Temple to hire Addazio as football coach

Temple has a news conference scheduled for Thursday to introduce Steve Addazio as the Owls' new head football coach.

The event will 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 firey 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 due to 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 season, rank 80th in the nation in total offense with just an average of 356.8 yards per game.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Florida athletic department said that Addazio is expected to be on the Gators' sideline when they go against Penn State on Jan. 1 in the Outback Bowl. It will be the last game in Meyer's tenure, and he will hand the reins off to Will Muschamp after recently announcing his intention to retire after the game.

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

National signing day is Feb. 2.

Prior to 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 recruits interested who have already agreed to come.

George Washington High School coach Ron Cohen, who has two Temple recruits at his school, said Owls athletic director Bill Bradshaw has 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.

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 Azzadio was joining the Owls. It was Azzadio who recruited Sharif 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 expects 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's 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. Those were his jobs 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 have tryouts in the NFL.

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

Addazio inherits 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 23 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 on Dec. 12 that he was sure he could land an attractive candidate.