playmakers. This team should still score points. I also think the remaining schedule is not that tough. NC State, Pitt, FSU and 'Cuse are winnable games. Notre Dame and Clemson will be heavy favorites, but neither are as good as they've been in the past.

The key to the remaining season is to get even marginal improvement out of the defense. The unit has been lost and sloppy for weeks. If Addazio wants to save his job, he needs to get them improved quickly.

I hope Brown recovers and continues his career. If it is under Addazio at BC, the coach is going to have to get a lot out of Grosel and improve his D starting this week.

Good and meh of Mike Bajakian

Steve Addazio finally hired his new Offensive Coordinator and it is long-time NFL and college coach Mike Bajakian. While not a household name, Bajakian checks a lot of Addazio's known boxes and also brings plenty of play-calling experience at the college level.

The Good News
There is plenty to like about the hire. Bajakian's been an OC and play caller at Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Tennessee. He's a New Jersey native who has and will continue to recruit the Garden State. He's also has recent NFL experience that Addazio wanted as he tries to modernize and make the Offense more Ram-like.

What Addazio would never say, but what I find good (but not great) is that Bajakian is remarkable consistent in his production as a play caller. His offenses have never been elite, but they've been above average and definitely more efficient that what Addazio particularly produces. Take a look at his year-by-year Offensive S&P ranking:

Tennessee 2014 -- 51st
Tennessee 2013 -- 49th
Cincinnati 2012 -- 52nd
Cincinnati 2011 -- 66th

Cincinnati 2010 -- 47th
Central Michigan 2009 -- 60th
Central Michigan 2008 -- 46th
Central Michigan 2007 -- 31st

Three different locations, conferences and rosters and he consistently put teams in the top half of College Football offenses.  

As another frame of reference, here is how those same programs did before and after Bajakian

Tennessee before Bajakian: 10th, Tennessee after Bajakian left: 45th
Cincinnati before Bajakian: 1st, Cincinnati after Bajakian left: 82nd
Central Michigan before Bajakian: 44th, Central Michigan after before Bajakian: 93rd

In general, things improved when he got there and dropped when he left.

 As another frame of reference, this has been Addazio's Offensive S&P while at BC

Loeffler 2018 -- 95th
Loeffler 2017 -- 101st
Loeffler 2016 -- 124th
Fitch 2015 -- 125th
Day 2014 -- 50th
Day 2013 -- 30th

The Meh
Bajakian is not a household name, an older time Addazio bud, or an up and comer. In fact there are no overt ties to Addazio's network. That is somewhat refreshing but also a bit scary. Will he get along with his new boss?

I also don't love that he hasn't recruited in a while. I know he has recruited before, but every year away can be like dog years. High school coaches change, technologies change, kids communicate in new ways. Bajakian seems like a bright guy, so I hope he adjusts back to recruiting quickly.

A quick social media search and touching base with my one Vol fan friend confirmed that he was well liked at Tennessee but never viewed as critical or program changing.

Final Thought
Bajakian's consistency could be very valuable to BC. If we get the Offense in the top half of college football, it will probably lead to more than seven wins. I just hope he is given free reigns and not micromanaged by his boss.

Addazio, Jarmond release statements to Globe about Smith

Addazio and Jarmond finally did the smart thing and released individual statements on Zach Smith. (It seems like the Globe was the only outlet that got the statements.) A written release was probably safer and better than making comments in front of the cameras. They say the right things without getting into the specifics of what each knew and when they knew it. It will be interesting if this is the last the two talk about it and if the national media guys start to dig into the issue and Smith's history.

Addazio not making Jarmond's first year any easier

Martin Jarmond went all in on BC's first home game. He greeted tailgaters. He worked the Mods. He supported the players on the Eagle Walk. This should have been a great day. But all his attempts at culture building are going to be overshadowed by what's happening on the field. And once again, BC lost a lopsided game at home. I am sure Jarmond knew he would have to make a decision on Addazio during his first year. I don't know if anyone could have predicted things would turn so sour, so quickly.

Addazio is full of excuses and lacking in solutions. But at this point he can't blame anyone but himself. And the more he loses, the more comparisons to his predecessor become more relevant. Spaziani's ACC record: 13-19. Addazio's ACC record: 10-23. Spaziani's overall winning percentage: .431. Addazio's overall winning percentage: .471. Addazio's next two games are against Notre Dame and Clemson. His winning percentage could slip below Spaziani's soon.

