Imagine getting a job you didn’t even chase — one that came with pressure the moment your name hit the headlines. But it wasn’t just any job… it was the same program where you once gave your all as a player nearly 30 years ago, Now picture being told in the interview, “You’ve got a week to move your entire family 1,600+ miles and get to work.” Oh, and by the way… you’ll need to build a brand new team on the fly — a team expected to compete with the best of the best, all within your first…….Read more

Imagine getting a job you didn’t even chase — one that came with pressure the moment your name hit the headlines. But it wasn’t just any job… it was the same program where you once gave your all as a player nearly 30 years ago. Now picture being told in the interview, “You’ve got a week to move your entire family 1,600+ miles and get to work.” Oh, and by the way… you’ll need to build a brand new team on the fly — a team expected to compete with the best of the best, all within your first season. That was the moment my past and future collided in a whirlwind I wasn’t sure I was ready for — but had to be.

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Coming back to the program that helped shape me as a young athlete was emotional. The stadium, though modernized, still echoed with the sounds of our old victories. Faces had changed, but the pride, the grit, the legacy — all of it was still there, embedded in the walls and the culture. But sentimentality had no place on the schedule I’d been handed. I had seven days to uproot my family, settle into a completely different climate, and walk into a locker room with no playbook, no roster, and no certainty — only expectations.

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Building a team from scratch is one thing. Doing it under the scrutiny of a fanbase that remembers your glory days — and wants them back — is something else entirely. I didn’t have time to ease into the role. Every decision was a headline. Every move was judged. And while I had the title of “Head Coach,” I hadn’t yet earned the trust of the young men I was about to lead. So, I started with what I knew: heart. I hit the phones, watched film deep into the night, and began crafting a vision, not just of what we could be, but of what we had to become — quickly.

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I leaned on relationships, called in favors, and chased down transfers and unsigned talent like my life depended on it. I had to sell not just a program, but a promise. “Come here, and you’ll help write history,” I’d tell them. “You’ll build something no one thought was possible — and you’ll do it together.” Slowly, piece by piece, names filled in on the roster. Not the five-star blue-chippers the powerhouses were hoarding, but hungry kids with chips on their shoulders and fire in their eyes. Kids like me once — overlooked, underestimated, and ready to prove the world wrong.

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Training camp was chaos — beautiful, messy chaos. We had just enough bodies to run full drills, and not a single player knew the guy lining up next to him. But day by day, something incredible started to happen. They began to bond. They began to believe. They started echoing the same energy I felt nearly three decades ago when I first wore this jersey. By the end of the second week, we weren’t just a team; we were a brotherhood. The chemistry wasn’t perfect, but the foundation was strong — built on respect, on effort, and on the belief that this was bigger than any one of us.

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Now, as we stand on the brink of our first game, I won’t lie — the nerves are real. But so is the fire. We’ve built this together, against every odd, with the weight of legacy pressing on our shoulders. The job I didn’t chase has become the mission I live for. And while we might not have a championship pedigree yet, we’ve got heart, hustle, and a story worth telling. This isn’t just a comeback — it’s a new era. And it all starts now.