Boston College Athletics
DeFilippo, Spaziani, Players Discuss O'Brien Departure
December 08, 2006 | Football
Dec. 8, 2006
Boston College Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo met with members of the news media Friday evening to discuss the departure of Head Football Coach Tom O'Brien and to answer questions about the future of the program. DeFilippo was joined by Frank Spaziani, who was named Interim Head Coach earlier in the day, and junior quarterback Matt Ryan, junior defensive end Nick Larkin and freshman linebacker Mark Herzlich. The following is a partial transcript of the news conference:
DeFilippo: I think everyone knows that this evening North Carolina State announced that Tom O'Brien was leaving Boston College to become the head football coach at North Carolina State. The first thing I want to do is thank Tom for 10 really great years here at Boston College. The mark of a coach or an administrator is, did you come in and leave the program in a better state than when you found it? In Tom O'Brien's case, the answer is yes. He left the program in a lot better shape than the program he found. We're going to our eighth consecutive bowl, we've won six in a row, and Tom did a wonderful job here and I'm thankful for that.
The bowl game will be coached by our Interim Head Coach, Frank Spaziani. I made that announcement earlier today. Most all of our assistant coaches will coach in the bowl game. Coach O'Brien will not coach in the bowl game. Our objective will be the same. It will be to go and play well, to beat Navy, and win our seventh consecutive bowl game.
As for the future, what we're trying to do, we're going to start a nationwide search. We're going to hire the very best coach we think will be a good fit here at Boston College. I'm not going to give you any time frame on that. We're going to go quick, but we're not going to hurry. We're not going to leave one rock or one stone unturned; we're going to find the very best person we can find for this job.
It has been a little bit misleading. Some of you in the media and others have used the wrong figures. People have asked me "are we committed to hiring a good coach? Are we going to pay competitive salaries?" The answer is yes, yes we are. Tom O'Brien's compensation package here was $1 million. So we are totally committed to this football program. We're totally committed to finding the very best coach we can to lead this program. Leading us in the bowl game...will be our Interim Head Coach, Frank Spaziani.
Spaziani: First, I'd like to thank Tom O'Brien for bringing me here to BC. I owe a lot to him. I'd like to thank Gene for giving me this opportunity to coach the team in the bowl game. We have a lot of great people on this staff and I'm honored to be sitting here and able to do it.
Media Question: Do you have any in-house candidates for the job?
DeFilippo: This happened very, very quickly. I met with the coaches yesterday and I made it clear that any of the coaches who are here and interested in the job should contact me in the next day or two and we would sit down and talk.
Media Question: Who decided that Tom O'Brien would not be coaching in the bowl game?
DeFilippo: It was mutually agreed upon. Tom and I had long conversations yesterday, we had long conversations today, and we both thought that it was in the best interest of everybody that Tom not coach in the game. He's got work to do at N.C. State.
Media Question: Will your staff coach by committee?
Spaziani: We have a system that's been in place here and a staff that's been together for quite a while, so we kind of know how to do things, and we have a way of doing it, it's called the BC way. We have great kids who have adapted to it. It'll be different, obviously...but I don't think it will be anything major. As far as by committee? That's why there's someone designated (as the interim head coach), to not have a committee.
Media Question: How will this affect your recruiting class coming in?
DeFilippo: We cancelled the recruiting weekend, but we have 12 commitments, and we have told all those recruits that we will honor those commitments. Nobody has pulled out, and we don't expect anyone to.
Media Question: Do you still plan to coach the defense?
Spaziani: Like I said, I think we have a system in place now. Dana (Bible) does a great job over on offense, and he certainly has done it without my input. Same with Jerry (Petercuskie) on the special teams, and I'll work on the defense.
Media Question: What about the timing and the way the series of events unfolded?
DeFilippo: Tom went by protocol. Lee Fowler, the Athletic Director at N.C. State, is one of my close friends, and I think he was criticized in the media for hiring someone at another institution. I just want to go on record as saying Lee followed protocol. Nine years ago, almost ten years ago now, I came here from Villanova when we were both members of the Big East. And a couple of years ago, Tommy Tuberville left the University of Mississippi to go to Auburn. So this is not something that hasn't happened before, and I'm sure it will happen in the future. But North Carolina State handled everything in the proper manner.
Media Question: Is this a sad day for BC?
DeFilippo: I wouldn't say it's a sad day. We're happy for Coach O'Brien because he found something that was better for him and his family. We thank him for all the great things he did in his 10 years here. At the same time, there's a sense of excitement that there's a new coach out there somewhere, someone who's the right fit, will come in and keep this thing going, and take it further and further. That's what we play for. We're thankful to Tom for the good things he did for us, but at the same time, there's a tremendous amount of excitement for hiring a new coach.
Media Question: What qualifications will you look for in a new coach?
DeFilippo: I don't want to get too specific. I will say that we want someone who is a teacher rather than a schemer. We want someone who has the student-athletes' interest at the heart of the program, that the student-athletes come first and foremost. That this person is disciplined; that this person understands the academic mission here at Boston College, and how important our academics and our graduation rate are to us. And I want someone who will be a fit here and will be really excited, a motivator we can follow behind.
Media Question: Were you bothered by the way this week unfolded?