The Offensive ineptitude is Addazio's creation too. Since Ryan Day left and Addazio pridefully said BC would run "his offense," BC has gone through two offensive coordinators, three offensive philosophies, and six starting quarterbacks. In all the ACC games since Day left, Addazio's offense has only scored 21 points once. The execution is terrible and the team seems to have no answer to whatever the other team prepares.

Addazio dug out of a hole last year. This year there is less wiggle room and a new AD who is empowered and not tied to Addazio's history. I would love to see a turnaround, but I am not counting on one.

No one knows anything

I try to avoid posting too much gossip because it tends to blow up in my face as often as it is proven correct. There are a few major issues floating around message boards and Twitter that I am going to shoot down. Of course I could be wrong, but we will see.

Myth No. 1: A new Athletic Director will be in place by Christmas

This is on the Eagle Action boards. While I think that a public announcement might be made on Brad Bates within the next 30 days, there is no way BC has a new, permanent Athletic Director in place by the end of the semester. As the power structure on the Board comes together, they are not going to rush into a new A.D. decision. And the politics alone of how this all will work within the Board and the President still needs to be figured out.

Myth No. 2: the A.D. uncertainty buys Addazio more time

As I have been saying all along, Addazio's status is completely independent of Brad Bates' status. Bates can't save him and the idea of letting the next A.D. decide was not a factor. If Leahy and the Board feel he needs to be fired after Wake, they will fire him.

Myth No. 3: the Wake game does not impact Addazio's fate

If he gets to six wins, he is safe. If BC gets blown out (by 20 or more points), he is toast. The real grey area is a close loss that finishes the season at 5-7 and in a bowl. Addazio was told he had to win six games this year. Five wins clearly isn't six. But I think the bowl game might be a bit of a lifeline and I think the new Board involvement repesents the unknown. Will they say "he didn't win six, he's out" or will there be some backpedaling on the win total? No one knows. I don't. Message board posters don't. People on Twitter do not.

A midseason firing wouldn't make sense for BC

If Syracuse hangs 50 on BC Saturday, you will hear people calling for Addazio's head. There is speculation that he could even be fired midseason. To me that would be a huge mistake.

A midseason change hurts recruiting
One thing Addazio is still doing relatively well is recruiting. If he is fired now, it becomes open season on our current verbals and our roster for transfers. If we fire Addazio in November after the Wake game, the window in which to pick apart our recruiting class becomes that much smaller.

An interim mess
Every once in a while an interim coach takes his program to the next level. Dabo Swinney is the most prominent example. But more often the interim is given the job in an emotional move and things don't get better. I don't know who would be the interim. The logical candidate is Paul Pasqualoni, but sometimes schools go with the popular position coach (like Ed Orgeron). Would that be Al Washington? Or maybe one of the coordinators? I don't know. As much as it would be nice to give a young BC grad like Washington a professional bump in this process, I don't want BC making a rash decision.

The message it sends to BC fans
Brad Bates is the lamest of lame ducks, but if Addazio is fired midseason, it will seem like he made the call. The call is above Bates head now. Given our history, I don't expect BC to get a nuanced message to the media about how the process came about. That inturn would just make our current fans think BC remains chaotic and without a plan.

I hope this doesn't become an issue. Let's go beat Syracuse and judge Addazio on the whole season. Things will get better, so let's not make them worse.

Looking at Bates' football hires while at Miami (OH)

Hiring is tough in any profession. It is even tougher in sports because your hires are so public, as are the results. Even the best Athletic Directors like Louisville Tom Jurich or Florida's Jeremy Foley get it wrong sometimes. Also you can have a good process and hire the wrong coach or have a bad process and luck into a great coach (think of Jerry York at BC). But if you are repeatedly making bad hires, you probably shouldn't be the one making more hires. That brings me to Brad Bates.

Bates has done many things as an Athletic Directer at Miami of Ohio and Boston College. He's also hired dozens of coaches and even more staffers. But his challenges with finding good football coaches remains disconcerting. Addazio still may turn things around, but given track records, I don't know if I trust Brad Bates to handle the football hiring and firing.

