New UMass football coach recruiting champions
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AMHERST - New University of Massachusetts football coach Charley Molnar said he expects the Minutemen to be competitive in the Mid-American Conference quickly.
As he recruits UMass' first class that will spend its entire career in the Bowl Subdivision, Molnar is telling players that they wouldn't just be serving as a springboard for future players' success.
"I'm really talking to them about being the foundation of a championship football team. These guys aren't going to be just a step along the way so some group down the road can win a championship," Molnar said. "These guys are coming to the University of Massachusetts to win a championship in their time here. These guys are going to be hoisting a trophy up. That's the absolute plan. That's the vision and that's why they're coming to UMass."
Molnar said he won't announce his staff of assistant coaches until they've all been cleared by human resources, but he's got a staff passing along that message on the recruiting trails.
"One of the things I set out to do was hire a staff where every coach has full-time I-A experience," said Molnar, wearing a maroon dress shirt sitting a conference room in UMass' University Drive football offices. "Some have coached in the MAC and most of the coaches have some BCS experience at the full-time level."
He said he was looking for coaches who complement his style but had one essential trait for each of his coaches.
"I don't want nine guys who are exactly like me," he said. "I want guys who have a track record of developing great relationships with their players."
Unlike former coach Kevin Morris, who coached quarterbacks at UMass, Molnar will not be a position coach. He'll call plays on game days and be an active part of leading offensive meetings and preparation, but he hadn't ruled out naming one of his coaches the offensive coordinator.
"I think it's important that I'm able to move around freely to not only watch the offensive players, but to get over to watch the defense," Molnar said. "I'll have a guy that runs the offense when I'm not in there. He may or may not have the title of offensive coordinator. I'll be different from a lot of head coaches who call the plays on Saturdays, but aren't in the meetings during the week. My plan is to be in the meetings with the offense and assume the role of coordinator and when I have to step out the next guy in line will be ready to step in when I have to step out."
DATE WITH HIS TELEVISION - Molnar had originally planned to remain as Notre Dame's offensive coordinator through Thursday's Champs Sports Bowl, but quickly realized he needed to be at UMass full time to continue his building job.
He planned to spend at least part of his night watching Notre Dame play Florida State.
"Once I got a chance to sink my teeth into UMass, I felt like it was really the best thing for the football program for me to devote all my time and energies to the program here," said Molnar, who had the blessing of Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly. "That's my job. That's my future, and the future of the program is riding on my shoulders. I felt like serving two masters was not in the best interest of the football team here."
Molnar said quite a few fans have asked him whether his Notre Dame connections could someday lead to a game between the Minutemen and Fighting Irish. He effectively deflected the question.
"The big games I would like to see us play on a year-to-year basis are Boston College and UConn," he said.
COACHES ADDED? - While none are official yet, sources and media reports confirmed three members of Molnar's staff. Purdue linebacker coach Phil Elmassian is expected to be Molnar's defensive coordinator. He's previously been a defensive coordinator at West Virginia, LSU, Boston College and Virginia Tech.
Villanova defensive line coach Dave Sollazzo will take the same role at UMass. Sollazzo had been at Maryland for 10 years before joining the Wildcats last year.
Notre Dame grad assistant Shane Waldron is also expected to join the staff.
McSHEA INTERESTED - Jameson McShea, the standout tight end from Boston College High School who'd previously committed to Temple, is considering UMass after decommitting from the Minutemen's new MAC rival. McShea has an offer from Temple as well as several championship subdivision schools.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
