December 5th is truly a momentous day, a day that should be recognized for all of time (and no I'm not talking about Repeal Day, a "holiday" that I first heard of a few months ago and paid no attention to, thinking of it as just a nice advertising campaign piece by Dewar that surprised me and got a lot of attention with some of my friends as among others things a relatively valid "excuse to drink") but rather on this day Rod Broadway was first interviewed by Duke for its vacant football coaching position. Ascension starts now.
As you may have guessed I am extremely excited. Frank Dascenzo, a columnist for the Herald Sun (that I'm pretty sure was a Steeler fan and faithful at Devine's) writes in his round up of potential candidates
Rod Broadway: Why would Duke not consider such a good coach and such a familiar name?
Consider Broadway -- who wears a national championship ring from his days as an assistant at Florida under a familiar name, Steve Spurrier -- has turned two programs (N.C. Central and Grambling) from losers into winners and would become the first African-American head coach at Duke.
Offensively, Broadway's teams run a spread, throw more than they run and score plenty of points.
Said one former Duke assistant coach: "Rod would be a terrific hire by Duke. It would bring the Durham community more to Duke than ever, and Rod is smart, articulate and he runs an exciting offense. And he can recruit the kind of players Duke needs to turn its program around."
I mean that's what I've been saying and his record really speaks for itself
Broadway led Grambling State to an 8-3 record in his first season at the Louisiana school. A year after the Tigers went 3-8, they will play Jackson State for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship on Dec. 15.I am really really excited.
Broadway has enjoyed nothing but success in his time as a head coach, though it has all come on the Division II and Football Championship Subdivision levels. Before heading to Grambling State, an FCS school that doesn't compete in the playoffs, Broadway coached N.C. Central for four seasons, closing his tenure with 28 victories in his last 31 games and back-to-back CIAA championships before the Eagles moved up from the Division II ranks.
Broadway has more than 20 years of experience as an assistant coach on the Football Bowl Subdivision level. He also was an assistant at East Carolina (1979-80), Florida (1995-2000) and North Carolina (2001-02) before getting his first head coaching job at NCCU.
But I'm not the only one. SI on Campus had an article subtitled "Now is The Time for a Duke Football Resurgence" that attempts to capture the bewildering optimism felt around the program these days and the reasons why such a resurgence is possible (and in my words inevitable)
But even compared to prominent vacancies such as Michigan and Nebraska, the open coaching position at Duke may be the most intriguing in the country, precisely because it has such a forgettable history.
The next coach won't be responsible for not fumbling the tradition, because he doesn't even have the ball yet. More than anything, he will be charged with building a program from scratch.
And even though it sounds like a hopelessly miserable task, Duke's head coaching position should, and will, attract interest from top-notch candidates. Next season's leader of the Blue Devils -- the most-rumored name right now is Navy head coach Paul Johnson -- has the chance to define Alleva's "Duke," which currently has no true characterization.
It is also likely that the school will approve a plan to renovate Wallace Wade Stadium, the conference's most depressing stadium. The measures include adding luxury suites and an external scoreboard to the pit that is Wally Wade. And speaking of hemorrhaging money, that's exactly what Alleva pledged he will do to bring the best available coach to Duke
Of course, there is also that romantically enchanting idea of building a program that has not been able to win since Steve Spurrier…any coach courageous enough to take on such an enormous undertaking will undoubtedly be masochistic enough to devote his life to turning around this fledgling program.
And it can be done. Duke can, and looks poised to, entice one of the big names, and perhaps that man will convert this perennial loser into a respected winner.
Rod Broadway can. Rod Broadway will. Broadway will turn the lights back on
Therefore I proclaim (in my omnipotence) today to be Broadway Day.
Make it happen Alleva. Sphere: Related Content
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