We all know about Addazio, so let's look at the three coaches he hired at Miami of Ohio. The MAC school had a great history of developing coaches and winning football. It had even been nicknamed the "Cradle of Coaches." Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, and Bo Schembechler all coached there. That history creates great opportunities for an AD. Many young assistants would gladly jump at the chance to learn in the place that molded all those previous legends. In fact, the two head coaches prior to Bates' arrival were Randy Walker and Hoeppner. Both left Miami of Ohio with winning records and both got hired away by Big Ten schools where they continued their successes. (Both also died at their next stops, which is an unfortunate coincidence.) Being the AD at Miami of Ohio would seemingly be a dream. Any time you had a football opening, you could tap some of the best and brightest assistants around.

Now I don't know all the politics or issues involved with each decision. Nor do I know exactly how much autonomy Bates had each time, but from afar it seems like he followed the young up and comer model. Also note the win percentages of Walker (.621) and Hoeppner (.657) before Bates' series of coaches took over.

Shane Montgomery -- Four Seaons: 17-31. .357 win percentage
What happened: This seemed like the classic case of hiring the guy who is there in an effort to keep the good times rolling. Montgomery had been a critical part of Hoeppner's staff and credited with developing Ben Roethlisberger as a first round pick. Bates hired him right before their Bowl game when Hoeppner was out the door to Indiana. Miami's own recap of the situation even speaks to it being a surprise move:

In an unprecedented move, Miami University Director of Athletics Brad Bates made a locker room announcement in front of a national television audience prior to the playing of the 2004 Independence Bowl, naming then-offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery head coach of Miami's venerable football program.

Whether he was too young or it came too soon or the challenge of finding another Big Ben, Montgomery had one winning season and three losing ones. He is now as assistant at Youngstown State.

Mike Haywood -- Two Seasons: 10-15. .400 win percentage
What happened: I don't know where to start with the Mike Haywood situation. You could almost call it a successful hire with a major, major asterisks. Following firing Montgomery, Bates hired Haywood from Notre Dame where he served as Charlie Weis' OC. Prior to being on Weis' staff, Haywood was on Mack Brown's at Texas. He was considered one of the next big things. On paper, he was perfect for Miami of Ohio. His first season was terrible (1-11), but his second season saw a huge turnaround (9-4). Haywood leveraged that success into the job at Pitt. As you might know, he never coached a game at Pitt. From the ESPN article:

Pittsburgh fired football coach Mike Haywood on Saturday, saying he could not continue in the job he held for only 2½ weeks because of his arrest on a domestic violence charge.
Haywood was released Saturday from St. Joseph County Jail in Indiana on $1,000 cash bond, said an officer at the jail who declined to give her name, after the charge was upgraded from a misdemeanor to felony domestic battery in the presence of a minor.

Bates is professionally lucky that Haywood's arrest came only two weeks after he left Miami. I don't know if Bates gets the BC job, if that happened on his watch. I know an AD can't monitor the behavior of all his employees 24/7, but it speaks to the need for due diligence in the process. An AD needs to ask all the tough questions and turn over every rock. For better or worse the football coach is often the face of the university. The only defense Bates has of this hire is that Pitt made the same mistakes. Even with the off-the-field issues, Haywood left Miami with a losing record.

 Don Treadwell -- Three Seasons: 8-21. .275 win percentage
What happened: Treadwell was Bates' last football hire before coming to BC. The former TOB assistant came back to his Alma mater after a successful run as Offensive Coordinator at Michigan State. Even going back to his BC days, Treadwell always participated in different programs and workshops designed for black assistants to become head coaches. Getting the Miami job seemed like the next step and a good hire on paper. It didn't work out. His first two seasons saw identical 4-8 records and then, after he started 0-5 in Year 3, they fired him.

I don't know all the challenges at Miami or each coach's issues -- other than not winning enough. Maybe Bates was just unlucky or maybe he can't see that subjective "it" that happens when you put the right guy in the right place at the right time. Since Bates has been gone, Miami's latest football coach Chuck Martin has failed to turn things around. (Martin is now 5-25 at Miami.) Maybe -- like BC -- they need to address why they continue to struggle given their rich history. But every AD is going to face institutional challenges. The good ones work around those challenges and find the right coach.

ESPN optimistic about Towles

ESPN posted an article on recent ACC QB transfers and how their histories projects to our new QB Patrick Towles. The short history of these transfers is mixed, but the good news is that the successes are closely tied to BC. We all know about Tyler Murphy and how he carried the team in 2014. But there are also huge differences between Murphy and Towles. Murphy got to play in a run heavy system with Ryan Day calling the plays. Murphy was also less experienced than Towles having only started six games to Towles' 22 starts.

