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Hazell Named MAC Coach of the Year

By 11W Staff - 28 November 2012
20 Comments
- Football

Could not be happier for the former Buckeye assistant. (kentstatesports.com)

Source kentstatesports.com/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/All-MAC

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Comments

DetroitBuckeye on 28 Nov 2012 - 1:55pm #

If I was an AD and I needed a head coach, I would definitely jump on this guy.

Doc on 28 Nov 2012 - 1:56pm #

No surprise, and well deserved. Nice job coach!

hodge on 28 Nov 2012 - 1:58pm #

I thought Bill O'Brien was a shoo-in for this...

Oh, that's right; Penn State won't be MAC-level for another couple years.

GoBucks713 on 28 Nov 2012 - 2:05pm #

He did lose to the OU Bobcats......

-The Aristocrats!

yrro on 28 Nov 2012 - 1:59pm #

When he left I was a little surprised that Kent State was his biggest offer. That should change after this year. Wonder how long he'll stay there?

btalbert25 on 28 Nov 2012 - 2:05pm #

Purdue, have you seen what this guy has done? Open up the wallet and pay a young talented coach that could actually make your program decent again. His situation is one that I would like to watch and see. Will the B1G have programs that do something smart or will they let this guy go to a middling program in another big conference and turn them into a winner? I would hope they'd offer this guy a spot, but fear they'll make another bonehead hire keeping them in bad shape and maintaining suckage in the B1G.

Doc on 28 Nov 2012 - 2:10pm #

Come on BT, you have got to stop using logic when thinking about the B1G. Especially Purdont. What were you thinking?

hodge on 28 Nov 2012 - 2:17pm #

Illinois, meet Tim Beckman. Sound familiar?

Not saying it will or won't work out with Beckman in Champaign, but it's examples like the one above that might make Purdue hesitant about going for a MAC-bred world-beater.

Honestly, I hope it happens too. Just like I hope that Beckman rights the ship in Champaign. The B1G has a dearth of head coaching talent, I'd love to see that turned around. Hell, maybe Purdue should look into an airraid desciple: systems like that do well even when you can't score blue-chip talent.

btalbert25 on 28 Nov 2012 - 2:53pm #

That's fair, but every situation is different. Urban was a great hire out of the MAC. RichRod was a horrible coach at Michigan but Kelly who was a gimmicky offense type of coach who didn't believe in D at UC wound up working out for Notre Dame. I just think a guy like Hazzel who has always been a great assistant, and who has been so impressive at Kent State, is a coach that would be great to have in the B1G. He's going to be a great coach, and the B1G needs guys like him if they are going to ever get any better because let's face it, there ain't no way a big time coach is coming to Purdue, even if they offer huge contracts.

Kurt on 28 Nov 2012 - 3:24pm #

I don't know if evreything you say of Brian Kelly is fair...interestingly his background is all in defense back at Grand Valley State...I'm not sure how good or bad his defense at UC was but I'm not surprised he's made it a priority at ND.

btalbert25 on 28 Nov 2012 - 3:29pm #

His UC defenses weren't great. Especially, the year they went undefeated before Florida housed them. His first season or 2 it may have been pretty good, but honestly I attributed that to Dantonio. He may have had more of a hand in on those early defenses than I give him credit for, but his best team at UC was not good defensively.

Buckeye Chuck on 28 Nov 2012 - 4:03pm #

I was also thinking Purdue is the obvious place for Hazell. There's no way that job can be harder than the one in Kent.

The most "loud mouth, disrespect" poster on 11W.

Ethan on 28 Nov 2012 - 2:33pm #

Imagine after his 5th consecutive national championship, Urban Meyer decides that college football has left him no more mountains to climb. He rides off into the sunset to spend with his family and as an analyst, and, after moving from Kent State to Cal to Arkansas, Darrell Hazell comes back to lead the Buckeyes.

tennbuckeye19 on 28 Nov 2012 - 3:23pm #

I honestly felt like had Tressel still been @ OSU and retired there, that Hazell would've been the next coach @ OSU. A lot of people thought Fickell was being groomed for that, but I think Hazell would've been the guy.