What you see is what you get.
That was the impression left among the crowd of fans, administrators, media members and a few former players who gathered for the introduction of Georgia Southern football coach Jeff Monken Monday at the Bishop Fieldhouse.
Monken took a no-nonsense approach to fielding questions, and even left a few unanswered.
He would not give an indication of who might join him on the Eagles' coaching staff, but said he hoped to have the staff in place before the new year. He was very specific about the option offense that will be run with the same blueprint Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson used while the head coach at GSU, and indicated that some familiar faces could be on the sidelines in the 2010 season.
“There are a lot of outstanding football coaches out there in high school and college who played here and coached here,” Monken said. “They're guys who I'm considering, and you may see one or more of them.”
He associated the option offense with Georgia Southern's identity.
“There's an identity with this offense and with this program,” he said. “It's similar to Delaware. When you think Delaware, what do you think of? Wing-T football. There are very few places like that. I think a lot of people think option football here. I can see why it would be like that, naturally. … It's easy to say, 'Why don't we go back to what we were doing before. It was working.'”
Monken said the defense GSU runs would be determined by the coordinator brought in and the personnel on the roster. He has not yet decided who would be calling the offensive plays on the field.
Monken coached in three national championship games while at GSU, and was a part of two titles under Johnson. He has won 12 conference, bowl and national title rings while following Johnson from GSU to Navy and finally to Georgia Tech, so he said he has a good idea of the expectations at Georgia Southern.
“It grew up out of nowhere and got to national prominence in practically no time,” Monken said about the history of the Eagles. “It's just been a wonderful history and tradition. We understand we're charged with getting us back to national prominence. We certainly intend to do that. We're gonna work extremely hard. We're making no promises. I hope you see a team that will play with great intensity and effort, with humility and pride - be a tough football team that plays extremely hard and that you'll be proud to watch on Saturday afternoons.”
A select few current Southern Conference coaches were around in 2001 when Monken last coached in Statesboro, but he is aware of the level of competition among the league.
“I've got a lot of respect for the coaches in this league, and we're going to have to come up with a plan to beat them,” said Monken. “There's no magic wand. Just because we run the option doesn't mean we're going to score points and have success. We're going to have to coach them to play hard and play better. That's how you win - you play better than the team you're playing that day.”
Monken also talked about recruiting. He talked about using his ties with Georgia Tech and making the kids who fall short of offers from major conferences his priority.
“Those are the kinds of kids we're going to hang on to,” Monken said, “and just try to be there when the realization comes that, 'Hey, that's not going to be the reality for you, but here's the next best thing.' That will start to happen mid-January or so.
“I'm hopeful that (Tech) will be a resource for us. I'm certainly not under the illusion that I'll be able to recruit the same kind of players that the SEC and ACC will recruit. It would be crazy to say we're going to be in those recruiting battles. On the next tier right below that, I hope we'll be able to get in the hunt for those kinds of kids.”
Monken talked about dreaming of an opportunity to be a head coach for as long as he could remember.
“Like a lot of coaches, I started my career as a young graduate assistant,” he said. “I slept on the floor of my office for a couple of years, ate noodles out of a coffee pot - all of those stories you hear. You do that in hopes of having a day in your future like today.”
Monken will continue to split time between Statesboro and Atlanta, helping Georgia Tech prepare for the Orange Bowl against Iowa on January 5.
“There's only ten teams that (go to a BCS Bowl) every year, and I don't know if I'll ever get to do that again,” he said. “Maybe someday I will. It's a chance for me to do something that not many people get a chance to do, and selfishly I want to be a part of that too. … I want to finish the season, and I have coach Johnson to thank for that.”
Finally, Monken addressed the traditions at GSU - things like yellow school busses and Beautiful Eagle Creek.
“All those things are things that make Georgia Southern football and I embrace those traditions,” he said. “They're part of what make this place special.”
Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.
That was the impression left among the crowd of fans, administrators, media members and a few former players who gathered for the introduction of Georgia Southern football coach Jeff Monken Monday at the Bishop Fieldhouse.
Monken took a no-nonsense approach to fielding questions, and even left a few unanswered.
He would not give an indication of who might join him on the Eagles' coaching staff, but said he hoped to have the staff in place before the new year. He was very specific about the option offense that will be run with the same blueprint Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson used while the head coach at GSU, and indicated that some familiar faces could be on the sidelines in the 2010 season.
“There are a lot of outstanding football coaches out there in high school and college who played here and coached here,” Monken said. “They're guys who I'm considering, and you may see one or more of them.”
He associated the option offense with Georgia Southern's identity.
“There's an identity with this offense and with this program,” he said. “It's similar to Delaware. When you think Delaware, what do you think of? Wing-T football. There are very few places like that. I think a lot of people think option football here. I can see why it would be like that, naturally. … It's easy to say, 'Why don't we go back to what we were doing before. It was working.'”
Monken said the defense GSU runs would be determined by the coordinator brought in and the personnel on the roster. He has not yet decided who would be calling the offensive plays on the field.
Monken coached in three national championship games while at GSU, and was a part of two titles under Johnson. He has won 12 conference, bowl and national title rings while following Johnson from GSU to Navy and finally to Georgia Tech, so he said he has a good idea of the expectations at Georgia Southern.
“It grew up out of nowhere and got to national prominence in practically no time,” Monken said about the history of the Eagles. “It's just been a wonderful history and tradition. We understand we're charged with getting us back to national prominence. We certainly intend to do that. We're gonna work extremely hard. We're making no promises. I hope you see a team that will play with great intensity and effort, with humility and pride - be a tough football team that plays extremely hard and that you'll be proud to watch on Saturday afternoons.”
A select few current Southern Conference coaches were around in 2001 when Monken last coached in Statesboro, but he is aware of the level of competition among the league.
“I've got a lot of respect for the coaches in this league, and we're going to have to come up with a plan to beat them,” said Monken. “There's no magic wand. Just because we run the option doesn't mean we're going to score points and have success. We're going to have to coach them to play hard and play better. That's how you win - you play better than the team you're playing that day.”
Monken also talked about recruiting. He talked about using his ties with Georgia Tech and making the kids who fall short of offers from major conferences his priority.
“Those are the kinds of kids we're going to hang on to,” Monken said, “and just try to be there when the realization comes that, 'Hey, that's not going to be the reality for you, but here's the next best thing.' That will start to happen mid-January or so.
“I'm hopeful that (Tech) will be a resource for us. I'm certainly not under the illusion that I'll be able to recruit the same kind of players that the SEC and ACC will recruit. It would be crazy to say we're going to be in those recruiting battles. On the next tier right below that, I hope we'll be able to get in the hunt for those kinds of kids.”
Monken talked about dreaming of an opportunity to be a head coach for as long as he could remember.
“Like a lot of coaches, I started my career as a young graduate assistant,” he said. “I slept on the floor of my office for a couple of years, ate noodles out of a coffee pot - all of those stories you hear. You do that in hopes of having a day in your future like today.”
Monken will continue to split time between Statesboro and Atlanta, helping Georgia Tech prepare for the Orange Bowl against Iowa on January 5.
“There's only ten teams that (go to a BCS Bowl) every year, and I don't know if I'll ever get to do that again,” he said. “Maybe someday I will. It's a chance for me to do something that not many people get a chance to do, and selfishly I want to be a part of that too. … I want to finish the season, and I have coach Johnson to thank for that.”
Finally, Monken addressed the traditions at GSU - things like yellow school busses and Beautiful Eagle Creek.
“All those things are things that make Georgia Southern football and I embrace those traditions,” he said. “They're part of what make this place special.”
Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.