RamWire: Addazio Tackles First Week as a Ram
His key was to have a respectful approach for all involved
Mike Brohard
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Quantity was a given.
Steve Addazio was not dazed by what awaited him. The road may have led him to someplace entirely new, but the path was filled with the same rocks, potholes and speed bumps.
The first time was at Florida, when Urban Meyer took a leave of absence. Heading to Temple and Boston College, taking over as the new head coach, the checklists were the same. The meetings, the greetings, the introductions. Personnel decisions, and – just one week into his tenure as Colorado State’s head football coach – a recruiting class to sign.
Wednesday’s early signing period was a new twist.
“Along the way, you’re drinking out of a fire hose,” Addazio said.
He’s doing it without a single drop of water on his chin, none spilling on his shirt. As recruits were calling in Wednesday to say they had sent in paperwork, he congratulated each one of them, expressing how excited he was they were joining the program. He would occasionally pop his head into the war room, asking staffers, one by one, to come sit and talk with him in his office.
It was a tough day emotionally. There were coaches from Mike Bobo’s regime who worked hard to keep recruits in the fold, all of them knowing there’s a chance they won’t be around for the development phase. But they’d like to, so they waited for their turn.
This was not lost on Addazio, because he’s been that coach before, waiting and wondering. The nature of the schedule means those decisions are made around the holidays, adding another dose of angst.
At this point, the quantity doesn’t matter.
Quality does.
You don’t get to meet somebody with a passing-by greeting. You don’t show respect for those who have paved the road with a cluttered mind. For him, it would be rude to call his move to Fort Collins fun, knowing the decisions he’ll make will impact the lives of others.
“I take it very seriously,” Addazio said. “The change impacts on players, the coaches and administration. I don’t take that lightly. I think it would be irresponsible of me to just act like zippity-do-dah with that. That doesn’t mean I’m morose, I’m just being me, but I want to be respectful along the way.
“I’ve been in the business a long time, been on the other side of this thing. I think you appreciate it when people treat you right. We all know this business is tough, but there’s a difference in how to go about it. I don’t want to be aloof. I’ve had that happen to me.”
He was very clear on signing day he appreciated the work the staff had done, not only to line up a class, but to keep one intact as the transition was made. From him, kudos all around, an expression not lost on David Stenklyft, the director of player personnel.
“He’s really let us kind of finish out for this semester and this signing class. He’s obviously had his hand in some of the guy’s we’ve signed,” Stenklyft said. “Five who signed were committed to us already, and obviously with the new direction, we were able to do some things.”
Addazio describes himself as a straight-shooter, very up front. This isn’t necessary for those who have watched him for five minutes. You glean that from the way he looks you in the eyes as he speaks. He comes across very old-school as he expands on the virtues he cherishes in his program and players – toughness and passion.
This is who he has been, the person he will remain as Colorado State’s head coach. Of this, Louie Addazio is certain.
This is the man who raised Louie, who inspired him, the one he idolized. His was a childhood lived on the football field. He remembers being 7-years old, watching Donovan McNabb throw passes to Marvin Harrison at Syracuse. Seeing Dwight Freeney sack quarterbacks.
All the while, he and his friends were playing on the tackling dummies or engaging in flag football games on the side.
“We were luckier than a lot. We only moved when we had to,” Louie said. “We weren’t moving every year. We were really lucky in that regard. It’s definitely tough. You have to pick up, leave your friends, start in a new place. My sisters and I, we like to think we can go anywhere and be situated, because we’ve been doing it our whole lives.”
What they haven’t been in those places are folks passing by. They’ve made lasting friendships. When Louie was married this past May, he looked over the crowd at a large group of friends from every stop along the way.
Naturally, he played the game. He played for his father in college, but it was in high school where he knew his true path was into coaching. It was the family business, and his dad has long been considered among the best tutors of offensive linemen in the country.
When he was young, he would “help” set up drills for his dad. In retrospect, he bet he messed them up, but it was an honest effort. He learned along the way from his father and his coaches, and when he went to Ohio State as a graduate assistant, his father’s teachings were embedded – be quiet, work hard, earn your reputation and speak when spoken to directly. As a player, things are planned out for you. As a coach, some things you have to figure out for yourself.