The other relevant QB in the article was Virginia Tech's Michael Brewer. Despite some injuries, his two years in Blacksburg were very productive and a seemingly easy transition. That is comforting considering his Offensive Coordinator in those two seasons is BC's current OC Scot Loeffler.

The most reassuring part of the article was this quote from Bobby Petrino:

“I’ve known Patrick for a long time,” Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said recently on the ACC teleconference. “He had a great high school career and we competed against him at Kentucky. He's a very fine quarterback. He's big and physical, has a good release, and can really throw the football. He definitely should do a good job there.

With regards to most things, I don't trust Bobby Petrino. However, evaluating college QBs is one area where his expertise is superior to most. If he likes Towles, I feel pretty good about him too.

Fireworks Addazio style

Happy 4th everyone.

Buffalo on the 2016 schedule

BC's 2016 schedule is becoming a little more clear. After working FOIA requests, MattBC03 confirmed that BC will host Buffalo October 1, 2016. The good news is that this means that BC will have six home games despite the trip to Ireland. The bad news? The home games will be UMass, Buffalo, three ACC games and barring a miracle another FCS team.

Bates deserves credit for working with Buffalo, Northern Illinois and the MAC on making this work. Plenty of altered schedules and penalties were in play, so this did take a good amount of dealing and scheduling to pull it off. 

It will be interesting to see how the coach and AD spin the game. It confirms they are keeping the schedule manageable and winnable. The people who pay attention are going to be upset, but I feel like casual fans, recruits and the media won't. I think padding BC's win total is their goal and that will help change perception of the program. I think it will work too. However, if we do build the program with soft scheduling, eventually the media will start calling BC out.

Scheduling is not simple

UMass scheduled a series with Mississippi State and got plenty of BC fans wondering, why didn't we do that? And mixed in with the good news of the Ireland trip is the very real possibility that we will only play five games in Alumni in 2016. Scheduling is tough and I don't think it will get an easier for Bates and Addazio in the next two seasons.

This is what we know. There are very few Power 5 teams not locked into deals for the next few years. (BC's schedule is still impacted by the ACC expansion to include Notre Dame and Syracuse and the ACC's flip-flop on nine conference games.) We are imposing restrictions on our schedule by the desire to have 6+ home games and Addazio not wanting to overburden his program. We also don't want to take 2 for 1 series (like UMass did with Miss St.). What's left? Not much. Unless ESPN steps in and creates a TV-friendly matchup, I think BC has two options for 2016. We either go on the road and only play five games at Alumni or we host a second FCS opponent.

Of those two options, I would prefer the road game. But I don't know if Addazio and Bates agree. 2016 is a critical year. It will be Addazio's fourth in the program. Expectations will be relatively high...or at least high enough to prove that Addazio can build a program. An easy win against a cupcake at home will help perception more than a close loss on the road.

I hope lucks into a great home game, but this is musical chairs. There aren't that many options, so Bates and Addazio will have to make a decision soon.

Corporate Dude

This might seem like another fawning Addazio post but at this point what's good for Steve Addazio is good for BC. While we still need a really good coach, having someone who is willingly the face of the program is still such a breath of fresh air that I have to note the change. Look at the past few weeks as Daz started working the corporate circuit. The visit to Under Armour was part of an overall BC event, but Addazio talking to Wheels Up at one of their corporate events was not.

This is the face of our school interacting with business leaders. Do the people in this room go out and buy BC football tickets? Probably not many. If they paid Addazio (I assume they did), does BC get any of the money? Highly unlikely. Yet even without the direct benefit, these sorts of experiences do help BC. It opens the door for future sponsorships. It keeps Addazio happy. Maybe there is a future BC parent in that crowd who was partly inspired by the coach. Maybe Addazio can make a connection that gets one of his players a post-football job. But there is a long-tail benefit to having our coach expand his network beyond football and beyond BC. 

As much as he likes to give speeches or make TV appearances, football comes first. That won't change. But it is refreshing to see our coach embrace the off-the-field aspects of the job. It shows he has a passion for people and is proud of what he's building. That sort of pride should translate to the team he coaches. 

