Spring Spotlight - The Coaching Staff
Mar 23, 2018 | Football
By Oliver Grigg
TulaneGreenWave.com
NEW ORLEANS – Consistency and chemistry win championships. Head football coach Willie Fritz's resume is proof.
Two NJCAA National Championships. One MIAA Conference Championship. Two Southland Conference Championships. One Sun Belt Conference Championship.
Of his 201 career wins, 66 have come on the NCAA Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision), and 163 of his wins have come at NCAA institutions. Entering his 26th year as a head coach, Fritz is a proven winner on all levels.
The key? Consistency and chemistry. And you don't have to look further than his coaching staff to see it.
"I think we'll be one of only four staffs in America as of right now that has had the same staff three years in a row," Fritz said. "A bunch of good guys, a bunch of good coaches. We work well together, we have very little drama. From support staff, coaching staff, analysts to graduate assistants. That really helps your continuity."
Tulane is the only American Athletic Conference football program to not change a single coach in the past three seasons.
When Fritz paces the sideline on game days, he's coaching alongside his most trusted assistants. Doug Ruse is in his seventh season working under Fritz as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Ruse followed Fritz from Georgia Southern to Tulane and spent two seasons with Fritz at Sam Houston State.
Defensive coordinator Jack Curtis has worked under Fritz for five seasons, first joining his staff at Georgia Southern in 2014. Curtis and Ruse have coached together for nearly 20 years, dating back to their time at Northwestern State and Arkansas State in the 1990s and early 2000s.
"When you've worked with the same number of guys as long as some of us have, it makes it easier," Ruse said. "You know everybody's coaching styles, so you can organize your staff. Everybody knows their place and their responsibilities. It's definitely an advantage having the continuity on the staff that we have."
The list goes on.
Assistant head coach/offensive line coach/running game coordinator Alex Atkins enters his fifth season of coaching under Fritz, having manned the sidelines with him since 2014 at Georgia Southern. Wide receivers coach Jeff Conway and Fritz's tenure together dates back to 1984 when both were in their first stints at Sam Houston State.
Linebackers coach Michael Mutz has worked under Fritz since the 2013 season at Sam Houston State. Defensive line coach Kevin Peoples and defensive analyst Johnny Jernigan spent two seasons with Fritz at Georgia Southern. Offensive analyst Derrick Sherman served as an offensive graduate assistant on Fritz' staff at Georgia Southern.
Shane Meyer, now in his third season as director of football operations, hasn't just spent the past five seasons working under Fritz. He played for Fritz at Central Missouri, earning All-American honors as a placekicker in 1997.
Through two full seasons at Tulane, it's apparent that Fritz and the coaching staff's commitment to consistency has already made an impact. The Green Wave finished 2017 with their highest win total since the 2013 season despite facing one of the nation's toughest schedules, with nine of their opponents earning invitations to bowl games.
Under the staff's tutelage, the 2017 squad featured an aggressive ground attack – averaging 231.5 yards per game, ranking No. 20 nationally and fourth in The American – and a ball-hawking defensive unit, which forced 19 turnovers. Four Green Wave players earned All-Conference honors, including former cornerback Parry Nickerson, who was named First Team All-Conference and earned Second Team All-America honors from Sports Illustrated.
The coaching staff's chemistry has helped off the field, too, especially in recruiting. Recruits are drawn not only to the program's renewed sense of enthusiasm and a winning culture, but also the assurance that the coaching staff will stay together.
"The biggest thing with the continuity of the staff is being able to stay in the same offense, the same defense, the same terminology," Curtis said. "Those things are important when you're building a program. Staying in the same system helps the kids develop and become better players, and I think that that interests kids because they know who they're going to play for. Kids sign with the university, but they do get close to coaches, and we're a staff that's been together for a long time."
With another spring camp in full swing and another football season rapidly approaching, there's plenty of work to do – on the practice field and in the meeting rooms – to address the unknown. What's known, though, is that the coaching staff is in it for the long haul.
"It's more than friendship," Atkins said. "It's almost a brotherhood. We get to bounce ideas off each other, we get to argue sometimes, but it's always good because we're sharing a common goal."