So Louie’s first day, with no one around, he sat at his desk and watched film. For seven hours. He didn’t go to the bathroom, he didn’t eat. Two days later, he was flying around with Meyer on recruiting visits. In silence.
“If he wanted to talk to me, he’d talk to me,” Louie said with a grin.
“I take it very seriously. The change impacts on players, the coaches and administration. I don’t take that lightly. I think it would be irresponsible of me to just act like zippity-do-dah with that. That doesn’t mean I’m morose, I’m just being me, but I want to be respectful along the way."Steve Addazio, CSU football coach
No leap is required to understand the parameters Steve will have in his program. The young men he invites into the locker room will be required to be respectful and display high character on the campus and the greater Fort Collins community. He wants them to love the game, and just as important, love playing at Colorado State.
Meyer will tell you love will be a key component in every aspect of Steve’s life.
When they were together at Florida winning two national championships – Meyer as head coach, Steve as his offensive coordinator and line coach – he called his assistant Vitamin A.
He was all energy. His pregame talks were electric. This, Meyer said, is a man who is all in from A to Z. It’s not just football, it’s his approach to the entirety, to the community, especially to his family.
He is a great husband and father, Meyer said. And a great teacher.
“He loves his players, “Meyer said. “He doesn’t coach them, he loves them.”
This is important to know. While at Florida, Steve as named the national recruiter of the year in 2010. Once he left, according to those same experts, Steve obviously lost his touch. In seven seasons at Boston College, his recruiting classes were always near the bottom, sometimes the last school listed.
So, how in the world did the Eagles go to six bowl games in seven years with the worst players in the conference?
“People need to understand he took the worse program in the ACC, an embarrassment at Boston College, and put them in six out of seven bowl games, which no coach has ever done with what I think is the worst budget in the ACC,” Meyer said. “He’s the best teacher I’ve been around. They know, listening to him, he’ll make them better. Deep down, how do you measure the attitude of a player? It’s not wins and losses, it’s does the player feel like he’s getting better, and they know they’re getting better.
“In the old days, you’d tell a kid to jump and he’d say, how high? Now it’s, do I trust you and do I know you care about me? Then you can move mountains together. That’s his greatest quality.”
On a Wednesday, Steve accepted the offer from CSU Athletic Director Joe Parker. On Thursday, he met with his new team and was introduced to fans and the media at a press conference.
On Friday, he was in Colorado high schools, recruiting Colorado talent. He wants a roster filled with players who want to be at Colorado State, have a passion for Colorado State. When they wear the green and gold, it will mean something to them.
That’s passion. Passion doesn’t just take extra reps, it wants extra reps. Passion plays through the whistle, maybe a half second past. Passion is never satisfied and carries with it an advanced level of pride.
That’s Steve Addazio, and those are the players he wants. Those are the people he wants on his staff.
Those are decisions which cannot be rushed, and at moments, Steve admits, the first week has felt chaotic.
“That’s mentally and physically exhausting, and that’s what I’m in the middle of right now,” he said. “And I just came off a season, too. One thing you can’t do is get overwhelmed by the entirety of it all. Take it in segments. That’s’ where I am now.”
When the week came to a close, he headed back to Boston. To help his wife, Kathy, pack up the old home and prepare to find a new one. There, he will find moments of solitude, a chance to dissect all of the information from all of the meetings and start to finalize his staff. Important decisions require clarity, and with a block of time between one recruiting phase and the next, he can find it there.
Just like when he was a little kid running around on the practice field, Louie is excited. For his father, his family as a whole. They all see Colorado State as a great opportunity, a place to win championships and build something special.
There was so much to do, but as he’s witnessed growing up, there was only one way for his father to approach the transition. Straight forward and with care, each step of the way.
Then Steve stood up to take the next one. “Hey John,” he said, and with that, John Blasco, Jr. walked into the office of his new head coach.
“I couldn’t have done one more thing than I’ve done,” Steve said. “That’s why I have to fly out of here, decompress and process all of the information that I’ve gathered, which I think will work out well for me.”
When he returns, many lines will be have crossed off the list. Naturally, they will have been replaced with new tasks. Staff meetings to hold, an updated board for recruits as the closing phase approaches in February, a spring camp to plan out, complete with practice scripts.
The quantity, he knows, will always be there, waiting for him, no matter where he coaches. To respect the process, he has to show the same care for those in the room with him.