Boston College Athletics
Sean Duggan: Once An Eagle, Always An Eagle, An Eagle Again
March 18, 2020 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The 2014 team captain is back at BC's linebackers coach
It's not too often that stories surface about coordinators pumping information out of graduate assistants. GAs, as they're colloquially known, are essentially entry level positions in the corporate reporting structure. They're the people responsible for gathering and cutting film so they can learn the game at a granular, different level. Coordinators are the teachers who educate GAs on topics, not the other way around.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley didn't care about job titles, though. He fostered a pretty good relationship with his defensive graduate assistant, Sean Duggan, who sat next to him in the booth during games. The defensive GA was an Ohio-born kid from Cincinnati, but he was a linebackers coach before he joined the Buckeyes alongside his new coordinator. The duo both loved football to the point where they'd talk about the game at all hours.
On any other day, Hafley might have been interested in sitting down with Duggan to talk about a player or scheme. This time, though, he wanted to pick Duggan's brain about something entirely different.
Hafley was in the process of becoming Boston College's head football coach. Duggan was a former linebacker and captain for the Eagles. It made for natural after-work conversation.
"I told him about the different kind of player that BC has had in the past," Duggan said. "It's still the same a little bit, but coming by campus is hard to explain how it was when I was a player. He was great through everything, and he picked my brain about Boston and the campus."
The conversation sparked easy decisions for Hafley's arrival and subsequent staff decisions in Chestnut Hill. The most natural fit surrounded Duggan, and the Ohio kid and former BC football captain returned to The Heights as Hafley's linebackers coach.
"Coach Hafley and I sat next to each other on game day," Duggan said. "We developed that relationship off the field just talking football, and he's one of the smartest and best people I've ever been around. Picking his brain has been an unbelievable opportunity, so when he asked me to come back, I jumped at the opportunity. I was very, very happy (to return to BC)."
Duggan now returns to continue a lineage of greatness he helped build. He matriculated to BC from one of the school's true pipelines, arriving in 2011 as a freshman from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. That was the year Luke Kuechly, another former Bomber linebacker, was captain, essentially passing the torch to Duggan.
Duggan didn't necessarily produce Kuechly's numbers (nobody ever could), but he became a star for the defense with his versatility and intelligence. He registered 39 tackles while playing his freshman season alongside Kuechly, a number he equaled in his sophomore season. In 2013, he transitioned into a more fluid backup and special teams role before returning to a more productive role during his senior year in 2014.
His teammates honored him during that 2014 season with the team's captaincy, officially passing him the St. X torch once held by Kuechly. It made him the fifth of six Bomber captains for the Eagles.
Duggan's playing career ended with five tackles in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl, and he transitioned shortly thereafter into his first graduate assistant's role in 2015. It allowed him to remain at BC, and he helped the unit develop into one of the greatest defenses in college football history. It propelled him into his first position coaching job the next year at Hawaii.Â
Two years after that, he was back in Massachusetts as the Minutemen's linebackers coach before he moved home to work for the Buckeyes.
"I've been really fortunate to be around a lot of smart people as a player and coach," Duggan said. "So I've been picking up a lot of things in the details. There's a difference in one step to the right or left, and it's huge. Being a coach now makes everything matter more than it did when I was a player. I've been around the smart people, who have taught me."
It's an interesting circle for Duggan. He finished his career with 115 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries and played a position known at BC for its elite level talent. He played alongside Nick Clancy, Steele Divitto, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Steven Daniels and Josh Keyes.
The era set the table for Matt Milano and Connor Strachan, He followed Kuechly but played alongside Nick Clancy, Steele Divitto, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Steven Daniels, and Josh Keyes. It set the tone for Matt Milano, Ty Schwab and Connor Strachan, who turned into Max Richardson and Isaiah McDuffie.Â
"The linebacker really has to take control of the defense," Duggan said. "If the defensive line isn't lined up, it's our fault. Things have to flow from the linebacker, if you look at teams. Linebackers have emotional edges to them, so we have to lead the defense. It's very involved with details, from alignment and with vision."
Duggan is part of a linebacker lineage dating back through Mark Herzlich, Mike McLaughlin, and Robert Francois. It stretches back further into the Big East era, touching names like Jolonn Dunbar, Brian Toal, Josh Ott and Ryan Burch.
And now it'll stretch into the future, to countless, unknown Bombers and 'backers joining him in both lineages under new defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu.