Athlon's ACC experts don't think much of the BC job

It is that time of year. The preview magazines hit the shelves and post all sorts of lists. Athlon asked a panel of ACC experts to rank the conference coaching jobs based on potential and difficulty of the job. BC came in 12th out of 14. Although this list don't mean much (is Addazio going to quit tomorrow because we are not higher up?), I still take issue a bit with the ranking.

Is it easier to win at some schools than others? Absolutely. However, when ranking jobs, fit is too often overlooked. Take TOB as an example. He left BC for NC State (ranked 8th). Is NC State a better job? Maybe on paper. Maybe the budgets are a little higher and the admissions a little more friendly. But TOB could never make it work there. He wasn't the right fit. BC in general has done a good job finding guys who can work within our culture and thrive within our region. We will never be Florida State, so it doesn't make sense to try to be Florida State. If the experts slight the job at BC or view it as too difficult, does it really matter? There will always be coaches who can win at BC. We just need to find them.

Addazio at home at ESPN

Pick 1 coach: Saban or Meyer @BCCoachAddazio "Urban Meyer. We've been through so much together" #CFBLIVE pic.twitter.com/wtrwYtbLA1
— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) December 19, 2014

There are times when you do something so seemingly obvious that you're only left to ask yourself: "why did it take us so long to do this?" That is sort of how I feel about Steve Addazio's frequent stops at ESPN. The BC Coach is now a regular down in Bristol. He spent most of Friday on various ESPN outlets, including SportsCenter, College Football Live and ESPN Radio. This is after his preseason stops in 2013 and 2014, his day with Andre Williams last year and his participation in the BCS National Title Game "Film Room."

BC's proximity to Bristol was never really leveraged by any BC figure until Addazio came around. In part because our various other coaches have not been that media friendly. It is a shame. Getting down there is easy and ESPN is always looking for interesting guests. Addazio is a natural, so I assume we will see more appearances like this is the future. It is very important for him to be there. While he is raising his own profile, he is also raising BC's. That helps in recruiting and it helps when the rest of college football thinks of BC. With the selection committee and scheduling obstacles, branding and remaining top of mind is more important than ever. Winning trumps everything, but Addazio spending half a day in Bristol every few months helps the effort.

ESPN hasn't posted any video clips from the visit yet, but they will eventually get out there. Next time he's back in town, just set your DVR. You'll be ready to run through a brick wall after watching him.

I don't think Addazio is going anywhere

Nebraska's got an opening. Michigan's got an opening. Even Addazio's old stomping grounds in Florida are available. I am not naive. I have met enough college coaches to know that many of them think the grass is greener. Addazio fits at BC and I do think he really likes coaching at BC, but he knows those other schools are a different ball game. More money. More resources. More chances to win. If any of them call. He should talk. It is no different than when we called after only two years at Temple. But I don't think he's leaving because I don't see any of those schools making an offer.

Florida
This gets brought up a lot because of Addazio's time in Gainesville. Of all the openings, I think this would be the least likely. Addazio is extremely unpopular with a large percentage of their fanbase, who view him as a terrible Coordinator.  There is also a good percentage of fans who don't like Urban Meyer and don't want one of his assistants coming back to take over. Finally, Jeremy Foley could have hired Addazio after Meyer left and didn't. He's already eaten crow with the Muschamp era. Fixing it with Addazio makes the mistake look that much worse. AD's are by nature political. I don't think Foley risk his remaining goodwill on a guy he wasn't thrilled with four years ago.

Michigan
With Bates seemingly off Michigan's radar, it is surprising that Addazio may be on it. Mgoblog doesn't think it will happen. I don't either. So many of these hires are a reaction to the previous hire. Michigan just fired a bombastic, emotions on his sleeve, ground and pound, recruiter who was barely above .500 in his previous stops. Do you repeat the mistake by hiring Addazio? I like Addazio and think he is a better coach than Hoke, but the resume doesn't scream that he's better. Also do you try to dethrone Urban Meyer with an Urban Meyer assistant who has yet to reach Meyer's level of success. Michigan may hire another Meyer guy in Dan Mullen, but Mullen's success as OC at Florida was greater than Addazio's in the same job and Mullen's rebuilding at Mississippi State looks better than what Addazio's accomplished at Temple and BC. I think this season was a great coaching job, but to outsiders it looks like we were 7-5 again. I don't think Michigan will ever hire Addazio.

