It was almost like something out of a movie — the hiring of new Northeastern football coach Ralph Earl Hager III.
Better known as “Rocky,” the former Temple University assistant assumed control of NU’s program last Wednesday.
“We wanted a fighter,” said NU Athletics Director Dave O’Brien, at the press conference announcing Hager’s arrival. “Well, his name is Rocky and he’s from Philadelphia.”
There were 37 days between the rather messy end of the Don Brown regime and the heralded beginning of Hager’s tenure at the peak of Northeastern football.
Brown left his perch as NU’s head coach on Feb. 9, a loss that left Northeastern stunned and vengeful (see the recent law suit against him). However, Athletics bounced back Wednesday and filled the gridiron hole with the hiring of Hager, a former American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year and two-time national champ at North Dakota State.
“Over the past 37 days, we have conducted an extensive search and it’s good to have it done,” O’Brien said. “This is a great day for NU, for its athletic programs and for the football program in particular. We believe Rocky was not only the best candidate, but also the best fit for Northeastern.
“Rocky Hager is the ideal coach for Northeastern’s football program at this time in our history,” he added. “He combines outstanding success as a head coach at North Dakota State with significant Division IA recruiting experience in the Northeast while at Temple University. Throughout his career, coach Hager has demonstrated a strong commitment to the academic and personal welfare of his student athletes. He is a person of unquestioned integrity who is committed to building a winning program within the rules. I am confident coach Hager has the experience and the drive to lead Northeastern football into an era of sustained competitive success. He will hit the ground running with a proven blueprint to build on the success of the last two years.”
From the looks of it, Hager’s on-field philosophy won’t be all that different from Brown’s.
“Tough, tenacious, run to the football, and get after you on offense,” he said. “The commitment to excellence is a critical part of what I stand for. For example, lack of good effort is going to be noticed and will be corrected. I can’t tell you that I will correct it the same way that everyone else has corrected it in years before, but it will be corrected. You surely don’t want to be seen taking a shortcut by me. In older player jargon from my previous locations, you’ll catch the ‘wrath of Ralph.’ Shortcuts will get you beat and that is completely unacceptable.”
Hager brings a winning pedigree to the Dogs, having won two National titles as head coach at North Dakota State, and four altogether during his association with the program. In both the 1988 and 1990 title years, his team went unblemished at 14-0.
“Winning a championship is an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “I’ve felt that only three other times in life, and their names are Rebecca, Tiffanee and Joshua,” he said referring to his three children. “We are looking to win an Atlantic-10 title, to get an NCAA playoffs berth and win a I-AA (national) title, and we’ll work our tails off to get it done.”
The North Dakota native served most recently as a tight ends coach at Temple in addition to serving as a recruiting co-ordinator. At Northeastern, Hager sees the co-op program as an incredible tool to help lure top recruits.
“The first thing I would promote is the great education at Northeastern University. The co-op part is a big plus, I know I’ve spoken to other Atlantic-10 coaches about why kids would want to go there, because of the co-op. I would choose to come to Northeastern because of the co-op, because it’s a great experience in your chosen profession,” he said. “To come here and play, is because this is a program on the rise. This is a program that’s going to end up at the top. We’re going to do a great job of bringing in coaches and players to get there.”
Northeastern earned its first-ever NCAA playoff berth two years ago under Brown, and finished at 8-4 last year after being picked as the preseason favorite by coaches.
