Rice Coach

[Pony Fan]

Any truth to the rumor Todd Graham to Rice as head coach?

[Stallion]

Rivals announced he has been offered the job in a story posted about 1 p.m. Friday

[Pony_Fan]

http://tulsahurricane.collegesports.com ... odd00.html

This must the reason why they recruit better than we do....some local ties?? - He coached at Allen High School.

[BrianTinBigD]

He was so awesome at Allen that he won 2 Bi-District playoff games. Luckily after he left we were able to bring in better coaches that have moved us further along the road to winning a state title. I love how the bio makes him look like a huge winner at Allen but in reality he won 3 playoff games and no district titles. 9-3 is not actually all that great. However, until Todd Dodge leaves SLC that looks unlikely for Allen or anyone else in the metroplex.

[Cheesesteak]

ESPN l Associated Press

HOUSTON -- Rice introduced Tulsa defensive coordinator Todd Graham as its new head coach on Sunday, one day after he helped the Golden Hurricane win the Liberty Bowl.

Graham, 41, replaces Ken Hatfield, who resigned on Nov. 30 after 12 seasons.

"This situation is one I've researched quite a bit," Graham said at a news conference. "There's no doubt in my mind we're going to build a winner here."

Terms of Graham's contract were not released.

"He has a challenge, but he's met challenges before," said Rice athletic director Bobby May. "I'm just excited to watch this develop."

Tulsa, in its third season with Graham running the defense, was 37th overall -- allowing 342 yards per game. The Golden Hurricane was 42nd in scoring defense, yielding 23 points a game, and fourth in the nation in turnover margin at plus-17.

They defeated Fresno State 31-24 on Saturday in the Liberty Bowl to finish 9-4, including a 41-21 win over Rice in October.

Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe was mentioned as a candidate for the Colorado job before Boise State coach Dan Hawkins took it. Instead of waiting to see if Kragthorpe might take another high-profile job, Graham decided to accept Rice's offer.

"My deal is I'm a rebuilder. I enjoy the challenge," he said. "I always tell people I always get jobs nobody else wants. This job fits me to a 'T.'"

Three Tulsa assistants will join Graham at Rice -- defensive line coach Danny Phillips, defensive backs coach Jason Jones and former Tulsa graduate assistant Jess Loepp.

Under Hatfield, the Owls ran the option. Graham said a key to turning around the program is "modernizing" the schemes.

"It's not a program that I think is decimated, that there's no talent and no hope," Graham said. "It's just one of those things I feel like some new ideas and modernizing our approach and what we're doing will get kids excited in recruiting."

Graham was a two-time NAIA All-American defensive back at East Central University in Oklahoma in the 1980s. He later served as defensive coordinator there, helping East Central win the NAIA championship in 1993.

A native of Mesquite, Texas, Graham coached at Allen High School, north of Dallas, from 1995-2000 before becoming the linebackers coach at West Virginia in 2001. He was promoted to co-defensive coordinator there in 2002, then moved to Tulsa in 2003.

"He's just an enthusiastic, very aggressive, very dedicated, great coach," May said. "And he's a great fit for Rice."

Rice went 1-10 in 2005, the team's worst mark under Hatfield and the program's worst since the Owls lost all 11 games in 1988 under Jerry Berndt.

Rice lost 14 straight games between 2004-05 and ended what had been the nation's longest Division I-A winless streak with a 42-34 win over Tulane on Nov. 12.

Graham said he could make Rice a winner again within two to three years.

"Anything less than being Conference USA champions and bowl champions is unacceptable," Graham said. "I always see those funny looks in the faces of people everywhere I've been who really doubt that. But two to three years from now, we'll have all those things changed."

One of his first priorities is just getting fans to care.

The losing led to embarrassing attendance levels at 70,000-seat Rice Stadium. Rice averaged 10,072 fans at its five home games -- an all-time low in 56 seasons. The home finale against Central Florida on Nov. 19 drew 8,267.

Graham promised to build back the fan base "one handshake at a time," but acknowledged that the program needs to start producing immediately.

"We're not going to ask for something without giving you results," Graham said. "The biggest thing to get things turned around is to win."

Graham met with some players before Sunday's announcement. They liked what they heard.

"We don't like that we were a 1-10 team," said sophomore offensive lineman Lute Barber. "I like his passion and he seems to have a passion to turn things around. I can't wait to get things going."

The team didn't have a clear offseason training plan.

"We didn't know what to do or what to work on," said freshman quarterback John Shepherd. "We were all just waiting. It was tough, but I'm really excited now."

Graham is not related to Rice baseball coach Wayne Graham, who led the Owls to their first NCAA championship in 2003.

[RGV Pony]

Moving speech given by Graham. I kept expecting to read that as a young-un, he was recruited by Rice and decided to go to Rice...till his mama told him otherwise. Nevertheless, he's always followed Rice and felt their paths would cross somewhere. Oh, and that he expected to walk in and compete for conference championships right away.

[smu96]

Graham is a great guy and I hope he does well as their head coach (except when they're playing SMU). I spent a lot of time around him when he was in Allen and I'm very interested to see how things work out for him.

[ALEX LIFESON]

He has been very good at getting Dallas area kids to go north on I45, now he will try and get them to go south on I45.

[MrMustang1965]

He has been very good at getting Dallas area kids to go north on I45, now he will try and get them to go south on I45.

Actually, I-45 only goes from Galveston - where it begins - to Dallas - where it ends.

[McClown27]

He is a good hire.

[Water Pony]

Good luck, Owls.

Imagine a CUSA with teams like SMU, Rice, Tulsa and Tulane playing at high levels. Don't you love the Privates being competitive?

After the Mustangs, those three will have my support. Academics and sports: 'why the college game was invented!'

[Roach]

.... and that he expected to walk in and compete for conference championships right away.

"Anything less than being Conference USA champions and bowl champions is unacceptable," Graham said.

Since he's touted as such a great recruiter, I wonder if any Tulsa commitments will change to Rice?

[MrMustang1965]

from the Dallas Morning News:

David Beaty has submitted his resignation as football coach at Irving MacArthur to become the receivers coach at Rice, Irving ISD athletic director Joe Barnett said Wednesday.

MacArthur had a 33-11 record in four seasons under Beaty, who led the program to four consecutive playoff berths for the first time in school history. MacArthur was 1-9 the season before Beaty's arrival and hadn't made the playoffs since 1997. He was named SportsDay's coach of the year after MacArthur made the playoffs in 2002, his first season at the school.

Beaty, 34, has a 39-15 career record. He was North Dallas' head coach during the 2001 season, the program's only winning campaign in the last two decades.

Beaty helped Garland win the Class 5A Division II title as an assistant in 1999. He played receiver at Garland in the late 1980s.

Beaty did not immediately return a phone message requesting a comment.

[Stallion]

so far the Rice coaching staff is 41, 31, 33, 27 and 26.

[SWC2010]

so far the Rice coaching staff is 41, 31, 33, 27 and 26.

I think that is a good thing.

It will be easier for these young guys to find jobs when Rice drops FB in '09.