DeFilippo: To Coach O'Brien's defense, that's the nature of this business. We like to think that we do a good job at our jobs, and I'm looking at some real professionals in your jobs, too. I've often said that there are no secrets in college athletics. We'd like to keep things quiet if we can, but you (the media) don't allow us to do that. So, what happened is, this broke somewhere on Wednesday. This was supposed to be very confidential, that very few of us knew about. But it broke all of a sudden, and it's unfortunate, but it's the nature of the business we're in. Ideally, you'd love to be able to tell your coaches and players first, but sometimes you just can't do that.
Media Question: Can you talk about the meeting you had with Coach O'Brien today?
Matt Ryan: We met with coach earlier today, and it was an emotional meeting. Coach got up there and was really honest with us, and I think everybody was very appreciative of him doing that. He answered a lot of questions I think a lot of people had, and we were thankful we had that meeting. We wish him the best. He's obviously done a great job for Boston College and this program, but we have a lot of faith in what Coach Flip (Gene) said to us a couple of days ago. He said no matter what happens, we're going to have a great coach, if Coach O'Brien stays, or we're going to go find a great coach. He asked us to trust him and that's what we're going to do. He's going to go out and do the best he can, the best fit for this program and we're going to be just fine.
Media Question: Most coaching changes are made when a team has been losing. You have to feel confident with the team you have returning that it could be a good situation?
Matt Ryan: Yeah, I think that ultimately, it's the players out on the field making plays, and I think we have a lot of people coming back next year and for this bowl game who have made a lot of plays in their careers, and have stepped up and had really fine individual performances. I was speaking to (Director of Football Operations) Barry Gallup yesterday and he said "it's flattering to the players when a coach is being offered jobs by other schools." That's really a compliment to the 100 guys on the team and their work on the field, what they've done for three, four, five seasons. We have a lot of good players here. We've got great team chemistry, and I think everyone really bonds together. We're a really tight group, and we're going to get through this together, and we're going to be just fine. We're going to prepare to go beat Navy, and that's what it's all about right now.
Media Question: Will it be strange preparing for the bowl game without Coach O'Brien?
Matt Ryan: Sure, it's different. There's no question that it's a different situation than we've grown accustomed to, but that's the nature of college football, and that's the nature of this business. That's the way it goes. Change is the one constant, and that's something you have to learn to adapt to, and you have to learn at a young age. That's what everybody's going through right now. Like I said, the best thing we have going for us is the 100 guys on the team who are tightly knit. We really have a strong bond. We're going to get through this together. Like I said, the goal is to beat Navy.
Media Question: Do you think any of your teammates might think about transferring?
Matt Ryan: Nobody has voiced that to me. The major point of emphasis that everybody has had prior to tonight was, regardless of what happens, we've got each other. And now that we know what the situation is, we still have each other. No matter what goes on in terms of coaching, the teammates we have right now are going to remain the same, and we have one more opportunity to go out there and play together. We're going to fight hard under Coach Spaz. He's done a great job with our defense all year and he's going to get the best out of us in the bowl game, and I look forward to that.
Media Question: Were you disappointed in how you actually found out about this?
Matt Ryan: In Tom O'Brien's defense, he told us today, so we officially knew what was going on. Basically anything the entire time prior to that was hearsay, and you didn't know if anything was official. North Carolina State hadn't reported anything. I can't tell you how appreciative I am of him coming to us today and explaining the situation, exactly what went down, and that he had chosen to go to North Carolina State. For me, that's the way I'm going to remember finding out, him sitting there in front of us in the meeting room, and just telling us he had made the decision he was going to go.
Nick Larkin: I would echo what Matt said. What we heard before tonight was more or less rumors. What we heard officially tonight was real. Like Matt, I have a lot of respect for Coach O'Brien. Coach O'Brien conducted his last meeting with his team the way he did the first meeting when I was a freshman, and that's with class. I think the three of us up here would agree with that. Of course, when he talked to us, when he spoke to us at the meeting, he made us understand that this is not the way he wanted us to hear about it. After being with him for four years, I firmly believe that. He showed a lot of class.
Mark Herzlich: I'm in a little different situation in that this is my first year here. I've only had the pleasure of playing for Coach O'Brien for less than a year. I think what they're saying, that over their four years they've realized Coach O'Brien is an honest man, and he is a hard-working man, and he does things for his team other head coaches wouldn't. You don't need four years to figure that out, because I know that myself, and the other freshmen on the team, and the sophomores, we know Tom O'Brien is a man who would do anything for his team and for his family, as we found out tonight. I'm almost glad he didn't tell us anything until he knew what was definite. There are rumors you can hear from people on the Internet, people on TV, but as coach Spaz said today, he was the father of this family. If your father comes up and tells you things he's not sure about, then some respect is lost. He was sure what was going on today at our meeting. He let us know how he felt. He told us what the situation was, and I respect him more for it. I don't think there's a guy on this team who is happy that Coach O'Brien is leaving. I think all of us are happy for Coach O'Brien because he is bettering his situation for himself and his immediate family. As Matty and Nick said, we're not coming in here weakened. We're not weakened by this. As a team, we're going to pull together and become stronger, so next year we can come out and have our strength back.