TulaneGreenWave.com
NEW ORLEANS – Consistency and chemistry win championships. Head football coach Willie Fritz's resume is proof.
Two NJCAA National Championships. One MIAA Conference Championship. Two Southland Conference Championships. One Sun Belt Conference Championship.
Of his 201 career wins, 66 have come on the NCAA Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision), and 163 of his wins have come at NCAA institutions. Entering his 26th year as a head coach, Fritz is a proven winner on all levels.
The key? Consistency and chemistry. And you don't have to look further than his coaching staff to see it.
"I think we'll be one of only four staffs in America as of right now that has had the same staff three years in a row," Fritz said. "A bunch of good guys, a bunch of good coaches. We work well together, we have very little drama. From support staff, coaching staff, analysts to graduate assistants. That really helps your continuity."
Tulane is the only American Athletic Conference football program to not change a single coach in the past three seasons.
When Fritz paces the sideline on game days, he's coaching alongside his most trusted assistants. Doug Ruse is in his seventh season working under Fritz as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Ruse followed Fritz from Georgia Southern to Tulane and spent two seasons with Fritz at Sam Houston State.
Defensive coordinator Jack Curtis has worked under Fritz for five seasons, first joining his staff at Georgia Southern in 2014. Curtis and Ruse have coached together for nearly 20 years, dating back to their time at Northwestern State and Arkansas State in the 1990s and early 2000s.
"When you've worked with the same number of guys as long as some of us have, it makes it easier," Ruse said. "You know everybody's coaching styles, so you can organize your staff. Everybody knows their place and their responsibilities. It's definitely an advantage having the continuity on the staff that we have."
The list goes on.
Assistant head coach/offensive line coach/running game coordinator Alex Atkins enters his fifth season of coaching under Fritz, having manned the sidelines with him since 2014 at Georgia Southern. Wide receivers coach Jeff Conway and Fritz's tenure together dates back to 1984 when both were in their first stints at Sam Houston State.
Linebackers coach Michael Mutz has worked under Fritz since the 2013 season at Sam Houston State. Defensive line coach Kevin Peoples and defensive analyst Johnny Jernigan spent two seasons with Fritz at Georgia Southern. Offensive analyst Derrick Sherman served as an offensive graduate assistant on Fritz' staff at Georgia Southern.
Shane Meyer, now in his third season as director of football operations, hasn't just spent the past five seasons working under Fritz. He played for Fritz at Central Missouri, earning All-American honors as a placekicker in 1997.
Through two full seasons at Tulane, it's apparent that Fritz and the coaching staff's commitment to consistency has already made an impact. The Green Wave finished 2017 with their highest win total since the 2013 season despite facing one of the nation's toughest schedules, with nine of their opponents earning invitations to bowl games.
Under the staff's tutelage, the 2017 squad featured an aggressive ground attack – averaging 231.5 yards per game, ranking No. 20 nationally and fourth in The American – and a ball-hawking defensive unit, which forced 19 turnovers. Four Green Wave players earned All-Conference honors, including former cornerback Parry Nickerson, who was named First Team All-Conference and earned Second Team All-America honors from Sports Illustrated.
The coaching staff's chemistry has helped off the field, too, especially in recruiting. Recruits are drawn not only to the program's renewed sense of enthusiasm and a winning culture, but also the assurance that the coaching staff will stay together.
"The biggest thing with the continuity of the staff is being able to stay in the same offense, the same defense, the same terminology," Curtis said. "Those things are important when you're building a program. Staying in the same system helps the kids develop and become better players, and I think that that interests kids because they know who they're going to play for. Kids sign with the university, but they do get close to coaches, and we're a staff that's been together for a long time."
With another spring camp in full swing and another football season rapidly approaching, there's plenty of work to do – on the practice field and in the meeting rooms – to address the unknown. What's known, though, is that the coaching staff is in it for the long haul.
"It's more than friendship," Atkins said. "It's almost a brotherhood. We get to bounce ideas off each other, we get to argue sometimes, but it's always good because we're sharing a common goal."
Players Mentioned
CB
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