Nebraska
Of all the big jobs, Addazio to Nebraska is the most likely. However, I still don't think Addazio gets an offer. They have a very appealing Nebraska guy in Scott Frost who they can hire. Frost would go over well with their fans. And if they want an established head coach, I think there are a few other guys who might slot in before Daz...like Al Golden. The honeymoon is over in Coral Gables. Golden has never been feared floating his name and he's great in an interview. If Golden and Addazio both get interviews at Nebraska, Golden's getting the job.

I appreciate all that Addazio has done and he's been a better coach and more likable than I ever expected. I want him to stay. Who knows how long he will (or how long we will want him to stay) but I don't think he will have the chance to leave now.

Addazio has the right attitude

It is still too early to tell if Addazio is the guy to break us through our glass ceiling, but at least he gets it. I don't like other people to speak for me, but this time the coach said it perfectly.

Checking in on Addazio's Year 2 at Temple

One of the reasons Addazio's hiring disappointed was that he was coming off a losing season at Temple. Tell me if this reminds you of anything? In his first year the new coach overachieved and won over the fan base with his enthusiasm. In Year 2 expectations were lower due to losing a leading rusher, but the coach still had them sitting at 3-2 after five games. Following the 3-2 start the team fell apart and lost four straight and were rarely competitive in the losses.

I didn't follow Temple in 2012. Beyond the stats I don't know why things fell apart midseason. But I hope Addazio learned something. BC cannot afford four-straight losses right now and despite the exposed weaknesses, BC can still beat any or all of their next four opponents.

Addazio had talent and roster issues in 2012 and was trying to compete in a major conference while fielding a MAC-level roster. BC doesn't have that same excuse. I hope Addazio understands the other factors in his slide as BC needs to rebound now. At NC State, Clemson at Alumni, at VT and at Wake should not lopsided. BC will probably be favored at Wake and gets Clemson at home. BC needs to get two wins out of this block. It will get us closer to a bowl and will show that Addazio is a guy who can adapt and not just win with some other guy's players.

2014 Preview Questions: Will this be like Addazio's second year at Temple?

Last season was great. Even after losing much of last year's team there is plenty of optimism about Year 2 of Addazio. Temple fans know that optimism. They shared it when Addazio led them back to the Big East in his second year. Yet things did not go well. Temple slid back to their all too familiar losing ways and the coach bailed when BC came calling. I don't expect this season to be easy but I also don't expect a repeat of Addazio's second year in Philly. Fortunately there are enough differences between the two situations for BC fans to feel hope.

The conference transition. Switching conferences can be tough. It is even tougher when there is a big jump in talent. As strong as the program was, Temple still probably wasn't ready to move from the MAC. Addazio recruited well, but much of that talent was young in 2012.

New Offensive Coordinator. Want to add a degree of difficulty to a conference move? How about changing OCs! I like Ryan Day and Addazio is a former OC, so all his Coordinators are influenced by him, but things were bumpy in Year 2. Some of it was due to injuries and depth. Eventually they started clicking once they started using creative run schemes (sound familiar?) but it was too late to save the season record.

Frontloaded schedule. After taking on Villanova, Addazio took on Maryland and Penn State out of conference. BC's out of conference schedule is not as challenging and we get to start our season at home or in Gillette.

The other change is that Addazio is two year wiser. He's now been through a Year 2. Ideally he's learned and can avoid the same mistakes that hurt Temple in 2012.

The best part of the ESPN Carwash was a podcast

Tuesday was Day 2 of the ACC's ESPN Carwarsh. Addazio was part of the group of coaches who made all the rounds at ESPN's Headquarters. The coach talked about replacing QBs and Andre Williams with ESPN Radio, various shows and ESPN writers. But of all the interviews, I think Addazio's session with Ivan Maisel was the best.

They cover the usual stuff and Addazio gets in his toughness cliches, but he also spends a good deal of time explaining how BC became a power running team. He explains why he hasn't visited Stanford and how it pays to be different. Addazio still comes off a passionate and a salesman (especially when compared to some of the other coaches on the podcast), but this was another example to show that he is more than the stereotype.

Things like the Carwash are important and the behind the scenes looks are fun. But I think BC fans should be most excited that we have a coach who has innovated at this level, but also can communicate his vision for the school and how it fits with the team he has.