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Temple to hire Florida assistant Steve Addazio as coach

If you like offense, you might like Steve Addazio, the new football coach at Temple. According to a source close to the situation, Temple will name Addazio, the offensive coordinator at Florida, its head coach Thursday at an 11 a.m. news conference.

Temple has hired Steve Addazio as their next head football coach, sources tell the Daily News. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Temple has hired Steve Addazio as their next head football coach, sources tell the Daily News. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)Read more

If you like offense, you might like Steve Addazio, the new football coach at Temple.

According to a source close to the situation, Temple will name Addazio, the offensive coordinator at Florida, its head coach Thursday at an 11 a.m. news conference.

The event is scheduled to take place in the Fox-Gittis Room at the Liacouras Center, where Al Golden was welcomed five years ago. Miami hired Golden away to be its head coach on Dec. 12.

Regarded as an effective recruiter and fiery orator, Addazio, 51, is credited with stocking Florida with some of the top high school players and helping lead Florida last season when head coach Urban Meyer took a leave of absence for health reasons.

But Addazio, named Florida's associate head coach this season, was criticized when the Gators' offense stumbled this season. The once-proud Gators, 7-5 this year, rank 80th in the nation in total offense with an average of just 356.8 yards per game.

This week, a spokesman for the Florida athletic department said that Addazio was expected to be on the Gators' sideline when they play Penn State on Jan. 1 in the Outback Bowl. It will be the last game in Meyer's tenure; he will hand the reins to Will Muschamp.

With the bowl season in progress, Football Bowl Subdivision teams are in a "dead period" under NCAA guidelines and cannot recruit off campus until Jan. 4.

National signing day is Feb. 2.

Before Golden's departure, Temple had 14 oral commitments. With one player known to have de-committed to follow Golden to the Hurricanes, Addazio may have another 12 scholarships to work with if he is able to keep the other previously committed recruits interested.

George Washington High coach Ron Cohen, who has two Temple recruits in linebacker Brandon Chudnoff and defensive back/wide receiver Daquan Cooper at his school, said Owls athletic director Bill Bradshaw guaranteed all scholarship offers that were extended under Golden. Several of those who received promises from Temple said they were waiting to meet the new coach before making a decision about whether to play for the Owls or look elsewhere.

Cohen, a Temple grad, said he was glad to hear that Addazio was joining the Owls. It was Addazio who recruited Sharrif Floyd to Florida last year out of Washington, where he was ranked by many as the No. 1 high school defensive tackle in the nation.

"I'm real happy about it," said Cohen, who said he expected his players to honor their commitments to Temple. "I think Temple took a step forward. They brought in somebody who can take it to the next level. I know my kids are going to be excited. He knows both of them from when he recruited Sharif."

Addazio certainly is experienced. In six seasons at Florida, he coached the offensive line and tight ends before taking charge of the Gators' offense in 2009. He was in charge of the line and tight ends when Florida won the national title in 2006. When the Gators won the championship in 2008, Addazio was the assistant head coach and offensive line coach.

Addazio also has been on the staffs at Syracuse (1995-98), Notre Dame (1999-2001), and Indiana (2002-04). He has coached in 10 bowl games and tutored 23 players who went on to be drafted or signed in the NFL.

A native of Farmington, Conn., Addazio played football at Central Connecticut State.

Addazio will inherit a squad that went 8-4 this year and loses only 16 seniors after Temple tied the school record with 17 wins in consecutive seasons. The Owls, who are in solid shape academically, won 22 games over the last three seasons under Golden to match the school's best performance over that time.

Bradshaw, who has not commented on the search for Golden's successor, indicated to the Owls players in a meeting Dec. 12 that he was sure he could land an attractive candidate.

The Addazio File

Here is a look at new Temple football coach Steve Addazio:

Age: 51

Birthdate: June 1, 1959

Hometown: Farmington, Conn.

Education: 1981, bachelor's degree in physical education from Central Connecticut State; 1985, master's degree in physical education from Central Connecticut State.

Family: Married to the former Kathy Donoghue, with three children: Nicole (22), Jessica (19), and Louie (16).

Fast facts: His 2009 offense ranked first in the SEC in total offense and second in rushing offense, passing offense, and scoring offense. It finished in the top 10 nationally in passing efficiency (first), total offense (sixth), rushing offense (10th), and scoring offense (10th). It was the only offense in the nation to both pass and rush for more than 3,000 yards. . . . He was a four-year starter at Central Connecticut State from 1978 to '81 and had tryouts with the NFL's New England Patriots, USFL's Jacksonville Bulls, and CFL's Ottawa Roughriders. . . . He was one of the nation's top high school coaches at Cheshire (Conn.) High School, earning national rankings in both 1992 and 1994. During one stretch, his club won 34 consecutive games, the second-longest string in the nation. His teams also won three state titles in a row.

Source: Gatorzone.comEndText