Photo by: Billie Weiss
From Near and Far, Eagle Coaches Making It Real
February 19, 2020 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Jeff Hafley promised "realness" from his program. The assistants make it easy to #GetIn.
From the first moment he stepped to the dais as Boston College's football coach, Jeff Hafley promised to be as honest as possible. He offered assurances of an open policy towards the Eagles, and he swore to remain as such when delivering opinions and observations. He indicated this wouldn't change throughout his tenure, and he spoke of ensuring his coaching staff and players would do the same.Â
It's something he delivered during the run-up to his National Signing Day press conference. It represented Hafley's first press conference outside of his introduction in the Yawkey Center, and he reinforced his personal appreciation for the collaborative efforts between himself, his coaches and the locker room.
Talking that talk and walking that walk is easy when it's on one track without football, but the refreshing approach to explaining and teaching football remained at the forefront this week. With the start of spring practice lurking around the corner, BC presented the first glimpse into what the upcoming football season might look like on the field.
"We're trying to figure out what's best for our guys," defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu said. "But what I've learned through the years is that it goes beyond what's drawn on the board. It's easy for us to draw something (up for the players), but we have to tailor-fit it to our guys. One of the mistakes good coaches make is that they have good ideas and concepts, but it doesn't match the personnel they have."
Meeting the media enlarged the public image for the Eagles, thereby enhancing its long-term importance. It rendered another benchmark complete for BC in its attempt to reach the next level by blending youthful experience with meaningful years at every level.
"You're coaching great players (in the NFL), but you're coaching X's and O's all day," said offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, Jr. said of the differences. "There are things in the NFL that we want to do here, in how we run the ball and protect the quarterback and throw the ball. (But) there are things in college that are making their way to the NFL. We want to make the offense dynamic and explosive. We want to put our players in a position to be successful."
Cignetti is a former quarterbacks coach with the Green Bay Packers, but he came up with Hafley through the University of Pittsburgh under Dave Wannstedt, himself a former NFL head coach. It's a wealth of experience shared by other coaches like Lukabu, who spent time with Hafley coaching both Rutgers and the San Francisco 49ers. It provides a swath of experience at both the FBS and professional levels.
The staff is far from being just former pro coaches or people Hafley locked arms with over the years, though. Several of Hafley's position coaches came from around various ranks, and each possessed unique perspectives on players from all levels. Defensive backs coach Abdul Aazaar-Rahim began his career with Alabama before becoming a defensive backs coach at Maryland, and offensive line coach Matt Applebaum is a rising star with years spent at both Davidson and Towson in the FCS ranks. Linebacker coach Sean Duggan is a former Boston College standout who only graduated after the 2014 season, and Rich Gunnell is a career Eagle, a legend in his own right who rose from trusted wide receiver target to the interim head coaching position in last season's bowl game.
"It's definitely about mutual respect, knowing where everyone's coming from," Lukabu echoed. "There's a lot of guys that I've met for the first time over the last month and a half (on the coaching staff), but I know that if Jeff thought highly of you, then there's a chance I would (think highly of you) too. That's been proven right. There's a lot of smart guys, good people, that all want to come together and do it together. I'm excited about it."
The end result is a staff ready to learn as much from itself as it is ready to deliver a message to its athletes. For the coaches, everything is bound to the maroon and gold, and everyone understands the ask, the intended workload, and the common goal. The next step is to achieve the next benchmark, which goes beyond sharing an openness with the public. It's about actually building the championship-caliber program among the student-athletes, all of which are buying in even as the future holds a level of expected uncertainty.
"We haven't really gotten started yet with the offense," Cignetti said. "But when you watch the kids and how they've bought into the message of the football program, it's been unbelievable. They're putting in a great commitment and a work and effort into it."
"Energy will take us to the next level," Lukabu echoed. "There's a lot of solid teams and programs, but the ones with positive energy, the places that I've been, have been successful because everyone wanted to be there every day. It's a goal we strive for, and so far, so good."
