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Darrell Hazell - 2012 Colorado coaching search profile

BuffNut99

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darrell-hazell.jpg


Birthdate: April 14, 1964
Hometown: Cinnaminson, N.J.
Alma Mater: Muskingum College, ‘86 (B.A. in Speech Communication & Business)

A new era in Kent State football began in 2011 when Darrell Hazell took over as head coach. In his first year at the helm, Hazell led Kent State to wins in four of the team’s last five games and had the Golden Flashes playing for bowl eligibility in their final game. Five of Kent State's opponents went on to win bowl games, including national champion Alabama.

Hazell’s five victories in 2011 are tied for the second most in school history by a first-year head football coach. With a 4-4 conference mark in 2011, the Golden Flashes finished third of seven teams in the Mid-American Conference East Division. Four seniors from the 2011 squad went on to sign NFL contracts.

Six Golden Flashes earned spots on the 2011 All-MAC Team, including five defensive players, the most of any team in the conference. As a team, the Flashes were among the best in the nation at protecting the football, finishing seventh in turnover margin. Off the field, Kent State football players have been more visible in the community, while the team grade point average has risen. During the Spring Semester of 2012, a program-record 50 players had GPAs above 3.0.

He held assistant coaching positions at Oberlin, Eastern Illinois, Penn, Western Michigan, Army, West Virginia, and Rutgers. Hazell then served as the wide receivers coach at Ohio State under Jim Tressel from 2004 to 2010. In December 2010, Kent State University hired him as its head coach. Hazell, 48, spent his previous seven seasons as a member of the Ohio State University coaching staff and boasts 26 years of experience as a coach on the collegiate level. He served as assistant head coach and also coached the Buckeyes’ wide receivers. During his time in Columbus, Hazell developed a number of All-Big Ten players, including seven of whom currently play in the NFL. From 2005-10, the Buckeyes won six consecutive Big Ten titles and played in six straight BCS bowls, including two national championship game appearances.


1986–1987 Oberlin (RB)
1988 Eastern Illinois (RB/WR)
1989–1991 Oberlin (OC)
1992–1994 Penn (RB)
1995–1996 Western Michigan (WR)
1997–1998 Army (WR/TE)
1999–2000 West Virginia (RB)
2001–2002 Rutgers (WR)
2003 Rutgers (asst. HC)
2004 Ohio State (WR/KR)
2005–2010 Ohio State (asst. HC/WR)
2011–present Kent State HC

Pros/Cons

Pros:
-former Ohio State assistant who coached in six consecutive BCS bowls
-Kent State 11-1 this year (won @ ranked Rutgers), playing for MAC title this weekend

Cons:
-recruiting?
-two years as HC
 
He has some nice BCS experience. 13 years worth - at some pretty nice schools. Don Nehlen at WVU, Greg Schiano at Rutgers, Jim Tressel at Ohio State. Good coaches to work for.

My biggest concern with him would be - he's got zero west coast experience.
 
Back to topic... I thought we should be talking about this guy because, frankly, it's a possibility.
 
A few years too soon for this guy, iyam. It seems that he will be a pretty good get at some point in the future, but a bit too risky for us right now I think.
 
Why does coordinator experience matter if you have been a head coach?

Hawk comes to mind. Scares me.

It's probably not fair completely, but I'd rather we bring someone in who can for sure turn around one side of the ball.

I don't think Tressel or Meyer were ever coordinators either, so it's not like it's a for sure requirement. But they also had a long track record at smaller schools to back them up.
 
Hawk comes to mind. Scares me.

It's probably not fair completely, but I'd rather we bring someone in who can for sure turn around one side of the ball.

I don't think Tressel or Meyer were ever coordinators either, so it's not like it's a for sure requirement. But they also had a long track record at smaller schools to back them up.


Hawk had no BCS experience. PERIOD. No experience as a coach of any kind in a BCS environment. This Hazell guy has a wealth of BCS experience, in multiple BCS conferences.
 
ya, but we only have one to spend on an assistant. So you need a coach with coordinator experience to really run one side of the ball and give that multi year contract to the other side.


I wasn't aware that there was a limitation, in that regard. I thought the only limitation was that the school could only offer a total of SIX (6) long term contracts, regardless of the sport.
 
yup. and football only has two of the six.


I would assume Boyle gets one of them, and the women's B-Ball coach gets another. That's 4.

Who are the other two (2)?


and - I think it is important to note that Bieniemy was the 1st assistant coach at CU to receive a long-term contract. None of Barnett's or Hawkins' assistant coaches ever got long term contracts.
 
I would assume Boyle gets one of them, and the women's B-Ball coach gets another. That's 4.

Who are the other two (2)?


and - I think it is important to note that Bieniemy was the 1st assistant coach at CU to receive a long-term contract. None of Barnett's or Hawkins' assistant coaches ever got long term contracts.
Bohn and Benson, IIRC
 
Hawk had no BCS experience. PERIOD. No experience as a coach of any kind in a BCS environment. This Hazell guy has a wealth of BCS experience, in multiple BCS conferences.

Fair enough. I still think there are better candidates out there that would be better fits here.
 
Yeah - this isn't CU's fault. If it is going to be changed, it needs to be changed in the legislature.
 
Yeah - this isn't CU's fault. If it is going to be changed, it needs to be changed in the legislature.

I get that. Pretty silly piece of legislation though. Don't want to turn this to politics, but damn that seems counter-productive, though I understand its intentions.
 
I think the lack of multiyear contracts for assistants is not quite the crippling detriment that some of you think it is. Most BCS schools and not out there giving multiyear deals to all of their assistants, and not all assistants want them by default (many want to remain mobile in case they get a better offer). It most affects the ones who want to stay for a long time, have a family, and want some security. With the modern coaching carousel, it isn't realistic to have all of these guys locked down, especially when head coaches are moving on faster and faster.

Also, if we had all of Hawk's and Embree's assistants on multiyear deals, we'd be in such a financial hole right now buying them out, we'd probably have had to keep Embree and nearly his entire staff. DiStephano estimated that it's saved us about $25M.
 
That's a rising star for Kent State but I think he needs at least another year at Kent State.
 
coachingsearch.com reporting that he will be interviewing with Cal today for their head coach vacancy.
 
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