Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/97804
f r o m e d i t o r b r i a n n e u b e r t Uniter to Purdue, WelcomeHazell.to be Darrell You are going busy. Very, very busy. Purdue will need you to be an outstanding coach. The Big Ten these days will treat its weak the way a Cuisinart might treat a withered old grape. Purdue will need you to be a great recruiter, to attract not only excellent athletes capable of cutting it at Purdue both academically and socially, but also of top coaching talent. Your new athletic director says he wants "all-stars" on that staff and seems certain he's freed up the resources to get it done. Purdue will need you to inspire, to sometimes get your team to play over its head at a school where you'll have a chance to get great players, but you'll probably never have as many of them at any one time as some of the schools you're getting paid to try to beat, including your past employer, Ohio State. The list goes on. But of all the things Purdue will need you to do, one of the most critical, is to bring people together. At this stage in its history, in this information and media age, Purdue will need you to unite. You already know this. Your, "It takes all of us," message delivered at your introductory press conference made it well known that you know the deal. Purdue needs you to be more than a coach. It needs you to be a leader, a presence, a figure a legion should want to get behind. You see, the fan base here is fractured. It's been an interesting past few years around here and the result has been terribly splintered support. If you'd seen the scene in Ross-Ade Stadium at times this season, you'd have known. Those seats have to be filled, their potential occupants given compelling reason to turn off the Big Ten Network, get in their cars and come to the stadium on Saturday afternoons. They will on two conditions: 1) If you win and 2) if they like you, your team and your brand of football, but mostly you. Now, you're the face of this program starting immediately, even if you're still kind of sort of Kent State's coach for a few more weeks. You must make people believe in you. You must be positive, you must credible and you must be confident, calm and coherent. These things will be no problem for you, if your introductory press conference and the personable, professional and polished presence you gave off are any indication. By all indications, you're a good coach, a very good coach. Your results at historically moribund Kent State back that up. Given your career path to this point — from Division III to the excess of Ohio State's resources to the absence of Kent State's — you should be ready for anything. You should know how to handle yourself. There are challenges at Purdue, but you already know about challenges. But coaching is only part of the deal here right now. Your presence must transcend football. You have to get the fans back. Here's the good news: Purdue fans, I believe, want to love you. They really do. Even the most disenchanted among them are only so because they care so damn much. They're like you, man: They just want to win, or at least get to see entertaining, competitive football and highlevel effort. These people are here for you. And you're going to need them. Because, as you well know, a program doesn't consist just of coaches, players, facilities, etc. It's everyone and everything, from the head coach to the tailgaters, the quarterback to the student section. It's just that you're the guy now who has to bring them all together. You are going to be busy. j Neubert can be contacted at BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 14 • 4