"Our staff is unbelievable," Duggan said. "Coach Hafley hired a bunch of really good people, and I'm really fortunate to be a part of the staff to pick everyone's brain. The details matter. One step the wrong way leaves someone chasing a player. It's the little things, dialing into a walkthrough with body language. That's been the great learning experience for me, for how focused you have to be to execute on Saturday."
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Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley didn't care about job titles, though. He fostered a pretty good relationship with his defensive graduate assistant, Sean Duggan, who sat next to him in the booth during games. The defensive GA was an Ohio-born kid from Cincinnati, but he was a linebackers coach before he joined the Buckeyes alongside his new coordinator. The duo both loved football to the point where they'd talk about the game at all hours.
On any other day, Hafley might have been interested in sitting down with Duggan to talk about a player or scheme. This time, though, he wanted to pick Duggan's brain about something entirely different.
Hafley was in the process of becoming Boston College's head football coach. Duggan was a former linebacker and captain for the Eagles. It made for natural after-work conversation.
"I told him about the different kind of player that BC has had in the past," Duggan said. "It's still the same a little bit, but coming by campus is hard to explain how it was when I was a player. He was great through everything, and he picked my brain about Boston and the campus."
The conversation sparked easy decisions for Hafley's arrival and subsequent staff decisions in Chestnut Hill. The most natural fit surrounded Duggan, and the Ohio kid and former BC football captain returned to The Heights as Hafley's linebackers coach.
"Coach Hafley and I sat next to each other on game day," Duggan said. "We developed that relationship off the field just talking football, and he's one of the smartest and best people I've ever been around. Picking his brain has been an unbelievable opportunity, so when he asked me to come back, I jumped at the opportunity. I was very, very happy (to return to BC)."
Duggan now returns to continue a lineage of greatness he helped build. He matriculated to BC from one of the school's true pipelines, arriving in 2011 as a freshman from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. That was the year Luke Kuechly, another former Bomber linebacker, was captain, essentially passing the torch to Duggan.
Duggan didn't necessarily produce Kuechly's numbers (nobody ever could), but he became a star for the defense with his versatility and intelligence. He registered 39 tackles while playing his freshman season alongside Kuechly, a number he equaled in his sophomore season. In 2013, he transitioned into a more fluid backup and special teams role before returning to a more productive role during his senior year in 2014.
His teammates honored him during that 2014 season with the team's captaincy, officially passing him the St. X torch once held by Kuechly. It made him the fifth of six Bomber captains for the Eagles.
Duggan's playing career ended with five tackles in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl, and he transitioned shortly thereafter into his first graduate assistant's role in 2015. It allowed him to remain at BC, and he helped the unit develop into one of the greatest defenses in college football history. It propelled him into his first position coaching job the next year at Hawaii.Â
Two years after that, he was back in Massachusetts as the Minutemen's linebackers coach before he moved home to work for the Buckeyes.
"I've been really fortunate to be around a lot of smart people as a player and coach," Duggan said. "So I've been picking up a lot of things in the details. There's a difference in one step to the right or left, and it's huge. Being a coach now makes everything matter more than it did when I was a player. I've been around the smart people, who have taught me."
It's an interesting circle for Duggan. He finished his career with 115 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries and played a position known at BC for its elite level talent. He played alongside Nick Clancy, Steele Divitto, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Steven Daniels and Josh Keyes.
The era set the table for Matt Milano and Connor Strachan, He followed Kuechly but played alongside Nick Clancy, Steele Divitto, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Steven Daniels, and Josh Keyes. It set the tone for Matt Milano, Ty Schwab and Connor Strachan, who turned into Max Richardson and Isaiah McDuffie.Â
"The linebacker really has to take control of the defense," Duggan said. "If the defensive line isn't lined up, it's our fault. Things have to flow from the linebacker, if you look at teams. Linebackers have emotional edges to them, so we have to lead the defense. It's very involved with details, from alignment and with vision."
Duggan is part of a linebacker lineage dating back through Mark Herzlich, Mike McLaughlin, and Robert Francois. It stretches back further into the Big East era, touching names like Jolonn Dunbar, Brian Toal, Josh Ott and Ryan Burch.
And now it'll stretch into the future, to countless, unknown Bombers and 'backers joining him in both lineages under new defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu.
"Our staff is unbelievable," Duggan said. "Coach Hafley hired a bunch of really good people, and I'm really fortunate to be a part of the staff to pick everyone's brain. The details matter. One step the wrong way leaves someone chasing a player. It's the little things, dialing into a walkthrough with body language. That's been the great learning experience for me, for how focused you have to be to execute on Saturday."
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