complished
Aract person that we
kansas assistants
need and mesh this
Taver
Johnson
all together.
and Paul Haynes,
"There's nine
two former Buckor 10 guys in the
eye coaches who
room,
knowing
Hazell
worked
these idiosyncrawith in Columsies at 10 o'clock
bus. The Razorat night, all those
back staff is in
things are importransition, though
tant, and their work
both could be
ethic and makcandidates
to
ing sure that our
be retained by
kids get the right
new coach Bret
Tom Campbell guy around them.
Bielema. On of- Former Purdue wide receivers coach That's the most imfense,
former Brian Rock, who was the offensive
portant thing. So I
Purdue assistant coordinator at Kent State, could be
don't really have a
coming with Darrell Hazell to West
coach Brian Rock Lafayette.
timeline."
is Hazell's coordinator at Kent State, but it re- Hazell Purdue's First
mains to be seen how much Black football Coach
Hazell became Purdue's first
of his staff will come with him.
black head coach in football or
Nick Siciliano, who was Ohio
State's quarterbacks coach prior men's basketball.
But, to most, that was hardly
to Urban Meyer's hiring, could
significant compared to Hazell's
be a possibility at Purdue after
spending this season with the other qualities as he takes over
Cincinnati Bengals in a quality the Boilermaker program.
"We just look at it as a guy
control capacity.
who comes in here, believes in
"The most important thing
is I get it right, so however long what we're doing and we, in turn,
it takes," Hazell said. "These guys believe in him," defensive end
touch these (players') lives every Ryan Russell said. "We're trying to
single day, and the most impor- do something great.
"What matters is what kind
tant thing is for me to take time,
of person you are. The character
make sure we're getting the ex-
of a coach is what you really want
because you're not just committing to four years of football,
you're committing to four years
of school, four years of growing
and becoming a man. Just the
type of man he is is bigger than
anything else."
Hazell is the first black head
coach in the Big Ten since Michigan State's Bobby Williams in
2002 and is only the fourth in
conference history. At the start of
the 2012 season, there were only
15 black head coaches nationally.
But none of those historical
markers seemed to matter much
to those at Purdue.
"I love making a difference
in kids' lives," Hazell said. "So be it
if race has something to do with
that."
But Big Ten Network senior
writer Tom Dienhart says hiring
a minority can pay dividends for
Purdue.
"I think it's huge," he said. "I
think it gives Purdue something
to offer that no other Big Ten
school can offer. Let's be honest,
Next Show DEC. 21 at 2 P.M.!
having a minority head coach is
going to be big when it comes to
recruiting. If you're going to be at
Purdue we all know you have to
offer something different and not
just schematically. Now Purdue
offers something different from a
coaching standpoint.
"Having a minority head
coach with his background is just
a nice thing for Purdue to have as
it tries to differentiate itself and establish more of a foothold in a Big
Ten that's going to get more and
more competitive."
Fridays this winter at
a computer near you
Gold and Black LIVE
featuring the staff of GoldandBlack.com
Interactive live video-stream sports talk show — ask questions,
chat with other fans! Show will stream live on WLFI.com on selected Fridays during football
and basketball season.
For complete schedule, visit the college page on WLFI.com.
Trent Johnson, Agent
GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 14 • 19
