Who Stepped Out and Stepped Up?

sealhall74 · Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:12 pm

712's most recent post on another thread about the Mike Villano years got me thinking about something. The question to be answered is this:

What former WIU coaches (HC or assistants) have departed the friendly environs of Macomb, IL and went on to achieve some level of success at the next highest level?

I will kick off the list with former Head FB Coach Don Patterson who is currently the Associate Head Coach at UConn.
I also would have to put Coach Mo on my list because even an assistant position at Nebraska (B1G) would be a fairly big step up IMO.

I am going to need some help on this one. Maybe with enough input, we can compile our very own "Top 10 Former Coaches" list.

Why is this of interest to me? Simple. I think this is a fairly reliable indicator of program strength. Win-loss records tend to be very cut-and-dry and can also be very misleading when you play competition below your current level.

wiu712 · Sun Jun 14, 2015 11:25 pm

I will add Football Head Coach Lou Saban to the list.

He was at Western for 3 years:
1957: 5-4
1958: 6-1-1
1959: 9-0

During those years, Western played in the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC).

Saban left Western following the 1959 season and became the first Head Coach for the Boston Patriots of the newly established American Football League (AFL) in 1960.

Mon Jun 15, 2015 12:14 am

I think you've also got to mention Red Miller too (unless your stipulation of "the next highest level" means only the top level of college football).
Miller played at Western and was an assistant coach under Saban, then moved up to the pro level with him. Went on to be mostly an offensive line coach before moving up to the HC position with the Denver Broncos in the late '70s ("Orange Crush" years).

Also, previously mentioned UConn football is head coached by former Leatherneck Assistant Coach (in '99-'00), Bob Diaco.

And one more recent one...Frisman Jackson. Played for two years as WR (and occasionally QB) at Western, before playing a few years in the NFL. Came back in '08 to coach WRs for Western for two years, before moving up to the MAC (Akron in '10). He eventually joined Dave Doeren's staff at Northern Illinois in '12 before moving with him to NC State for two seasons ('13-'14). Jackson recently accepted the same position (WR coach) at Temple University for the 2015 season: http://www.si.com/college-football/2015 ... vers-coach

leatherface · Mon Jun 15, 2015 6:57 am

Darrel Mudra (sp) was one of WESTERN'S best football coaches. When he left, I believe he became the head coach at Florida State. Then possibly was a pro coach of some type after that.

Mike Wagner was probably one of the best players to play in the pros. I believe he got four Super Bowl rings as a starter for Pittsburgh during their years with Bradshaw. There has been a number of lineman with extensive years in the pros-Winters, Teerlinck etc. I sometimes chuckle when more recent grads talk about some of our "modern" players and their skills who went to the pros and lasted only a couple of years, or play Arena ball. In the past, WESTERN has had some legit pro players who played for a number of years on successful NFL teams.

sealhall74 · Mon Jun 15, 2015 7:15 am

Regina Miller would certainly be on the list and if you look just at the post-Western numbers, she may be the hands down winner:

http://www.uicflames.com/sports/w-baskb ... 51281.html

Lou Saban was sort of a vagabond after leaving Macomb. His last coaching stop was Chowan (???) in 2002:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Saban

leatherface · Mon Jun 15, 2015 8:24 am

Seal- I believe a lot coaches could be called vagabonds at the college level. It's a life of constantly moving until you get that good contact or opportunity to move up. Few stay in one place for very long, especially assistants looking for that big break.

huskie · Mon Jun 15, 2015 8:30 am

Don't forget Chris Klieman now head coach at NDSU and Matt Entz Defensive coordinator at NDSU. Then there is Brad Underwood head coach at Stephen F. Austin basketball.

vatusay · Mon Jun 15, 2015 7:16 pm

Brian VanGorder is now D coordinator at Notre Dame

Also spent time at the same position with the Atlanta Falcons.

sealhall74 · Thu Jun 25, 2015 8:00 am

Leatherneck Hall of Famer Joe Taylor ('72), not a former coach for us (he did coach at EIU), but achieved pretty good success at the HBCU levels after graduating from WIU.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Taylo ... l_coach%29

BobLovely · Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:02 am

leatherface wrote:Darrell Mudra was one of WESTERN'S best football coaches. When he left, I believe he became the head coach at Florida State. Then possibly was a pro coach of some type after that.

Mudra, now 86 years old, coached at Florida State, Eastern Illinois and Northern Iowa [in that order] after he left Western. I was a senior when he resigned after the conclusion of the 1973 football season. At the time, we were all very disappointed that he left after such a successful run at WIU but, he was a bit of a vagabond during his coaching career and he often left positions he held after a successful season.

Mudra was 39-13 at Western. His teams created a lot of excitement and a great following in Macomb.

Bob