Miami of Ohio has a storied history when it comes to college football coaches. The school that helped introduce names like Ara Parseghian, Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Sean Payton and Jim Tressel just to name a few, is now hoping Chuck Martin will be the next legendary coach to help turn the program around. According to the Associated Press, Martin has been signed to a five-year contract.
“It’s great when a plan comes together,” Miami of Ohio director of athletics David Sayler said Wednesday, when the school formally introduced Martin as head coach. “As hard as it was to make a change in the middle of the year, it was done to get a head start and close this thing up as quickly as possible after the season was done.”
Miami fired head coach Don Treadwell after dismal 0-5 start to the season. Assistant coach Mike Bath took over for the remainder of the season but the RedHawks failed to win a single game the entire season. Miami has won just eight games since a 10-win season in 2010. Sayler is optimistic Martin, who has been developing as a coach while serving as offensive coordinator at Notre Dame since 2010 after a stint as head coach of Division 2 football powerhouse Grand Valley State, where he won back-to-back national championships.
“Someone that’s been a sitting head coach and someone that has experience at the Division I level were the two key factors in the process,” Sayler said Wednesday. “We found someone who checked those boxes and then some. From the belief in the academic mission and the things they believe in personally, it was perfect when I first met Chuck.”
The question is whether five years will be enough to turn around a Miami program coming off a year without a win. The answer is likely yes in the MAC, where teams always seem to have some quick turnarounds. Miami’s location also seems to be a strength according to Martin when it comes to recruiting.
“We want to get a lot of really good players,” Martin said confidently with a smile Wednesday. “We’re in the top state in the Midwest as far as football talent and passion for the game goes. I want players that love to play the game. Is he a person that wants to play in a championship and be in that moment, that’s the type of student-athletes we want in the program.”
It was an up and down year for new coaches in the MAC in 2012. Kent State’s Paul Haynes went 4-8 in his first season on the job following the departure of Darrell Hazell (Purdue). Western Michigan slugged through a 1-11 season in P.J. Fleck‘s first year on the job, dropping three more games than they did in 2012. Northern Illinois lost Dave Doeren to North Carolina State, but is on track for a return trip to the BCS if they can complete a 13-0 season with a MAC Championship Game victory against Bowling green this week in Rod Carey‘s first season as head coach.
“Sometimes it takes a day to build a mountain, sometimes it takes longer,” Martin said. “If we stick to the process and get the right people involved in our program, we’ll get to where we want to be.”
Photo courtesy: Miami Ohio Athletics