"I respected Boston College for what it is and what it tried to be," he said. "I look forward to putting our own imprint on it. We're not afraid to be ourselves because I think our strong points at Boston College make it one of the most unique places in the country. We're going to match that as a program."
Spring practice opens on Saturday, February 22, in the Fish Field House. The Eagles spring game will take place on April 4.
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It's something he delivered during the run-up to his National Signing Day press conference. It represented Hafley's first press conference outside of his introduction in the Yawkey Center, and he reinforced his personal appreciation for the collaborative efforts between himself, his coaches and the locker room.
Talking that talk and walking that walk is easy when it's on one track without football, but the refreshing approach to explaining and teaching football remained at the forefront this week. With the start of spring practice lurking around the corner, BC presented the first glimpse into what the upcoming football season might look like on the field.
"We're trying to figure out what's best for our guys," defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu said. "But what I've learned through the years is that it goes beyond what's drawn on the board. It's easy for us to draw something (up for the players), but we have to tailor-fit it to our guys. One of the mistakes good coaches make is that they have good ideas and concepts, but it doesn't match the personnel they have."
Meeting the media enlarged the public image for the Eagles, thereby enhancing its long-term importance. It rendered another benchmark complete for BC in its attempt to reach the next level by blending youthful experience with meaningful years at every level.
"You're coaching great players (in the NFL), but you're coaching X's and O's all day," said offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, Jr. said of the differences. "There are things in the NFL that we want to do here, in how we run the ball and protect the quarterback and throw the ball. (But) there are things in college that are making their way to the NFL. We want to make the offense dynamic and explosive. We want to put our players in a position to be successful."
Cignetti is a former quarterbacks coach with the Green Bay Packers, but he came up with Hafley through the University of Pittsburgh under Dave Wannstedt, himself a former NFL head coach. It's a wealth of experience shared by other coaches like Lukabu, who spent time with Hafley coaching both Rutgers and the San Francisco 49ers. It provides a swath of experience at both the FBS and professional levels.
The staff is far from being just former pro coaches or people Hafley locked arms with over the years, though. Several of Hafley's position coaches came from around various ranks, and each possessed unique perspectives on players from all levels. Defensive backs coach Abdul Aazaar-Rahim began his career with Alabama before becoming a defensive backs coach at Maryland, and offensive line coach Matt Applebaum is a rising star with years spent at both Davidson and Towson in the FCS ranks. Linebacker coach Sean Duggan is a former Boston College standout who only graduated after the 2014 season, and Rich Gunnell is a career Eagle, a legend in his own right who rose from trusted wide receiver target to the interim head coaching position in last season's bowl game.
"It's definitely about mutual respect, knowing where everyone's coming from," Lukabu echoed. "There's a lot of guys that I've met for the first time over the last month and a half (on the coaching staff), but I know that if Jeff thought highly of you, then there's a chance I would (think highly of you) too. That's been proven right. There's a lot of smart guys, good people, that all want to come together and do it together. I'm excited about it."
The end result is a staff ready to learn as much from itself as it is ready to deliver a message to its athletes. For the coaches, everything is bound to the maroon and gold, and everyone understands the ask, the intended workload, and the common goal. The next step is to achieve the next benchmark, which goes beyond sharing an openness with the public. It's about actually building the championship-caliber program among the student-athletes, all of which are buying in even as the future holds a level of expected uncertainty.
"We haven't really gotten started yet with the offense," Cignetti said. "But when you watch the kids and how they've bought into the message of the football program, it's been unbelievable. They're putting in a great commitment and a work and effort into it."
"Energy will take us to the next level," Lukabu echoed. "There's a lot of solid teams and programs, but the ones with positive energy, the places that I've been, have been successful because everyone wanted to be there every day. It's a goal we strive for, and so far, so good."
"I respected Boston College for what it is and what it tried to be," he said. "I look forward to putting our own imprint on it. We're not afraid to be ourselves because I think our strong points at Boston College make it one of the most unique places in the country. We're going to match that as a program."
Spring practice opens on Saturday, February 22, in the Fish Field House. The Eagles spring game will take place on April 4.
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