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Now that all of the dust has settled in the college football post-season, unless of course you are named Manti Te’o, the Purdue Boilermakers have announced most of their coaching staff. The Boilermakers cleaned house, firing head coach Danny Hope after a disappointing three years of running the program.
The Boilermakers hired Darrell Hazell out of Kent State, who is finally completely doing all-things Purdue after Kent State’s loss in the GoDaddy.com Bowl on January 6th. Hazell had an impromptu presser on Friday commenting on his recent trips on the recruitment trail, the new coaching additions and getting to know the current players.
The coaches that have become “official” are: Greg Hudson at defensive coordinator, Jafar Williams for running backs, Kevin Sherman for wide receivers, Jim Bollman on offensive line, Jon Heacock on cornerbacks and Marcus Freeman on linebackers. With these six announcements, Hazell only needs three more positions filled, which happen to be pretty big spots: an offensive coordinator, tight ends and defensive line. Coming in to a program and completely rebuilding the coaching staff from the ground up can’t be the easiest task in the whole world.
Hazell is trying to not only change up the coaching staff but get the players to reverse their mindsets. He commented that one of the first things he wanted to make sure that his new players understood is that they need to be accountable for everything they do, as a team and individually.
First of all, being accountable for everything that we do and making sure Purdue is no longer thought of as a middle team. We need to rise to the top and stop being perceived as a team that’s hanging in the middle.
He has set down a new set of rules for his team to follow and he said once they understand these rules, there will be no gray area. Break a rule, face the consequences. It sounds like Hazell is ready and willing to do what it takes to bring this program back to Big 10 title contention level.
Boilermakers’ fans are no doubt, completely ready.
